The Formation of Inter-Organizational Networks [Paperback]

In recent years, both managers and management scholars have regarded the networked firm as a promising organizational form. This book analyses when, why, and how firms engage in such forms of inter-organizational networking as strategic alliances, joint ventures, and long-term accords for collaboration among competitors as well as with suppliers and customers. The contributors outline how firm strategies, catalysts, and trust between actors shape the emergence and the types of inter-organizational collaboration.

List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Abbreviations
List of Contributors
I. Introduction
1. Explaining Inter-Organizational Network Formation,Mark Ebers
II. Resource Flows: The Role of Activity Links
2. Relationships as Activity Links,Anna Dubois and H?kan H?kansson
3. Inter- Firm Responses to Heterogeneity of Demand over Time,Geoff Easton and Luis Araujo
4. The Network Structure of Inter-Firm Relationships in the Southern Italian Mechanical Industry,Alessandro Lomi and Alessandro Grandi
III. Mutual Expectations: The Role of Trust
5. Processes Facilitating Reliance on Trust in Inter-Organizational Networks,Peter Smith Ring
6. Research and Development Alliances: Ensuring Trust by Mutual Commitments,Paul de Laat
7. An Economic Model of Inter-Firm Networks,Mark Casson and Howard Cox
IV. Information Flows: The Role of the Catalysts
8. Co-ordinating Multi-Firm Innovative Processes: Entrepreneur as Catalyst in Small-Firm Networks,Andrea Lipparini and Maurizio Sobrero
9. Learning through Intermediaries: The Case of Inter-Firm Research Collaborations,Suzanne L?tz
10. Mixed Mode Operation of Electronic Markets and Hierarchies,Christopher P. Holland and Geoff Lockett
V. Conclusion
11. The Forms, Costs, and Development Dynamics of Inlc