Learning in networks

Article Abstract:

During the last decades, competence and knowledge have become increasingly focused as means for increasing the competitiveness of industrial companies. Organizational learning accordingly has become an important issue both in research and in managerial considerations. One important way to learn is through others. Companies have as one consequence devoted much interest into building special relationships with universities and other knowledge producers, such as lead users, to knit together special knowledge networks. However, the same interest has not been devoted to how the existing business relationships with customers or suppliers in general are taken care of from a learning perspective. In this article, we will present the results from a study of learning within business relationships formed around an ordinary construction project. One major conclusion is that the extent to which learning takes place seems to be highly related to the existence of connections between the relationships. The more each single relationship is part of a network the more the company in average seems to learn from it. The results can have managerial implications for both buying and selling companies. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Organizational Methods NEC, Marketing Management, Customer Relations, Innovations, Learning, Organizational effectiveness, Organizational change

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Exploring interorganizational conflict in complex projects

Article Abstract:

The article examines two paradigms of perceiving conflict between parties in a business relationship, with one assessing conflict as a problem to be eliminated and the other viewing conflict as a means for improvement. It is recommended that conflict should be linked to both formal and informal governance processes in order to be used to strengthen business relationships.

Industrial project management, Project management, Comparative analysis, Business-to-business market, Business to business market, Conflict management

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Strategizing in industrial networks

Article Abstract:

It is important for a company to compare its activities with that of other companies in order to improve its performance and identify new resource avenues by consistently combining existing resources. A single company, strategizing as an industrial network, should simultaneously consider various resources and interdependent activities across company borders.

Management dynamics, Analysis, Company business management, Strategic alliances (Business), Industrial organization

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