Publications

June 2012
Article

Meta-Organizational Design: Rethinking Design in Inter-Organizational and Community Contexts

By: Ranjay Gulati, Phanish Puranam and Michael Tushman

This paper provides conceptual foundations for analyzing organizations comprising multiple legally autonomous entities, which we call meta-organizations. We assess the antecedents of the emergence of such collectives and the design choices they entail. The paper... View Details

Keywords: Design; Organizations; Civil Society or Community; Relationships

July 2018
Case

Leading Open Innovation at BT

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Jean-François Harvey and Johnathan R. Cromwell

This case focuses on the genesis and development of the open innovation unit at BT, the strategic value of the unit, and its operating model. As the business environment becomes increasingly dynamic and firms are pressured to achieve faster innovation rates, there may... View Details

Keywords: Collaboration; Open Innovation; Inter-organizational Relationships; Organizational Culture; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; United Kingdom; United States

1991
Chapter

Inter-organizational Bonds and Intra-organizational Behavior: How Alliances and Partnerships Change the Organizations Forming Them

By: R. M. Kanter and P. S. Myers

Keywords: Alliances; Partners and Partnerships; Organizational Change and Adaptation

September 2009
Article

Is There a Better Commitment Mechanism than Cross-Listings for Emerging Economy Firms? Evidence from Mexico

By: Jordan I. Siegel

The last decade of work in corporate governance has shown that weak legal institutions at the country level hinder firms in emerging economies from accessing finance and technology affordably. To attract outside resources, these firms must often use external... View Details

Keywords: Commitment; Inter-organizational Relationships; Emerging Markets; Economics; International Political Economy; Economy; Business Ventures; Information; Mexico

August 2011
Article

From the Outside In: The Negative Spillover Effects of Boundary Spanners' Relations with Members of Other Organizations

By: Lakshmi Ramarajan, Katerina Bezrukova, Karen A. Jehn and Martin Euwema

Contrary to much boundary spanning research, we examined the negative consequences of boundary spanning contact in multi-organizational contexts. Results from a sample of 833 Dutch peacekeepers show that employees' boundary spanning contact with members of other... View Details

Keywords: Inter-organizational Contact; Boundary Spanning; Peacekeeping; Relationships; Jobs and Positions; Organizations; Attitudes

January 2016
Supplement

Open Innovation at Fujitsu (B)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Jean-François Harvey

This add-on case study reveals the location decision that was made in front of the challenge presented in case study #616-034. The launch of the Open Innovation Gateway (OIG) was a success. Fujitsu's management team now had to figure out the best way to continue to... View Details

Keywords: Open Innovation; Collaboration; Culture Change; Inter-organizational Relationships; Teaming; Maker Movement; Nascent Industries; Change Management; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Leadership; Emerging Markets; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Japan; United States; Sunnyvale

January 2016
Case

Open Innovation at Fujitsu (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Jean-François Harvey

This case study examines the open innovation journey at Fujitsu, a global information and communication technology company. The case ends with the location decision between Tokyo, Japan, downtown San Francisco or Sunnyvale, California, regarding establishing a small... View Details

April 2022
Article

The Past Is Prologue? Venture-Capital Syndicates' Collaborative Experience and Start-Up Exits

By: Dan Wang, Emily Cox Pahnke and Rory M. McDonald

Past research has produced contradictory insights into how prior collaboration between organizations—their relational embeddedness—impacts collective collaborative performance. We theorize that the effect of relational embeddedness on collaborative success is... View Details

Keywords: Inter-organizational Networks; Collaboration; Entrepreneurship; Networks; Organizations; Performance; Venture Capital

January 2016
Case

Haiti Hope: Innovating the Mango Value Chain

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Jean-François Harvey

This case study examines a market-based approach to economic development through the eyes of NGO TechnoServe's project manager, implementing a US$9.5 million five-year public-private partnership between Coca-Cola, IDB, and USAID. The case ends at the beginning of the... View Details

October 2015
Article

Exposed: Venture Capital, Competitor Ties, and Entrepreneurial Innovation

By: Emily Cox Pahnke, Rory McDonald, Dan Wang and Benjamin Hallen

This paper investigates the impact of early relationships on innovation at entrepreneurial firms. Prior research has largely focused on the benefits of network ties, documenting the many advantages that accrue to firms embedded in a rich network of inter-organizational... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Intellectual Property; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

22 Apr 2015
HBS Seminar

Riitta Katila, Stanford School of Engineering

2012
Article

The Two Facets of Collaboration: Cooperation and Coordination in Strategic Alliances

By: Ranjay Gulati, Franz Wohlgezogen and Pavel Zhelyazkov

This paper unpacks two underspecified facets of collaboration: cooperation and coordination. Prior research has emphasized cooperation, and specifically the partners' commitment and alignment of interests, as the key determinant of collaborative success. Scholars have... View Details

Keywords: Alliances; Social and Collaborative Networks; Cooperation

May 2018
Case

Harvest City: The Intelligent Procurement System Project

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Ramiro Montealegre

The Harvest City case describes the implementation of a cloud- and IoT-based intelligent procurement system at a new convention complex in the U.S. Midwest. The decision to build a convention complex is a strategic initiative for this city and involves extensive use of... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Projects; Management; Decision Making; Business and Government Relations; Information Technology Industry

September 2007
Case

Collaborating to Improve

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Ingrid M. Nembhard

Madison Memorial Hospital is deciding between a variety of quality improvement strategies. Highlights quality improvement collaborative—organized programs popularized by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in which teams from multiple institutions work together to... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Service Delivery; Performance Improvement; Quality; Groups and Teams; Cooperation; Integration; Health Industry