Inter-organizational collaboration

INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL COLLABORATION A KEY TO SUCCESS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION... 

Power is generally referred to the power holder s abihty to control or influence another, the target, or to get the target to do something that s/he would not do otherwise (Emerson, 1962). In the context of inter-organizational collaboration, Dahl defines power as the firm s capacity to influence changes of another firm, which is dependent on the firm s resources. Similarly, Weitz and Jap (1995) define power as the degree to which one party can influence another party to undertake an action that the other party would not have done. 

One of the primary incentives for inter-firm collaboration is organizational learning. Powell Koput (1996) succinctly indicate the motive for these linkages Research breakthroughs demand a range of intellectual and scientific skills that far exceed the capabilities of any one organization. As knowledge is brokered across institutional frames, opportunities for creativity and recombinant innovation are dramatically enabled ... 

Figure 13.1. Inter-firm collaboration as a mechanism of organizational growth.

We have posited that trust and power are positively related to the firm s predisposition to share information and know-how. As trust reduces the complexity and uncertainty associated with the powerful partner s actions, it makes the firm confident about the collaboration and inclined to be influeneed by the partner (Andaleeb, 1995 Dwyer et al., 1987). Hence, trust serves to facilitate the effects of power on the firm s predisposition to share information and know-how. The moderating role of trust is not new, but it has received scant attention fi om researchers in inter-organizational relationships. 

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