How can collaboration deliver? A structurational approach to understanding collaboration process and effectiveness

Abstract

This study examines how a collaboration's internal and external factors interact over time and how the interactions affect the collaboration's process and effectiveness. Using a process-oriented case study, we examine how a voluntary collaboration that had made marginal gains over several years demonstrated significant progress during the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Drawing on strong structuration theory, we explore the collaboration's internal efforts, changes in the broader environment, and the interplay between them. Our findings reveal that collaboration's internal efforts and external environment enable and constrain each other, which shapes the collaboration's process and effectiveness. Based on these findings, we contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the collaboration process and effectiveness by (1) using a strong structurational approach to demonstrate processual mechanics of connecting processes and structures in collaboration, and (2) highlighting the emergent nature of collaboration and the importance of learning and adaptability for an effective and sustainable collaboration.