The question of how a service consumer and a service provider should collaborate with each other in a business-to-business (B2B) setting is an ongoing research issue. The concept of electronic Sourcing (eSourcing) has been proposed as an integral concept with the EU research project CrossWork. The properties of eSourcing are explored, however, the question arises how a service consumer and a pr...

Inter-organizational relationships are becoming an increasingly important source of competitive advantage and innovation. This study looks at these relationships in the context of inter-organizational R&D collaborations in the European automotive industry. Previous work led to the proposal of a competence based portfolio framework that explains the design of the inter-organizational architectur...

The paper presents a model for inter-organizational and interdisciplinary collaboration in ship design. Two case studies illustrate the application of this model in ship design practice. Case studies also demonstrate usage of two computer-based collaboration tools employed by a large design firm and a small one.

While inter-organizational information integration is believed to benefit supply chain management (SCM), prior studies have shown mixed results. Based on Organizational Information Processing Theory, we question this belief and highlight the importance of information technology (IT)-enabled collaborative decision making to deliver performance benefits and the contingency of the integration–coll...

Efficient knowledge and information transfer within as well across organizational boundaries are of a proven importance for survival growth firms. At the same time, however, on one hand, available organizations is not always used to its full capacity, at times considerable detriment involved. Furthermore, other despite recognized an efficient interorganizational transfer, many collaborations ha...

The specialization of activity within organizations can make it worthwhile to motivate collaboration efforts, but also makes such efforts less effective through coordination challenges. Drawing on the concepts of organizational differentiation and integration, we present a formal analysis of the manner in which these two consequences of specialization shape the effectiveness of collaborative in...

The application of the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies has the potential to reshape inter-organizational collaboration across industries. This study explores the influences of the use of IoT for information sharing in the steel industry networks. Shared data may have multiple uses, including optimization, integration, automatization, and adaptation of objects in their environments. To dat...

Inter-organizational collaboration requires systems interoperability which is not possible in the absence of common standards. However, empirical research has shown that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) standards can be a major barrier in the progress of Information Technology (IT)-enabled inter-organizational collaboration [1-3]. Though often portrayed as a narrow technical matte...

Outsourcing is the remedy for many enterprises to improve their efficiency. However, to be able to assess the potential of one’s own as well as the external providers’ services, detailed information about the IT infrastructure and services is needed. In currently predominant IT Service Management Frameworks the so-called Configuration Management process provides an information nexus that is imp...