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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the available insights regarding interorganizational network evolution. The research questions being addressed are as follows: What is the nature of interorganizational network evolution? And what causes interorganizational network evolution? The review hence focuses on the nature of interorganizational network evolution (at the ego-network level and whole-network level) and the causes of interorganizational network evolution (firm-related causes and environmental causes). This paper highlights relevant gaps in the existing literature on interorganizational network evolution while outlining a research agenda by identifying key research questions and issues requiring further scholarly contributions to stimulate research in this field. Design/methodology/approach An extensive review of scholarly peer-reviewed English language journal articles was conducted in the subject areas of economics, sociology, business and management (including entrepreneurship) while excluding articles in the domain areas of computer science that dealt with computer networks and the health field that addressed neural networks to obtain articles on interorganizational network evolution for the period 1970-2019. Various journal databases such as EBSCO, ScienceDirect (Elsevier), Emerald, JSTOR and ABI/INFORM and Ebook Central on ProQuest were used to extract relevant articles using specific keywords. Findings To better understand this phenomenon of interorganizational network evolution, there is a need for future studies to focus on the less researched areas such as the “nature of evolution” of EINR1, EINR3 and EINR4 and the “causes of evolution” of FRC3, FRC5, FRC7 and FRC8. Further, over the years, in comparison to the evolution of interorganizational network relationships (EINR), fewer works have considered the evolution of overall interorganizational network structure (EINS). The research studies on environmental causes (EC) have been less in number in comparison to firm related causes (FRC), and this could be an area for further research. Also, studies on interorganizational network evolution have not examined the impact of FRC1 on EINR 3 and only a few studies have examined the impact of FRC1 on EINR1 and EINR4. Less attention has been given to the impact of FRC2 on EINR1, EINR3, EINR4 and EINS. Additionally, the impact of FRC3 on EINR1, EINR3 and EINS needs more in-depth examination. The impact of FRC4 on EINR4; FRC5 on EINR1, EINR2 and EINR4; FRC6 on EINR1 and EINS; and FRC7 and FRC8 on all forms of “nature of interorganizational network evolution” requires more research work. Finally, the impact of EC on EINR3 and EINR4 is also a less researched stream in the literature needing more scholarly contribution to better understand the phenomenon under consideration in this study. Some of the least explored theoretical lenses and relevant questions that can be addressed using these lenses to advance research on network evolution have also been discussed. Originality/value The main contribution of this paper is that it provides a comprehensive literature review, collating the dispersed knowledge on interorganizational network evolution – nature of evolution and causes of evolution, identifying areas that require further research attention for the development of this domain.

This study examines how the joint use of integrators and contracts either enables or hampers coordination and, in turn, the performance of interorganizational project networks. Using extensive qualitative analyses and sociometric techniques, we investigated coordination among organizations during seven small- and medium-sized building projects. Our longitudinal study reveals how integrators develop connecting functions that, together with contracts’ steering functions, largely drive coordination dynamics. Further data analyses provide insight into how coordination hinges on the prevalence of connecting or steering, which may more or less fit with coordination needs in various project phases. Given these findings, we theorize the contingent nature of the interplay between the use of integrators and contracts throughout projects. Our findings are integrated into a process model of how coordination trajectories lead to different performance levels of interorganizational project networks. Our study has theoretical implications for the literature on project-based organizing and, more broadly, the literature on interorganizational coordination. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2017.1151 .

Literature on platform governance is focused on keystone organizations that exclusively own a platform and control its complementors and users. However, emerging network-driven platform ecosystems—such as European data spaces—represent a shift in focus by allowing stakeholders to share platform ownership and decision rights. To investigate this emerging phenomenon, we conduct a qualitative-explorative case study, interviewing 32 representatives of Catena-X, a European data space in the automotive industry. To conceptually grasp the co-development and management of network-driven platform ecosystems, we employ a network governance perspective as the theoretical lens. We contribute to platform governance literature with (1) a conceptualization of shared platform ownership recognizing the dichotomy of inner and outer governance, and (2) a process model and a conceptual model of an interorganizational network governing the emergence of a platform ecosystem.

ABSTRACT Objective: this study aims to analyze the interactional dynamics of extension, interaction, and internalization in the process of interorganizational learning (IOL) in organizations belonging to the same strategic interorganizational network. Methods: a qualitative and exploratory case study was conducted in an interorganizational network with a longevity of more than 15 years, composed of public and private legal organizations. Data were collected through meetings, interviews, and document analysis. Thematic analysis was used to examine the data, resulting in five major themes (learning episodes, extension, interaction, internalization, and network). Results: the findings show that extension occurs at the organizational level, preparing the organization to participate in the network. Interactions occur at the interorganizational level and focus on knowledge sharing. Finally, internalization at the organizational level seeks to apply this new knowledge. Conclusions: the study contributes to research on IOL by discussing the connection between dynamics and their interdependencies. In addition, it confirms the existence of the interorganizational level (expansion of the 4i framework), adding the processes of openness, sharing, and change to IOL research.

Purpose Currently, lifelong learning and sustainable employability are increasingly fostered in the context of interorganizational networks, which provide workers with access to network activities (e.g., training, career counseling). This study aims to investigate the relationship between workers’ participation in network activities and their sustainable employability by considering workers’ experiences with the network activities. This study also examines the role of relational factors, including network trust and leader-member exchange, as conditions that may influence the link between workers’ participation in network activities and their sustainable employability (i.e. workability, perceived employability and vitality). Design/methodology/approach This study has a mixed methods design. A quantitative approach (cross-sectional, questionnaire) was used to establish associations between variables. This approach was supplemented with qualitative data (semistructured interviews) to explore whether Self-Determination Theory can provide an explanation for the associations and the role of (relational) factors that workers perceive as hindering or facilitating in that process. Findings The results suggest that participating in network activities have promising benefits for both workers and organizations by facilitating the work ability and perceived employability components of sustainable employability. For these relationships, workers’ satisfaction of their need for competency and relatedness serves as explanatory mechanisms. Moreover, the actualization of benefits of network activities is influenced by relational factors both within the network (i.e. trust) and within organizations (i.e. leader-member exchange). Originality/value This study investigates workers’ experiences with network activities, regarding fostering workers’ sustainable employability, and the role of relational factors. Specifically, it considers Human Resource Management practices from a network-level perspective, which is currently understudied. By doing so, this study adds a unique perspective to the Human Resource Management, sustainable employability and career literature streams.

Research Summary In ecosystems, tensions between value creation and appropriation can arise when complementors form relationships with a partner that benefits from network effects. While creating value collectively, these relationships strengthen the network effects, which increase the partner's ability to appropriate value. We posit that complementors strategize their product offerings to benefit from the relationship with the partner while preserving bargaining power by keeping relationships with other partners as outside options. We examine book publishers' product portfolios in the Amazon Kindle e‐book and the printed book ecosystems. Our results illuminate specific product offering decisions by large publishers that are more protective of the printed book ecosystem and less conducive to Kindle's success. This research adds to the literature on interorganizational relationships, platform ecosystems, and managing digital innovations. Managerial Summary How do book publishers deal with Amazon? This paper compares book publishers' product offerings on Amazon's Kindle digital platform and in the physical print channel. We find that publishers offer high demand products as e‐books on Kindle to benefit from logistics savings. Yet, relative to small publishers, large publishers product decisions that support Kindle less, such as withholding some of their greatest revenue generating books. Such decisions could both limit Kindle's attractiveness to the consumers and preserve the economic viability of the print channel as an outside option. These findings improve our understanding of how companies can leverage their product portfolios to both benefit from digital technology efficiencies and maintain their bargaining power vis‐à‐vis digital platforms.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation's Spark Together for Healthy Kids™ (Spark) is a multiyear initiative in Ontario, Canada, that takes a population approach to obesity prevention. It focuses on creating healthy environments by improving access to healthy foods and physical activity, with an emphasis on strengthening the advocacy capacity of organizations and citizens. Consistent with the complexity of the intervention, the evaluation of Spark applied systems concepts and methods to test the utility of network analysis as a method for evaluation, and to inform collaborations of organizations involved in programs and advocacy. Relationships among organizations from different sectors and jurisdictional levels with a focus on school community environments were of particular interest. Interorganizational network analysis was used to understand these relationships, including the role of the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Findings revealed a niche brokering role for the Heart and Stroke Foundation and other provincial and national organizations, and the importance of these brokers for engaging local and regional organizations. Findings also reinforced the importance of a mixed methods approach to network analysis, and the potential value of the analysis for scientific and practical purposes.

Organizations create networks with one another, and these networks may in turn shape the organizations involved. Until recently, such complex dynamic processes could not be rigorously empirically analyzed because of a lack of suitable modeling and validation methods. Using stochastic actor-oriented models and unique longitudinal survey data on the changing structure of interfirm production networks in the automotive industry in Japan, this paper illustrates how to quantitatively assess and validate (1) the dynamic micro-mechanism by which organizations form their networks and (2) the role of the dynamic network structures in organizational performance. The applied model helps to explain the endogenous processes behind the recent diversification of Japanese automobile production networks. Specifically, testing the effects of network topology and network diffusion on organizational performance, the novel modeling framework enables us to discern that the restructuring of interorganizational networks led to the increase of Japanese automakers’ production per employee, and not the reverse. Traditional models that do not allow for interaction between interorganizational structure and organizational agency misrepresent this mechanism.

Using U.S. venture capital investment data from 1985 to 2008 and qualitative interviews, we examine how group dynamics influence the growth of inter-organizational collaborations through the addition of new members. We argue that group dynamics that develop among members in a collaboration, as well as between each member and prospective newcomers, influence which new members join existing collaborations. For prospective newcomers, we distinguish between their depth of embeddedness, the strength of a prospective newcomer’s past relationships with any incumbent member of the collaboration, and breadth of embeddedness, the proportion of incumbent members with which the newcomer has had prior ties. For incumbent members, we examine network faultlines, or subgroups in their collaboration, that may lead to power struggles. We find that when strong network faultlines exist, the depth and breadth of a prospective newcomer’s embeddedness will have different influences on its likelihood of joining the collaboration: A newcomer with greater depth of embeddedness with the collaboration may be perceived to influence power dynamics in the group, leading to lower likelihood of joining, whereas a newcomer with greater breadth may not suffer the same liability. We also find that newcomers with greater depth benefit from the status of their strongest tie in the collaboration, and newcomers with greater breadth are more desirable partners when they are more experienced. Overall, our results highlight the mechanisms of anticipated power distribution and mediation as overlooked concerns in member additions to collaborations, especially when there is conflict.