Oxford Handbook of Inter-Organizational Relations

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 fragmented, 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 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.
"The Handbook is a wide ranging and ambitious collection of original essays written by contemporary scholars.... It calls for a dialogue between different perspectives in the field of IOR. The editors integrative efforts have been crowned with success.... Researchers at various career stages will be delighted by the rich spectrum of theoretical perspectives, research approaches and empirical contexts"--Work, Employment & Society

SECTION I: INTRODUCTION; 1. Introduction; SECTION II: MANIFESTATIONS OF INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONS; 2. Escaping the Manufacturing Cage: How Leading Firms Transform Industrial Districts; 3. Inter-Organizational Relationships, Chains and Networks: A Supply Perspective; 4. Alliances and Joint Ventures; 5. Policy and Implementation Networks: Managing Complex Interactions; 6. Collaborative Service Provision in the Public Sector; 7. Voluntary and Community Sector Partnerships: Current Inter-Organizational Relations and Future Challenges; 8. Inter-Organizational Relationships in Local and Regional Development Partnerships; 9. Temporary Inter-Organizational Projects: How Temporal and Social Embeddedness Enhance Coordination and Manage Uncertainty; 10. Technology Service Inter-Organizational Relationships: An Agenda for Information Technology Service Sourcing Research; SECTION III: THEORETICAL AND DISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES ON THE STUDY OF INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONS; 11. The Social Network Perspective: Understanding the Structure of Cooperation; 12. Evolutionary Perspectives on Inter-Organizational Relations; 13. Transaction Costs Perspectives on Inter-Organizational Relations; 14. Critical Perspectives on Collaboration; 15. Managing Inter-Organizational Relations; 16. The Social Psychology of Inter-Organizational Relations; 17. Political Perspectives on Inter-Organizational Networks; 18. Perspectives on Inter-Organizational Relations in Economic Geography; 19. Legal Perspectives on Inter-Organizational Relations; SECTION IV: KEY TOPICS IN INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL RESEARCH; 20. Trust in Inter-Organizational Relations; 21. Inter-Organizational Power; 22. Social Capital; 23. Learning and Innovation in Inter-Organizational Relationships and Networks; 24. Dynamics, Temporality, and Change; 25. Intervening to Improve Inter-Organizational Partnerships; 26. Evaluating Inter-Organizational Relationships; SECTION V: CONCLUSION; 27. Conclusion