Collaborative capability of teams in network organizations

Abstract

In this paper, we present a study on collaborative capability of teams in three network organizations in Austria and Switzerland. So far, collaborative capability was mostly conceptualized on organizational or individual level as a set of attributes that actors employ to collaborate successfully. We found that this view of collaborative capability has to be enlarged. Collaborative capability of teams is characterized by at least two components: an attribute-based perspective that focuses on capabilities of single actors or organizations, and a perspective on group dynamics, that describes how teams develop collaborative capability. We discuss our findings with regard to the different organizational settings of the networks analyzed and the current literature on collaborative capability and network organizations. © 2009 IFIP.