There is a growing need to promote collaborative problem solving across various sectors of society, e.g., among business, government, labor, and communities. Organizing such collaborative efforts requires focusing on the interorganizational domain or set of interdependencies which link various stakeholders rather than on the actions of any single organization. Moreover, effective collaboration at the domain level is predicated on several preconditions. This paper synthesizes research findings from organization theory, policy analysis, and organization development, and proposes conditions that are essential to achieving collaboration during each of three successive phases of the process. Designing optimum conditions for collaboration depends on the presence and strength of these factors at appropriate points during the collaborative process.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ACKOFF, R. L.Redesigning the future. New York: John Wiley and Sons , 1974.
2.
ACKOFF, R. L.Creating the corporate future. New York: John Wiley and Sons , 1981.
3.
AKINBODE, I. A. , & CLARK, R. C.A framework for analyzing interorganizational relationships . Human Relations, 1976, 29, 101-114 .
4.
ALDERFER, C. P.Consulting to underbounded systems. In C. P. Alderfer & C. Cooper (Eds.), Advances in experimental social process (Vol. 2). New York: Wiley , 1979.
5.
ALDRICH, H.Resource dependence and interorganizational relations . Administration and Society, 1976, 7(4), 419-454 .
6.
ANSOFF, H. I.Corporate strategy. New York: McGraw-Hill , 1965.
7.
ASHBY, R.Design for a brain (2nd ed.). London: Chapman and Hall , 1960.
8.
BACOW, L. , & COHEN, B.Avoiding the trials of big development . Technology Review, 1982, 42-44 .
9.
BEER, S.Death is equifinal: Eighth annual Ludwig Von Bertalanffy memorial lecture . Behavioral Science, 1981, 26, 185-196 .
10.
BENSON, J. K.The interorganizational network as a political economy . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1975, 20, 229-249 .
11.
BERLE, A. A. , & MEANS, G. C.The modern corporation and private property (Revised ed.). New York: Harcourt, Brace and World , 1968.
12.
BLUNDELL, W. E.Kill all the lawyers? Maybe there's an alternative . The Wall Street Journal, December 13, 1982, 30 .
13.
BOJE, D. M.The change agent as revolutionary: Activist interventions in interorganizational networks . Paper presented at the Academy of Management Meeting, Atlanta, 1979.
14.
BROWN, L. D.Planned change in underorganized systems. In T. G. Cummings (Ed.), Systems theory for organization development. New York: Wiley , 1980.
15.
BROWN, L. D.Managing conflict at organizational interfaces. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley , 1982.
16.
BURNS, T.On the plurality of social systems. In J. R. Lawrence (Ed.), Operational research and the social sciences. London: Tavistock , 1966, pp. 165-177.
17.
BUSINESS WEEK. June 30, 1980, 86-88 .
18.
BUSINESS WEEK. Suddenly U. S. companies are teaming up . July 11, 1983, 71, 72, 74 .
19.
CAROFF, P.A study of school-agency collaboration in social work in health curriculum building . Social Work in Health Care, 1977, 2, 337 .
20.
CHURCHMAN, C. W. , & EMERY, F. E.On various approaches to the study of organizations. In J. R. Lawrence (Ed.), Operational research and the social sciences. London: Tavistock , 1966, 77-84.
21.
COLT, A. M.Elements of comprehensive health planning . American Journal of Public Health, 1970, 60, 1194-1204 .
22.
COOKE, K. S.Exchange and power in networks of interorganizational relations . Sociological Quarterly, 1977, 18(1), 62-82 .
23.
CUMMINGS, T. G.Transorganizational development. In B. Staw & T. G. Cummings (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 5). Greenwich, Connecticut: JAI Press , 1984.
24.
DAVIDSON, S. M.Planning and coordination of social service in multiorganizational contexts . Social Service Review, 1976, 50, 117-137 .
25.
DELBECQ, A. L.Contextual variables affecting decision-making in program planning . The Journal for the American Institute for Decision Sciences, 1974, 5(4), 726-742 .
26.
EMERY, F. E.Futures we are in. Leiden, The Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff , 1977.
27.
EMERY, F. E. , & EMERY, M.A choice of futures. Leiden, The Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff , 1977.
28.
EMERY, F. E. , AND TRIST, E. L.The causal texture of organizational environments . Human Relations, 1965, 18, 21-32 .
29.
EMERY, M. , & EMERY F. E.Searching: For new directions, in new ways, for new times. In J. Sutherland (Ed.), Management handbook for public administrators. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold , 1978.
30.
EMERY, R. F.New perspective on the world of work . Human Relations, 1982, 35(12), 1095-1122 .
31.
EVAN, W. M.The organization-set: Toward a theory of interorganizational design (Edited by J. D. Thompson ). Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press , 1966.
32.
FOX, J. R.Note on the resolution of conflicts involving business, government, and special-interest groups. In Managing business/government problems. Homewood, Illinois: R. D. Irwin , 1982, pp. 396-414.
33.
FREEMAN, R. E.Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Marshfield, Massachusetts: Pitman Publishing Co. , 1984.
34.
FRIEND, J. K. , & JESSOP, W. N.Local government and strategic choice. London: Tavistock , 1969.
35.
FRIEND, J. K. , POWER, J. M. , & YEWLETT, C. J. L.Public planning: The intercorporate dimension. London: Tavistock , 1974.
36.
GALBRAITH, J. K.Economics and the public purpose. Boston: Houghton Mifflin , 1973.
37.
GELHORN, E.Two much law, too many lawyers, not enough justice . Wall Street Journal, June 8, 1984, 28 .
38.
GILMORE, T. , WEISS, H. , & WILLIAMS, T.Western search conference on the jail of the future: A record of the session. Working paper, Management and Behavioral Science Center, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 1979.
39.
GRAY, B. , & HAY, T.Political limits to interorganizational consensus and change . Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 1986. In press.
40.
GRAY B. , & McCANN, J. E.Power and collaboration in human service domains. Unpublished manuscript, 1984.
41.
GRICAR, B. G.The legitimacy of consultants and stakeholders in interorganizational problems . Paper presented at the symposium on appreciating and facilitating social problem solving, Academy of Management Meeting, San Diego, August 1981(a).
42.
GRICAR, B. G.Fostering collaboration among organizations. In H. Meltzer & W. R. Nord (Eds.), Making organizations humane and productive. New York: John Wiley and Sons , 1981, pp. 403-420. (b)
43.
GRICAR, B. G. , & BROWN, L. D.Conflict, power and organization in a changing community . Human Relations, 1981, 34, 877-893 .
44.
HALL, R. H. , CLARK, J. P. , GIORDANO, P. C. , JOHNSON, P. V. , & VAN ROCKEL, M.Patterns of interorganizational relationships . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1977, 22, 457-474 .
45.
HAY, T. M. The national coal policy project: Analysis of one collaborative approach to problem solving. Honors thesis, College of Business Administration, The Pennsylvania State University, 1983.
46.
HEENAN, D. A.Ideology revisited: America looks ahead . Sloan Management Review, (Winter) 1982, 35-46 .
47.
HIRSCHMAN, A. O.Exit, voice and loyality: Responses to decline in firms, organizations and states. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press , 1970.
48.
HOOYMAN, N. R.A case study in interorganizational coordination . Journal of Social Welfare, 1976, 3, 27-34 .
49.
HORWITCH, M. , & PRAHALAD, C. K.Managing multi-organization enterprises: The emerging strategic frontier . Sloan Management Review, 1981, 22(2), 3-16 .
50.
JACOBS, D.Dependency and vulnerability: An exchange approach to the control of organizations . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1974, 19, 45-59 .
51.
JAMESTOWN LABOR MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE . Commitment at work. Jamestown, New York: City Hall , 1977.
52.
KAPLAN, R. E.Diagnosis in the interorganizational domain. Greensboro, North Carolina: Center for Creative Leadership , 1980.
53.
KAST, F.Scanning the future environment: Social indicators . California Management Review, 1980, 23, 22-32 .
54.
LAWLESS, M.Directed interorganizational systems: Network strategy making in public service delivery. Unpublished paper. Department of Management, California State University, Northridge , 1982.
55.
LEVINE, S. , & WHITE, P. E.Exchange as a conceptual framework for the study of interorganizational relationships . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1961, 5, 583-601 .
56.
McCANN, J. E. Developing interorganizational domains: Concepts and practice. Ph.D. dissertation, Graduate Group in Managerial Science and Applied Economics, University of Pennsylvania, 1980.
57.
McCANN, J. E.Design guidelines for social problem-solving interventions . Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 1983, 19, 177-189 .
58.
METCALFE, J. L.Organizational strategies and interorganizational networks . Human Relations, 1976, 29(4), 327-343 .
59.
MILES, R. H.Macro-organizational behavior. Santa Monica, California: Goodyear , 1980.
60.
MILWARD, H. B.Interorganizational policy systems and research on public organizations . Administration and Society, 1982, 13(4), 457-478 .
61.
MURRAY, F. X.Where we agree: Report of the national coal policy project: Summary and synthesis. The Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. , 1979.
62.
MURRAY, F. X. , & CURRAN, J. C.Why they agreed: A critique and analysis of the national coal policy project. The Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. , 1982.
O'TOO E, J.What's ahead for the business-government relationship . Harvard Business Review, 1979, 94-105 .
65.
O'TOOLE, R. , & O'TOOLE, A. W.Negotiating interorganizational orders . The Sociological Quarterly, 1981, 22(1), 29-41 .
66.
PAGE, C.A new strategy for allocating state funds . Nation's Cities Weekly, February 7, 1983, 5 .
67.
PERRUCCI, R. , & PILISUK, M.Leaders and ruling elites: The interorganizational basis of community power . American Sociological Review, 1970, 35, 1040-1057 .
68.
PETERSON, C.Chemical industry, environmentalists reach accord on regulation of PCB's . The Washington Post, April 21, 1983, B1 .
69.
PFEFFER, J. , & SALANCIK, G. R.The external control of organizations: A resource dependence perspective. New York: Harper & Row , 1978.
70.
POST, J. E.Corporate behavior and social change. Reston, Virginia: Reston Publishing Co. , 1978.
71.
PROVAN, K.The federation as an interorganizational linkage network . The Academy of Management Review, 1983, 8(1), 79-89 .
72.
PROVAN, K. G. , BEYER, J. M. , & KRUYTBOSCH, C.Environmental linkages and power in resource-dependence relations between organizations . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1980, 25, 200-225 .
73.
QUADRANGLE NOTES . A negotiator's advice to lawyers . University of Michigan Law School, Fall 1982, 28-30 .
74.
RANSON, S. , HININGS, B. , & GREENWOOD, R.The structuring of organizational structures . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1980, 25(1), 1-17 .
75.
REICH, R. B.Regulation by confrontation or negotation . Harvard Business Review, 1981, 59(3), 82-93 .
76.
RITTEL, H. W. J. , & WEBBER, M. M.Dilemmas in a general theory of planning . Policy Sciences, 1973, 4, 155-169 .
77.
ROGERS, D. L. , & WHETTEN, D. A.Interorganizational coordination. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press , 1982.
78.
SARASON, S. R. , & LORENTZ, E.The challenge of the resource exchange network. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers , 1979.
79.
SCHEIN, E. H.Intergroup problems in organizations. Organizational Psychology (2nd ed.). 1970, pp. 96-103.
80.
SCHERMERHORN, J. R.Determinants of interorganizational cooperation . Academy of Management Review, 18(4), 1975, 846-856 .
81.
SCHMIDT, S. M. , & KOCHAN, T. A.Interorganizational relationships: Patterns and motivations . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1977, 22, 220-234 .
82.
SCHON, D. A.Beyond the stable state. London: Temple Smith , 1971.
83.
SCHUMAKER, P. D.Policy responsiveness to protest group demands . Journal of Politics, 1975, 37, 488-521 .
84.
SCOBEL, D. N.Business and labor-From adversaries to allies . Harvard Business Review, 1982, 129-136 .
85.
SHERIF, M.Superordinate goals in the reduction of intergroup conflicts . American Journal of Sociology, 1958, 63, 349-358 .
86.
SOMERHOFF, G.Analytical biology. London: Oxford University Press , 1950.
87.
SONNENFIELD, J. A.Corporate views of the public interest. Dover, Massachusetts: Auburn House Publishers , 1982.
88.
SORENSON, T.A different kind of presidency. New York: Harper and Row , 1984.
89.
STEIN, A. A.Conflict and cohesion . Journal of Conflict Resolution, 1976, 20(1), 143-172 .
90.
STERN, R. N.The development of an interorganizational control network: The case of intercollegiate athletics . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1979, 24(2), 242-266 .
91.
TABER, T. , WALSH, J. , & COOKE, R.Developing a community-based program for reducing the social impact of a plant closing . The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 1979, 15, 133-155 .
TRIST, E. L.A concept of organizational ecology . Bulletin of the national labor institute: New Delhi, 1976, 12, 483-496 .
94.
TRIST, E. L.Collaboration in work settings: A personal perspective . Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 1977, 13(3), 268-278 .
95.
TRIST, E. L.Referent organizations and the development of interorganizational domains . Human Relations, 1983, 36(3), 247-268 .
96.
VAN de VEN, A. H. , & WALKER, G.The dynamics of interorganizational coordination . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1984, 29(4), 598-621 .
97.
VAN de VEN, A. H. , WALKER, G. , & LISTON, J.Coordination patterns within an interorganizational network . Human Relations, 1979, 32(1), 19-36 .
98.
VICKERS, S. G.The art of judgment. London: Chapman and Hall , 1965.
99.
WALTON, R. E.Interpersonal peacemaking: Confrontations and third party consultation. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. , 1969.
100.
WALTON, R. E.Third party roles in interdepartmental conflict. In W. Warner Burke & H. A. Hornstein (Eds.), The social technology of organization development. La Jolla, California: University Associates , 1972, pp.141-157.
101.
WARREN, R. L.The interorganizational field as a focus for investigation . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1967, 12, 397-419 .
102.
WESSEL, M.The role of reason: A new approach to corporate litigation. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. , 1976.
103.
WHITE, P. E.Myth and reality in interorganizational behavior: A study of competition between two national voluntary health agencies . American Journal of Public Health, 1968, 58, 289-304 .
104.
WIDNER, R. R.Evaluating the administration of the Appalachian Regional Development Program . Growth and Change: A Journal of Regional Development, 1973, 4, 25-29 .
105.
WILLIAMS, T.Learning to manage our future. New York: John Wiley and Sons , 1982.
