Inter-organizational relations (IOR), the study of Strategic Alliances, Joint Ventures, Partnerships, Networks and other forms of relationship between organizations, is a field of study that has burgeoned over the last four decades, but is fragemented, drawing contributions from a wide variety of disciplines, theoretical bases, and sectoral interests. The Oxford Handbook of Inter-Organizational Relations provides a structured overview of the field. With contributions from leading international experts on their particular areas of expertise, it is an authoritative introduction to its research findings. The material is organized in three main sections. The first relates to research that focuses on particular manifestations of IORs such as industry, supply, policy and project networks, public and voluntary sector partnerships, strategic alliances, and so on. The second section relates to research that stems from distinct disciplinary or theoretical bases, including, institutional theory, social networks, evolutionary theory, transaction cost economics, management process, psychology, critical theory political theory, economic geography, and the legal perspective. The third section focuses on key topics in contemporary IOR topics--or those that will become so in the future. These include, trust, power, development interventions, social capital, learning and knowledge, dynamics and change, and evaluation. About the Series Oxford Handbooks in Business & Management bring together the world's leading scholars on the subject to discuss current research and the latest thinking in a range of interrelated topics including Strategy, Organizational Behavior, Public Management, International Business, and many others. Containing completely new essays with extensive referencing to further reading and key ideas, the volumes, in hardback or paperback, serve as both a thorough introduction to a topic and a useful desk reference for scholars and advanced students alike.

This book examines the politics of the relationships between multilateral organizations that have come to play a major role in contemporary efforts to manage international security. Drawing on concepts developed in Organizational Studies, the book starts from the assumption that inter-organizational relationships are the product of contested politics. Politics that may be either more cooperative or more competitive, but which always contains elements of both. This volume focuses on inter-organizational relations emanating from, through and towards the regional scale. The proliferation in the number of regional multilateral organizations in recent decades and their growing claims to represent effective and legitimate frameworks to address security threats and issues has been widely noted. The book is organized into four sections, covering all aspects of the inter-organizational relationships in which regional multilateral organizations are involved: global-regional, intra-regional, inter-regional, and multi-scalar. Each chapter addresses a distinct case study of inter-organizational relations (bilateral, trilateral or wider network), and examines the politics shaping these relations. This book will be of much interest to students of international security, international organizations, global governance and area studies, more generally.

This book explores the premise that organizations are significantly influenced by their inter-organizational relationships; moreover, these relationships may generate important externalities, both positive and negative, impacting the environment at several levels. The advent of the Internet era, on the other hand, has resulted in disruptive changes in traditional inter-organizational networks, and some completely new inter-organizational settings are now arising. In its first part the book reviews the most commonly cited theories explaining inter-organizational phenomena: transaction costs economics, agency theory, resource dependence theory, game theories, collaborative networks theory, institutional theories, organizational ecology, resource-based / relational-based view of the firm, and knowledge network / social network theories. In Part II it thoroughly reviews the literature on a number of key IT-enabled inter-organizational systems currently on the rise, such as virtual organizations, e-intermediators and e-marketplaces. Lastly, Part III presents the case of the Yoox Group, a leading firm offering e-commerce services for fashion and design products. A framework is proposed for systematically linking the different possible types of inter-organizational relationships to specific, suitable sets of theories. The range of possible inter-organizational relationships is described on the basis of three pairs of opposites: conformism-breach, exploitation-exploration, and cooperation-competition. This results in a model that makes it possible to combine different theories in order to study the effects of inter-organizational ambidexterity and dynamism on performance.

In order to be developed, inter-organizational relationships, as well as organizational cultures, rely on communication, learning, trust, commitment, and shared meanings and symbols. This book discusses the emergence and development of an inter-organizational culture, in which meanings, beliefs, and values of people from different companies interact. It proposes that inter-organizational culture can be seen as a culture of intersection, because of the association of cultural perspectives between suppliers and intermediaries. The more the parties are motivated to maintain the relationship, the more willing they are to invest in that relationship, which minimizes the risk of dissolution, promotes interaction, and contributes to cultural changes. The authors consider organizational culture through a three-perspective framework involving integration, differentiation, and fragmentation, at the intersection of which inter-organizational culture develops. This book will provide scholars with a better understanding of the connection between relationship marketing and organizational behavior, through the emergence of a specific culture.

Numerous clothing industries face highly dynamic environments, and growth in this environment depends upon both external and internal factors. External factors are represented by aggressive competition and volatile product demand. Internally, the industry must face an increasingly shorter life cycle of the product and the need to innovate both product and organizational development. The competitive advantage of the industry lies in its ability to design a value-creating system based on the management of both external and internal relationships. The successful management of these relationships relies not only on successful customer relationship management but also on effective product supply and demand upkeep. Management and Inter/Intra Organizational Relationships in the Textile and Apparel Industry provides emerging research exploring relevant theoretical frameworks and the latest empirical research underlining the complexity of management applications within the textile industry. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as consumer relationships, cultural identity, and organizational culture, this book is ideally designed for researchers, academicians, professionals, and students working in various disciplines including management, industrial organization, organizational behavior, human resource management, decision science, design science, and information and communication. Moreover, the book will provide insights and support executives and managers of the textile and apparel industry concerned with the ethic design, contamination, and the management relationships with workers, customers, suppliers, the community, and organizational development.

The first edition of the successful Encyclopedia of Creativity served to establish the study of creativity is a field in itself. Now completely updated and revised in its second edition, coverage encompasses the definition of creativity, the development and expression of creativity across the lifespan, the environmental conditions that encourage or discourage creativity, creativity within specific disciplines like music, dance, film, art, literature, etc., the relationship of creativity and mental health, intelligence, and learning styles, and the process of being creative. This reference also appeals to a lay audience with articles specifically on the application of creativity to business settings. Available online via ScienceDirect and in limited print release. Named a 2012 Outstanding Academic Title by the American Library Association's Choice publication Serves as a compendium of reviews of a number of domain-specific areas, such as acting, dance, expressive arts, film, food, music, religion, science, sports, theater, and writing. Creativity and education are examined in articles about thought processes, such as developmental trends in creative abilities and potentials, the enhancement of creativity, intelligence, knowledge, play, prodigies, programs and courses, talent and teaching creativity. Cognitive aspects of creativity can be investigated in articles about altered and transitional states, analogies, attention, cognitive style, divergent thinking, flow and optimal experience, metacognition, metaphors, problem-finding, problem-solving, and remote associates. Covers business and organizational creativity in articles about advertising with art, creative visuals, business/management, creativity coaching, creativity exercises, entrepreneurship, group dynamics, innovation, leadership, organizational culture, organizational development, teams, and training, among others. Explicitly examines the complex interrelationship between society and creativity in articles about awards, conformity and conventionality, the creative sector and class of society, cultural diversity, the dark side of creativity, East vs. West, networking, social psychology, war, zeitgeist, and others. Personal and interpersonal creativity is discussed in articles relating to collaboration, family, life stages, mentors, networking, personal creativity and self-actualization. Focuses on scientific information about creativity, there are also articles that discuss brain and neuropsychology, concepts of creativity, definitions of creativity, expertise, longitudinal studies, researching art, artists and art audiences, research methods, phenomenology research and qualitative research. Online version contains an additional 26 biographies of famously creative people

Total quality management (TQM), reengineering, the workplace of the twenty-first centuryâ€"the 1990s have brought a sense of urgency to organizations to change or face stagnation and decline, according to Enhancing Organizational Performance. Organizations are adopting popular management techniques, some scientific, some faddish, often without introducing them properly or adequately measuring the outcome. Enhancing Organizational Performance reviews the most popular current approaches to organizational changeâ€"total quality management, reengineering, and downsizingâ€"in terms of how they affect organizations and people, how performance improvements can be measured, and what questions remain to be answered by researchers. The committee explores how theory, doctrine, accepted wisdom, and personal experience have all served as sources for organization design. Alternative organization structures such as teams, specialist networks, associations, and virtual organizations are examined. Enhancing Organizational Performance looks at the influence of the organization's norms, values, and beliefsâ€"its cultureâ€"on people and their performance, identifying cultural "levers" available to organization leaders. And what is leadership? The committee sorts through a wealth of research to identify behaviors and skills related to leadership effectiveness. The volume examines techniques for developing these skills and suggests new competencies that will become required with globalization and other trends. Mergers, networks, alliances, coalitionsâ€"organizations are increasingly turning to new intra- and inter-organizational structures. Enhancing Organizational Performance discusses how organizations cooperate to maximize outcomes. The committee explores the changing missions of the U.S. Army as a case study that has relevance to any organization. Noting that a musical greeting card contains more computing power than existed in the entire world before 1950, the committee addresses the impact of new technologies on performance. With examples, insights, and practical criteria, Enhancing Organizational Performance clarifies the nature of organizations and the prospects for performance improvement. This book will be important to corporate leaders, executives, and managers; faculty and students in organizational performance and the social sciences; business journalists; researchers; and interested individuals.

This resource is a compilation of chapters on government Enterprise architecture with the intention of informing professionals with different levels of enterprise architecture knowledge.

Interorganizational Collaboration: Complexity, Ethics, and Communication centers around three key assertions: (1) interorganizational collaboration is complex and warrants study as a specific type of leadership and communication; (2) successful collaborative relationships are grounded in a principled ethic of democratic and egalitarian participation; and (3) interorganizational collaboration requires a specific communication language of practice. Interorganizational collaboration is influenced by increased interconnectedness, shifting organizational needs, and a changing workforce. Collaboration invokes ethical questions and ethical responsibilities that must be considered in communication practices and structures. Although there are many popular books and practitioner materials on collaboration, most are not focused on introducing foundational concepts to a novice audience. In addition, the subject of communication in collaboration has been somewhat underdeveloped. The authors focus on communication from a social constructionist stance. One of their primary goals is to develop a collaboration pedagogy based on existing communication scholarship. The authors present communicative practices vital to interorganizational participation, and they view collaboration as something beyond an exchange of resources and knowledge. Unlike group and organizational texts that approach collaboration from a functional or strategic perspective, this text anchors collaboration in the assumption that democratic and principled communication will foster creative and accountable outcomes for participants in collaborative problem solving. The authors articulate a collaborative ethic useful in all communicative contexts. Micropractices of communication are fundamental not only to collaborating across organizations but also to fostering just and trusting relationships. The book discusses the cornerstone assumptions and principled practices necessary for stakeholders to address problems—for example, recognizing and validating the needs of fellow stakeholders; separating people’s positions from underlying interests; listening for things that are never quite said; identifying overlapping commonalities; building trust while respecting difference; and constructively navigating conflict. The book also focuses on building collaborative praxis based on the assumption of contingency. Praxis cultivates knowledge and ethical understanding of a situation so participants in collaborations can make the best decision based on specific circumstances.

Managing Development is an authoritative text for all courses in development management, and provides insights into the partnership approach to development. It demonstrates how changing institutional imperatives, terminology and political agendas have resulted in new types of relationships emerging between groups and organizations in the development process. The book examines these opportunities, both by analysing the underlying concepts and agendas, and by thinking explicitly about what these mean for management practice. The contributors suggest ways in which inter-organizational relationships can be worked out in practice, and provide examples and case studies which explore ways of managing real-life complexities in development ma