Community collaboration has become an influential interorganizational phenomenon that provides innovative solutions for social problems. This critical case study uses dialogic theory to investigate how collaboration stakeholders negotiate creative and democratic outcomes. Findings demonstrate how a dialogic moment, although embedded in a homogenous partnership that facilitated discursive closure, constituted meaningful organizational change. The study empirically extends the theoretical claim that diversity resides in the communication situation and reveals that collaboration practices and stakeholder models are better understood when grounded in dialogic theory.
Agranoff, R., & McGuire, M. (1998). Multinetwork management: Collaboration and the hollow state in local economic policy. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 8, 67-91.
2.
Alvesson, M., & Deetz, S. (2000). Doing critical management research. London: Sage.
3.
Anderson, R., Baxter, L.A., & Cissna, K.N. (2004a). Conclusion: Voices, conversation fragments, and a temporary conclusion. In R. Anderson, L. A. Baxter, & K. N. Cissna (Eds.), Dialogue: Theorizing difference in communication studies (pp. 259-268). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
4.
Anderson, R., Baxter, L. A., & Cissna, K. N. (Eds.). (2004b). Dialogue: Theorizing difference in communication studies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .
5.
Arnett, R.C. (2004). A dialogic ethic “between” Buber and Levinas: A responsive ethical “I”. In R . Anderson, L. A. Baxter, & K. N. Cissna (Eds.), Dialogue: Theorizing difference in communication studies (pp. 75-90). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
6.
Atterton, P., Calarco, M. , & Friedman, M. S. (Eds.). (2004). Levinas and Buber: Dialogue and difference. Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press.
7.
Barge, J.K. (2002). Enlarging the meaning of group deliberation: From discussion to dialogue. In L. R. Frey (Ed.), New directions in group communication (pp. 159-177). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Baxter, L.A. (2004). Dialogues of relating. In R. Anderson, L. A. Baxter, & K. N. Cissna (Eds.), Dialogue: Theorizing difference in communication studies (pp. 107-124). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
10.
Benhabib, S. (1992). Situating the self: Gender, community and postmodernism in contemporary ethics. Routledge: New York.
11.
Bowen J. (2007, February 14). Highlights of the 10-year plans to end homelessness. Belleville News-Democrat, p. 1B.
12.
Cheney, G., & Cloud, D.L. (2006). Doing democracy, engaging the material: Employee participation and labor activity in an age of market globalization. Management Communication Quarterly, 19, 501-540.
13.
Chrislip, D.D., & Larson, C.E. (1994). Collaborative leadership: How citizens and civic leaders can make a difference. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
14.
Cissna, K.N., & Anderson, R. (1998). Theorizing about dialogic moments: The Buber-Rogers position and postmodern themes. Communication Theory, 8, 63-104.
15.
Coggins, G.C. (2001). Of Californicators, quislings, and crazies: Some perils of devolved collaboration. In P. Brick, D. Snow, & S. Van de Wetering (Eds.), Across the great divide: Explorations in collaborative conservation and the American West (pp. 163-171). Washington, DC: Island.
16.
Deetz, S. (1982). Critical interpretive research in organizational communication. Western Journal of Speech Communication, 46, 131-149.
17.
Deetz, S. (1990). Reclaiming the subject matter as a guide to mutual understanding: Effectiveness and ethics in interpersonal interaction. Communication Quarterly, 38, 226-243.
18.
Deetz, S. (1992). Democracy in the age of corporate colonization . Albany: State University of New York Press.
19.
Deetz, S. (1995). Transforming communication, transforming business: Building responsive and responsible workplaces. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton.
20.
Deetz, S. (2005). Critical theory. In S. May & D. Mumby (Eds.), Organizational communication theory and research: Multiple perspectives (pp. 85-111). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
21.
Deetz, S., Heath, R., & MacDonald, J. (2007). On talking to not make decisions: A critical analysis of organizational talk. In F. Cooren (Ed.), Interacting and organizing: Analyses of a management meeting (pp. 225-244). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
22.
Deetz, S., & Simpson, J. (2004). Critical organizational dialogue: Open formation and the demand of “otherness.” In R. Anderson, L. A. Baxter, & K. N. Cissna (Eds.), Dialogue: Theorizing difference in communication studies (pp. 141-158). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
23.
Emerson, R., Fretz, R., & Shaw, L. (1995) Writing ethnographic fieldnotes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
24.
Forester, J. (1993). Critical theory, public policy, and planning practice: Toward a critical pragmatism. Albany: State University of New York Press.
25.
Gray, B. (1989). Collaborating: Finding common ground for multiparty problems. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass .
26.
Gray, B., & Wood, D.J. (1991). Collaborative alliances: Moving from practice to theory. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 27, 3-22.
27.
Habermas, J. (1979). Communication and the evolution of society (T. McCarthy, Trans.). Boston: Beacon .
28.
Habermas, J. (1988). Legitimation crisis. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
29.
Habermas, J. (1990). Moral consciousness and communicative action. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
30.
Hammond, S.C., Anderson, R., & Cissna, K.N. (2003). The problematics of dialogue and power. In P. Kalbfleisch (Ed.), Communication yearbook (Vol. 27, pp. 125-157). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
31.
Harding, J.R., & Livesay, J.M. (1984). Anthropology and public policy. In G. J. McCall & G. H. Weber (Eds.), Social science and public policy: The roles of academic disciplines in policy analysis (pp. 51-90). New York: Associated Faculty.
32.
Harrington-Mackin, H. (1994). The team building tool kit: Tips, tactics, and rules for effective workplace teams. New York: American Management Association.
33.
Heath, R.G., & Frey, L. (2004). Ideal collaboration: A conceptual framework of community collaboration. In P. Kalbfleisch (Ed.), Communication yearbook (Vol. 28, pp. 189-232). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
34.
Heath, R.G., & Sias, P. (1999). Communicating spirit in a collaborative alliance . Journal of Applied Communication Research, 27, 356-376.
35.
Heath, R.L., Pearce, W.B., Shotter, J., Taylor, J., Kersten, A., Zorn, T., et al. (2006). The process of dialogue: Participation and legitimation. Management Communication Quarterly, 19, 341-375.
36.
Huxham, C. (2003). Theorizing collaboration practice. Public Management Review, 5, 401-423.
37.
Innes, J., & Booher, D.E. (1999). Consensus building and complex adaptive systems: A framework for evaluating collaborative planning. Journal of American Planning Association, 65, 412-427.
38.
Jones, T.S., & Bodtker, A. (1998). A dialectical analysis of a social justice process: International collaboration in South Africa. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 26, 357-373.
39.
Kenney, D. (2001). Are community watershed groups effective? Confronting the thorny issue of measuring success. In P . Brick, D. Snow, & S. Van de Wetering (Eds.), Across the great divide: Explorations in collaborative conservation and the American West (pp. 188-193). Washington, DC: Island.
40.
Keyton, J., & Stallworth, V. (2003). On the verge of collaboration: Interaction processes versus group outcomes. In L. R. Frey (Ed.), Group communication in context: Studies of bona fide groups (2nd ed., pp. 235-260). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
41.
Kuhn, T., & Ashcraft, K.L. (2003). Corporate scandal and the theory of the firm: Formulating the contributions of organizational communication studies. Management Communication Quarterly, 17, 20-57.
42.
Lange, J. (2001). Exploring paradox in environmental collaborations . In P. Brick, D. Snow, & S. Van de Wetering (Eds.), Across the great divide: Explorations in collaborative conservation and the American West (pp. 200-209). Washington, DC: Island.
43.
Lawrence, T.B., Hardy, C., & Phillips, N. (2002). Institutional effects of interorganizational collaboration: The emergence of proto-institutions. Academy of Management Journal, 45, 281-290.
44.
Lindlof, T.R., & Taylor, B.C. (2002). Qualitative communication research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
45.
Logsdon, J.M. (1991). Interests and interdependence in the formation of social problem-solving collaborations. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 27, 23-37.
46.
Mansbridge, J. (1983). Beyond adversary democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
47.
McKinney, M.J. (2001). What do we mean by consensus? Some defining principles. In P. Brick, D. Snow, & S. Van de Wetering (Eds.), Across the great divide: Explorations in collaborative conservation and the American West (pp. 33-40). Washington, DC: Island.
48.
McNamee, S., & Shotter, J. (2004). Dialogue, creativity and change. In R. Anderson, L. A. Baxter , & K. N. Cissna (Eds.), Dialogue: Theorizing difference in communication studies (pp. 91-104). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
49.
Medved, C.E., Morrison, K., Dearing, J.W., Larson, S., Cline, G., & Brummans, B. (2001). Tensions in community health improvement initiatives: Communication and collaboration in a managed care environment. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 29, 137-152.
50.
Mintzberg, H., Jorgensen, J., Dougherty, D., & Westley, F. (1996, Spring). Some surprising things about collaboration: Knowing how people connect makes it work better. Organizational Dynamics, 60-71.
51.
Moseley, C. (2001). The Applegate Partnership: Innovation in crisis . In P. Brick, D. Snow, & S. Van de Wetering (Eds.), Across the great divide: Explorations in collaborative conservation and the American West (pp. 102-111). Washington, DC: Island.
52.
Pasquero, J. (1991). Supraorganizational collaborations: The Canadian environmental experiment. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science , 27, 38-64.
53.
Pearce, W.B., & Pearce, K.A. (2004). Taking a communication perspective on dialogue . In R. Anderson, L. A. Baxter, & K. N. Cissna (Eds.), Dialogue: Theorizing difference in communication studies (pp. 39-56). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
54.
Risch, E. (2007, January 18). Public-private partnership perfect for Pennsylvania borough. Water Online. Available from http://www.wateronline.com
55.
Snow, D. (2001). Coming home: An introduction to collaborative conservation. In P. Brick, D. Snow, & S. Van de Wetering (Eds.), Across the great divide: Explorations in collaborative conservation and the American West (pp. 1-12). Washington, DC: Island.
56.
Stahl, A. (2001). Ownership, accountability, and collaboration. In P. Brick, D. Snow, & S. Van de Wetering (Eds.), Across the great divide: Explorations in collaborative conservation and the American West (pp. 194-199). Washington, DC: Island.
57.
Stohl, C., & Walker, C. (2002). A bona fide perspective for the future of groups: Understanding collaborating groups. In L. R. Frey (Ed.), New directions in group communication (pp. 237-252). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
58.
Thackaberry, J.A. (2004). “Discursive opening” and closing in organizational self-study: Culture as trap and tool in wildland firefighting safety. Management Communication Quarterly, 17, 319-359.
59.
Wood, J. (2004). Foreword: Entering into dialogue. In R. Anderson, L. A. Baxter , & K. N. Cissna (Eds.), Dialogue: Theorizing difference in communication studies (pp. xv-xxiii). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
60.
Zoller, H.M. (2000). “A place you haven't visited before”: Creating the conditions for community dialogue. Southern Communication Journal, 65, 191-207.
