دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی همکاری حکمرانی در پروژه های پیچیده - امرالد 2017

Abstract

Purpose – Inter-organisational collaboration is becoming increasingly important in complex projects; some project customers even formally require evidence of collaborative competence from potential providers. The purpose of this paper is to explore the governance of collaboration and the ways in which it is enacted in practice for complex projects. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a qualitative analysis of 29 semi-structured interviews, primary data from meetings and events supported by secondary data, including standards and industry-specific contract templates. Findings – The paper identifies how collaboration can be effectively governed in complex projects through the emerging role of the collaboration standard and its impact on contractual and relational governance mechanisms. The standard sets higher-level institutional guidelines that affect the way in which collaboration is governed in complex projects. It helps formalise informal relational practices whilst also providing guidelines for building flexibility in contracts by including coordination- and adaptation-oriented provisions conducive to collaboration. Originality/value – The paper demonstrates the emerging role of the collaboration standard and its influence on contractual and relational mechanisms deployed in complex projects. It shows how the standard can formalise and codify informal collaborative practices and help transfer related learning across projects, thereby contributing towards the dual requirement for standardisation and flexibility in project settings.

5. Discussion and conclusions

This section discusses the main findings by means of three working propositions that stress the emerging role of collaboration standards and their impact on contractual and relational governance mechanisms in complex projects. It also elucidates research and managerial contributions as well as limitations and avenues for further research.

5.1 Discussion

This study provides new insights regarding the governance of collaboration in complex projects, especially about the emerging role of standards. The extant literature stresses the ability to collaborate effectively and develop related norms in project settings (e.g. Davies et al., 2016). Developing shared collaboration norms amongst project partners requires significant time, which poses challenges in the context of time-limited projects (DeFillippi and Sydow, 2016; Jones et al., 1997). The findings highlight the importance of the collaboration standard ISO 44001, the adoption of which may even constitute a prerequisite for tendering for complex projects. The study shows that the adoption of the collaboration standard and the pre-contract evaluation of project partners’ collaborative competence have emerged as specific responses to prior performance failures associated with competitive bidding and the resulting fragmented, adversarial relationships (e.g. Egan Report, 1998; Government Construction Strategy, 2016).