Responsiveness and agility in collaborative networks

This paper investigates the responsiveness of technology and network governance in the case of collaborative networks comprising multiple organizations and identifies factors affecting the structure and the sustainability of collaborative network governance models. More specifically, the study focuses on the effect of network configurations that combine integration and unbundling on the collaborative network’s agility. The inferences draw on the cross case analysis of four case studies, representing collaborative networks situated within different industry segments in one geopolitical location. Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews with representatives from each collaborative network. The paper has identified effective communication among partners as an essential requirement for the success of any collaborative project. With regards to agility, a proposition may be advanced that for some type of collaborative services, a higher degree of vertical integration is a better approach compared to a higher degree of unbundling. However, the study findings also indicated that unbundling is a good approach in the case of collaborative services where a cloud based deployment and delivery approach is the priority, and the set of collaborators is diverse. Finally, the findings also showed that a participatory, and largely decentralized model of governance, is more effective in achieving responsiveness, in a collaborative network, than a centralized model