Coordination Strategies for Interorganizational Networks: A Strategic Framework Based on Network Structure

This monograph presents a framework for the formulation of coordination strategies in interorganizational networks. The framework builds on the hypothesis that effective coordination strategies are contingent to bargaining power and trust exposures in the network. In turn, these characteristics are strongly impacted by the formal structure of the network. As a consequence, buyer-supplier relationships ask for different strategic directions compared to strategic alliances or project networks. The proposed framework is two-tier with strategies on the collective network level and on the level of the individual firm. After describing the essential elements of the framework, the authors also apply their findings to a specific case study in German health care.