Collaborating on the Edge of Failure
Julia Grimm, Assistant Professor of Management, Organisation and Society at Stockholm Business School and Juliane Reinecke, Professor of Management Studies at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford has published the article "Collaborating on the Edge of Failure: Frame Alignment Across Multiple Interaction Arenas in Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships" in the Academy of Management Journal, one of the most prestigious and highly ranked journals in organization and management studies.
Drawing on qualitative research methods, Julia Grimm studies multi-stakeholder partnerships, transnational governance, and social movements, all in the context of global supply chains and social and environmental sustainability issues. Julia’s research takes a process perspective and is grounded in framing and paradox theory.
Abstract "Collaborating on the Edge of Failure: Frame Alignment Across Multiple Interaction Arenas in Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships"
One of the greatest challenges of multi-stakeholder partnerships lies in forging a shared understanding and obtaining and sustaining commitment among parties representing different interests and goals. While studies have emphasized the importance of developing shared frames for enabling collaboration and collective action through frame alignment, scant attention has been paid to how stakeholder representatives can attain commitment from their constituents “back home” to frames negotiated on their behalf.
Our longitudinal process study explores how participants in the German Partnership for Sustainable Textiles successfully confronted the challenge of aligning frames across multiple interaction arenas, highlighting how failing to tackle this “two-table problem” can risk partnership collapse.
Our process model captures how back-and-forth interactions enabled the stretching of shared frames across interaction arenas, thereby propelling the partnership from near collapse to deepened commitments. While stretching frames heightens the risk of frame break, our analysis shows how such iterative ongoing efforts are essential for deepening commitments and advancing collaboration. We thus contribute to framing theory by highlighting how frame alignment can be achieved across multiple interaction arenas by “collaborating on the edge of failure.” We further contribute to scholarship on multiparty collaboration by unpacking the multi-table negotiation dynamics that help explain collaborative outcomes.
Last updated: December 20, 2023
Source: SBS