International Journal of Operations & Production Management
PurposeThis study aims to further the understanding of multi-level analysis in inter-organisation... more PurposeThis study aims to further the understanding of multi-level analysis in inter-organisational relationships by investigating the interplay of governance, cooperation and coordination in inter-organisational projects (IOPs) on sub-system and project levels.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the Viable Systems Model as a framework to analyse inter-organisational project governance, cooperation and coordination by adopting a multiple-case study.FindingsThe findings illustrate how governance and coordination mechanisms exhibit a filter-down effect on lower sub-systems while cooperation influence is confined within each sub-system. While remarking the importance of specific sub-systems on the overall project performance, the interplay of governance, cooperation and coordination across sub-systems appears to be complex, with governance influencing cooperation and coordination, whereas cooperation and coordination influence each other with an incremental effect.Originality/va...
The trend in the outsourcing of services is gathering pace. This presents significant challenges ... more The trend in the outsourcing of services is gathering pace. This presents significant challenges for purchasing professionals. The management of these complex interactions is crucial to their on-going success, yet there is little guidance on what facilitates or indeed inhibits the effective and efficient management of these service interactions. We address this problem through applying the theoretical lens of social capital to understand the complexities of this process. We conduct a qualitative study of five service outsourcing triads of various levels of complexity and relationship length, embedded in the context of a multinational bank. We contribute to the debate on service outsourcing triads by examining how geographical scope, service complexity and the length of the relationship influence the management of social capital. Secondly, we explore the concept of social capital dissonance in service-outsourcing triads and examine how it affects the sourcing and service performance....
The Oxford Handbook of Supply Chain Management, 2020
Contracts are a formal mode of governing interorganizational relationships. They specify the term... more Contracts are a formal mode of governing interorganizational relationships. They specify the terms and conditions of the agreement between two parties, interpret and adapt the relevant legal and industrial norms, serve as framing devices, and establish the rules and norms underpinning the relationship. The objective of this chapter is to synthesize the extant literature on interorganizational contracting to guide future research and practice. This chapter focuses on the three phases of contracting: (1) designing the contracting portfolio; (2) negotiating initial contracts; and (3) managing the relationship using contracts. The chapter explores the key decisions in each phase and the criteria involved in making these decisions. In doing so, it draws on existing research and theoretical frameworks that have contributed to the development of the contracting literature. The chapter also identifies some important and interesting directions for future contracting research and offers sugge...
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 2020
Purpose This paper aims to investigate governance in service triads, specifically studying signif... more Purpose This paper aims to investigate governance in service triads, specifically studying significant steering and connecting coordination failures, to reveal typically hidden characteristics and consequences. Design/methodology/approach This study focuses on coordination functions and activities between a buyer (a government department), a customer (a military service) and two service providers. Rich data on these normally confidential service ties are drawn from an official report into the causes of a fatal accident involving a UK reconnaissance aircraft and specifically from the evidence presented regarding the earlier development of its complex safety case. The authors also analysed a range of additional secondary data sources. Findings The authors examine the sources, drivers and manifestation of coordination failures. The authors uncover a series of coordination failures driven from the bridge position, revealing that while bounded rationality and opportunism influenced steer...
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 2021
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate governance in service triads, specifically studying signif... more Purpose This paper aims to investigate governance in service triads, specifically studying significant steering and connecting coordination failures, to reveal typically hidden characteristics and consequences.
Design/methodology/approach This study focuses on coordination functions and activities between a buyer (a government department), a customer (a military service) and two service providers. Rich data on these normally confidential service ties are drawn from an official report into the causes of a fatal accident involving a UK reconnaissance aircraft and specifically from the evidence presented regarding the earlier development of its complex safety case. The authors also analysed a range of additional secondary data sources.
Findings The authors examine the sources, drivers and manifestation of coordination failures. The authors uncover a series of coordination failures driven from the bridge position, revealing that while bounded rationality and opportunism influenced steering coordination failures, connecting coordination failures were associated with knowledge asymmetry, dyadic inertia and unethical practices.
Practical implications Organisations and governments delivering complex projects and knowledge-intensive professional services should guard against outsourcing the “coordination” activity to a third party, thereby relinquishing the bridge position. Handing over the bridge position to an integrator would leave the client vulnerable to coordination dysfunctions such as bounded rationality, opportunism, knowledge asymmetry, dyadic inertia and unethical practices.
Originality/value The study links the previously separate research streams of service triads and inter-organizational coordination. While extant research pays attention to mainly positive control functions, this study focuses on all three actors in two (failed) service triads – and highlights the impact of coordination activities and failures.
Although the concepts of relational and contractual governance in inter-organizational relationsh... more Although the concepts of relational and contractual governance in inter-organizational relationships have attracted academic and practitioner interest over the last decades, to date there have been limited comprehensive and systematic efforts to review, analyse and synthesise extant literature. We review and analyse 1,415 publications identified from a wide range of management disciplines and journals from 1990 to 2018. We deploy bibliographic and content analyses to offer a comprehensive literature analysis and synthesis and subsequently develop and position a multidimensional framework of exchange governance. The proposed framework covers existing conceptualisations of exchange governance and its diverse mechanisms, environmental dimensions influencing the use of exchange governance mechanisms and performance implications. We uncover areas that are currently under-studied and draw out fruitful future research avenues.
The Oxford Handbook of Supply Chain Management, 2020
Contracts are a formal mode of governing inter-organizational relationships. They specify the ter... more Contracts are a formal mode of governing inter-organizational relationships. They specify the terms and conditions of the agreement between two parties, interpret and adapt the relevant legal and industrial norms, serve as framing devices and establish the rules and norms underpinning the relationship. The objective of this chapter is to synthesize the extant literature on inter-organizational contracting to guide future research and practice. In this chapter, we focus on the three phases of contracting: (i) designing the contracting portfolio; (ii) negotiating initial contracts; and (iii) managing the relationship using contracts. We explore the key decisions in each of these phases, and the criteria involved in making these decisions. In doing this, we draw on existing research and theoretical frameworks that have contributed to the development of the contracting literature. We also identify some important and interesting directions for future contracting research, and offer suggestions regarding how selected theoretical lenses might guide these endeavors. Our principal conclusion is that while the existing research has primarily focused on the structural issues guiding contracting design, a more processual, social, and behavior focus is required in future developments of the contracting literature.
International Journal of Operations & Production Management
PurposeThis study aims to further the understanding of multi-level analysis in inter-organisation... more PurposeThis study aims to further the understanding of multi-level analysis in inter-organisational relationships by investigating the interplay of governance, cooperation and coordination in inter-organisational projects (IOPs) on sub-system and project levels.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the Viable Systems Model as a framework to analyse inter-organisational project governance, cooperation and coordination by adopting a multiple-case study.FindingsThe findings illustrate how governance and coordination mechanisms exhibit a filter-down effect on lower sub-systems while cooperation influence is confined within each sub-system. While remarking the importance of specific sub-systems on the overall project performance, the interplay of governance, cooperation and coordination across sub-systems appears to be complex, with governance influencing cooperation and coordination, whereas cooperation and coordination influence each other with an incremental effect.Originality/va...
The trend in the outsourcing of services is gathering pace. This presents significant challenges ... more The trend in the outsourcing of services is gathering pace. This presents significant challenges for purchasing professionals. The management of these complex interactions is crucial to their on-going success, yet there is little guidance on what facilitates or indeed inhibits the effective and efficient management of these service interactions. We address this problem through applying the theoretical lens of social capital to understand the complexities of this process. We conduct a qualitative study of five service outsourcing triads of various levels of complexity and relationship length, embedded in the context of a multinational bank. We contribute to the debate on service outsourcing triads by examining how geographical scope, service complexity and the length of the relationship influence the management of social capital. Secondly, we explore the concept of social capital dissonance in service-outsourcing triads and examine how it affects the sourcing and service performance....
The Oxford Handbook of Supply Chain Management, 2020
Contracts are a formal mode of governing interorganizational relationships. They specify the term... more Contracts are a formal mode of governing interorganizational relationships. They specify the terms and conditions of the agreement between two parties, interpret and adapt the relevant legal and industrial norms, serve as framing devices, and establish the rules and norms underpinning the relationship. The objective of this chapter is to synthesize the extant literature on interorganizational contracting to guide future research and practice. This chapter focuses on the three phases of contracting: (1) designing the contracting portfolio; (2) negotiating initial contracts; and (3) managing the relationship using contracts. The chapter explores the key decisions in each phase and the criteria involved in making these decisions. In doing so, it draws on existing research and theoretical frameworks that have contributed to the development of the contracting literature. The chapter also identifies some important and interesting directions for future contracting research and offers sugge...
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 2020
Purpose This paper aims to investigate governance in service triads, specifically studying signif... more Purpose This paper aims to investigate governance in service triads, specifically studying significant steering and connecting coordination failures, to reveal typically hidden characteristics and consequences. Design/methodology/approach This study focuses on coordination functions and activities between a buyer (a government department), a customer (a military service) and two service providers. Rich data on these normally confidential service ties are drawn from an official report into the causes of a fatal accident involving a UK reconnaissance aircraft and specifically from the evidence presented regarding the earlier development of its complex safety case. The authors also analysed a range of additional secondary data sources. Findings The authors examine the sources, drivers and manifestation of coordination failures. The authors uncover a series of coordination failures driven from the bridge position, revealing that while bounded rationality and opportunism influenced steer...
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 2021
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate governance in service triads, specifically studying signif... more Purpose This paper aims to investigate governance in service triads, specifically studying significant steering and connecting coordination failures, to reveal typically hidden characteristics and consequences.
Design/methodology/approach This study focuses on coordination functions and activities between a buyer (a government department), a customer (a military service) and two service providers. Rich data on these normally confidential service ties are drawn from an official report into the causes of a fatal accident involving a UK reconnaissance aircraft and specifically from the evidence presented regarding the earlier development of its complex safety case. The authors also analysed a range of additional secondary data sources.
Findings The authors examine the sources, drivers and manifestation of coordination failures. The authors uncover a series of coordination failures driven from the bridge position, revealing that while bounded rationality and opportunism influenced steering coordination failures, connecting coordination failures were associated with knowledge asymmetry, dyadic inertia and unethical practices.
Practical implications Organisations and governments delivering complex projects and knowledge-intensive professional services should guard against outsourcing the “coordination” activity to a third party, thereby relinquishing the bridge position. Handing over the bridge position to an integrator would leave the client vulnerable to coordination dysfunctions such as bounded rationality, opportunism, knowledge asymmetry, dyadic inertia and unethical practices.
Originality/value The study links the previously separate research streams of service triads and inter-organizational coordination. While extant research pays attention to mainly positive control functions, this study focuses on all three actors in two (failed) service triads – and highlights the impact of coordination activities and failures.
Although the concepts of relational and contractual governance in inter-organizational relationsh... more Although the concepts of relational and contractual governance in inter-organizational relationships have attracted academic and practitioner interest over the last decades, to date there have been limited comprehensive and systematic efforts to review, analyse and synthesise extant literature. We review and analyse 1,415 publications identified from a wide range of management disciplines and journals from 1990 to 2018. We deploy bibliographic and content analyses to offer a comprehensive literature analysis and synthesis and subsequently develop and position a multidimensional framework of exchange governance. The proposed framework covers existing conceptualisations of exchange governance and its diverse mechanisms, environmental dimensions influencing the use of exchange governance mechanisms and performance implications. We uncover areas that are currently under-studied and draw out fruitful future research avenues.
The Oxford Handbook of Supply Chain Management, 2020
Contracts are a formal mode of governing inter-organizational relationships. They specify the ter... more Contracts are a formal mode of governing inter-organizational relationships. They specify the terms and conditions of the agreement between two parties, interpret and adapt the relevant legal and industrial norms, serve as framing devices and establish the rules and norms underpinning the relationship. The objective of this chapter is to synthesize the extant literature on inter-organizational contracting to guide future research and practice. In this chapter, we focus on the three phases of contracting: (i) designing the contracting portfolio; (ii) negotiating initial contracts; and (iii) managing the relationship using contracts. We explore the key decisions in each of these phases, and the criteria involved in making these decisions. In doing this, we draw on existing research and theoretical frameworks that have contributed to the development of the contracting literature. We also identify some important and interesting directions for future contracting research, and offer suggestions regarding how selected theoretical lenses might guide these endeavors. Our principal conclusion is that while the existing research has primarily focused on the structural issues guiding contracting design, a more processual, social, and behavior focus is required in future developments of the contracting literature.
Uploads
Papers by Jas Kalra
This paper aims to investigate governance in service triads, specifically studying significant steering and connecting coordination failures, to reveal typically hidden characteristics and consequences.
Design/methodology/approach
This study focuses on coordination functions and activities between a buyer (a government department), a customer (a military service) and two service providers. Rich data on these normally confidential service ties are drawn from an official report into the causes of a fatal accident involving a UK reconnaissance aircraft and specifically from the evidence presented regarding the earlier development of its complex safety case. The authors also analysed a range of additional secondary data sources.
Findings
The authors examine the sources, drivers and manifestation of coordination failures. The authors uncover a series of coordination failures driven from the bridge position, revealing that while bounded rationality and opportunism influenced steering coordination failures, connecting coordination failures were associated with knowledge asymmetry, dyadic inertia and unethical practices.
Practical implications
Organisations and governments delivering complex projects and knowledge-intensive professional services should guard against outsourcing the “coordination” activity to a third party, thereby relinquishing the bridge position. Handing over the bridge position to an integrator would leave the client vulnerable to coordination dysfunctions such as bounded rationality, opportunism, knowledge asymmetry, dyadic inertia and unethical practices.
Originality/value
The study links the previously separate research streams of service triads and inter-organizational coordination. While extant research pays attention to mainly positive control functions, this study focuses on all three actors in two (failed) service triads – and highlights the impact of coordination activities and failures.
Books by Jas Kalra
This paper aims to investigate governance in service triads, specifically studying significant steering and connecting coordination failures, to reveal typically hidden characteristics and consequences.
Design/methodology/approach
This study focuses on coordination functions and activities between a buyer (a government department), a customer (a military service) and two service providers. Rich data on these normally confidential service ties are drawn from an official report into the causes of a fatal accident involving a UK reconnaissance aircraft and specifically from the evidence presented regarding the earlier development of its complex safety case. The authors also analysed a range of additional secondary data sources.
Findings
The authors examine the sources, drivers and manifestation of coordination failures. The authors uncover a series of coordination failures driven from the bridge position, revealing that while bounded rationality and opportunism influenced steering coordination failures, connecting coordination failures were associated with knowledge asymmetry, dyadic inertia and unethical practices.
Practical implications
Organisations and governments delivering complex projects and knowledge-intensive professional services should guard against outsourcing the “coordination” activity to a third party, thereby relinquishing the bridge position. Handing over the bridge position to an integrator would leave the client vulnerable to coordination dysfunctions such as bounded rationality, opportunism, knowledge asymmetry, dyadic inertia and unethical practices.
Originality/value
The study links the previously separate research streams of service triads and inter-organizational coordination. While extant research pays attention to mainly positive control functions, this study focuses on all three actors in two (failed) service triads – and highlights the impact of coordination activities and failures.