In view of the rising importance and prevalence of network-based collaboration, this book aims to meet the need for more theory in this area. Theoretically conceptualizing and empirically describing the practice of reflexive leadership in inter-organisational networks, it explores how member organisations approach reflexive leadership and the associated challenges. Examining these questions from wider leadership theory perspectives as well as a tighter focus upon inter-organizational networks, the author specifically explores how reflexive leadership can be sustained and how social and political contexts may obstruct or support its use, acceptance and practice. Based on in-depth qualitative empirical fieldwork in the Swiss healthcare sector, the book offers a novel practice-theoretical model for use in inter-organizational networks.

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.

Drawing on the wealth of insights into organizational life accumulated over the past few decades, this collection takes stock of the foundations of research in this area, examines the status of the current work and identifies future directions for the field. Topics covered include theoretical and methodological foundations; social capital; strong ties, weak ties and structural holes; small worlds/network structures; centrality and power; social networks of entrepreneurship; identity, cognition and individual differences in social networks; and network dynamics.

Whether described as strategic alliances, trading networks or joint ventures, the varying organisational arrangements between firms are seen as a form of economic co-ordination distinct from archetypal ideas of firms and markets.

Inter-organizational relations are increasingly important in today's organizational landscape. The management of these relations requires unique understandings and capabilities. Hence it comes as no surprise that the formation, purpose and management of inter-organizational relations are a vital part of most curricula in the fields of business, economic geography, sociology, and policy studies. Managing Inter-Organizational Relations offers both a thorough review and innovative systematization of the main theoretical debates surrounding different forms of inter-organizational relations – and of the challenges of their management. With a unique collection of cases from around the world addressing different managerial issues, it provides a pioneering and comprehensive analysis of different types of inter-organizational collaboration, including strategic alliances, joint ventures, regional clusters, global value and supply chains, and project as well as innovation networks. Key features: - Contains up-to-date empirical research. - Utilises an innovative structure of debates and cases. - Packed with a wide-ranging collection of international case studies and examples. - Offers a unique managerial perspective on inter-organizational relations across different types or forms of collaborative governance.

The public sector continues to play a strategic role across the world and in the last thirty years there have been major shifts in approaches to its management. This text identifies the trends in public management and the effects these have had, as well as providing a broad overview to each topic.

This hugely informative and wide-ranging analysis on the management of projects, past, present and future, is written both for practitioners and scholars. Beginning with a history of the discipline’s development, Reconstructing Project Management provides an extensive commentary on its practices and theoretical underpinnings, and concludes with proposals to improve its relevancy and value. Written not without a hint of attitude, this is by no means simply another project management textbook. The thesis of the book is that ‘it all depends on how you define the subject’; that much of our present thinking about project management as traditionally defined is sometimes boring, conceptually weak, and of limited application, whereas in reality it can be exciting, challenging and enormously important. The book draws on leading scholarship and case studies to explore this thesis. The book is divided into three major parts. Following an Introduction setting the scene, Part 1 covers the origins of modern project management – how the discipline has come to be what it is typically said to be; how it has been constructed – and the limitations of this traditional model. Part 2 presents an enlarged view of the discipline and then deconstructs this into its principal elements. Part 3 then reconstructs these elements to address the challenges facing society, and the implications for the discipline, in the years ahead. A final section reprises the sweep of the discipline’s development and summarises the principal insights from the book. This thoughtful commentary on project (and program, and portfolio) management as it has developed and has been practiced over the last 60-plus years, and as it may be over the next 20 to 40, draws on examples from many industry sectors around the world. It is a seminal work, required reading for everyone interested in projects and their management.

Leaders and followers live in a relational world—a world in which leadership occurs in complex webs of relationships and dynamically changing contexts. Despite this, our theories of leadership are grounded in assumptions of individuality and linear causality. If we are to advance understandings of leadership that have more relevance to the world of practice, we need to embed issues of relationality into leadership studies. This volume addresses this issue by bringing together, for the first time, a set of prominent scholars from different paradigmatic and disciplinary perspectives to engage in dialogue regarding how to meet the challenges of relationality in leadership research and practice. Included are cutting edge thinking, heated debate, and passionate perspectives on the issues at hand. The chapters reveal the varied and nuanced treatments of relationality that come from authors’ alternative paradigmatic (entity, constructionist, critical) views. Dialogue scholars—reacting to the chapters—engage in spirited debate regarding the commensurability (or incommensurability) of the paradigmatic approaches. The editors bring the dialogue together with introductory and concluding chapters that offer a framework for comparing and situating the competing assumptions and perspectives spanning the relational leadership landscape. Using paradigm interplay they unpack assumptions, and lay out a roadmap for relational leadership research. A key takeaway is that advancing relational leadership research requires multiple paradigmatic perspectives, and scholars who are conversant in the assumptions brought by these perspectives. The book is aimed at those who feel that much of current leadership thinking is missing the boat in today’s complex, relational world. It provides an essential resource for all leadership scholars and practitioners curious about the nature of research on leadership, both those with much research exposure and those new to the field.

In contrast to hierarchical leadership within intra-organizational contexts, leaders of inter-organizational networks have to lead across organizational boundaries without hierarchical fiat or directive authority. The central research question of Susanne Ruckdäschel is how leadership behavior of network managers can influence network performance. Hereby, relational leadership in the form of empowering leadership is regarded as decisive criterion. Her study focuses on the interplay between network leaders and network companies. The perspectives of both the network managers and the network members are illuminated. Therefore, first, a mixed methods study is conducted from the perspective of the network managers and second, a quantitative analysis based on a structural equation model focuses on the perspective of the network members.

This book will undoubtedly become one of the classics of the project management literature.There will be a growing need for project managers who can look beyond the internal processes of their projects to the organisational, technological and socio-economic contexts in which projects must be managed. A good starting point would be for all project managers to read this.book.- Construction Management and Economics