TY - BOOK AU - Donald Neumann PY - 2012 CY - Berlin, Germany PB - Peter Lang Verlag SN - 9783653020267 TI - Collaborative Systems T2 - A Systems Theoretical Approach to Interorganizational Collaborative Relationships DO - 10.3726/978-3-653-02026-7 UR - https://www.peterlang.com/document/1046191 N2 - High failure rates often observed in practice suggest that interorganizational collaborative relationships, e.g. strategic alliances, collaborative networks and collaborative supply chains, are still not well understood. This work contributes to their understanding by focusing on their nature. Based on second-order cybernetics and social systems theory, a novel model of interorganizational collaborative relationships is proposed: the Collaborative System. This model explains the following: the organizational function of these relationships; their nature and structure; their emergence and evolution; and the high failure rates observed in practice. Obeying the requirements of a good theory, the proposed model sheds new light on the understanding, research and practice of collaboration. KW - strategic alliances, networks, supply chains LA - English ER -