A Local-State Government Spatial Data Sharing Partnership

Dimensions
Actors Lower ranking
members
(subordinates)
Chapter 3 – Collaboration, Partnerships and the Government Environment
Table 3.2 Collaboration Continuum (Dedekorkut 2004, p. 5)
Managed Coordination Strategies
Cooperation
Mutual
Adjustment
Alliance Corporate
Professionals or
staff members at
the supervisory
level
67
Administrators
(agency heads) or
professionals
Administrators
Formalisation No formal rules Few rules Negotiated rules High formality
Resources Minimal
resources
committed
Focus of
power
Focus of
control
Decentralised
power, largely
independent;
little threat to
autonomy
Informal trade
offs and
reciprocity in
the absence of
rules
Goals Vague,
individual
organisations’
goals
Few resources
committed
Decentralised
power but
interdependent
Reliance on
informal norms and
benefits for
agencies
Primary focus on
agency goals
Medium level of
resource
commitment
May or may not
use central
administrative unit
Interagency system
decisions may have
to be ratified
Agency goals and
collective goals
Resource
commitment high
Centralised power
Interagency
systems decide
regulations that
represent
collective interest
Collective goals
stressed
Wood and Gray (1991) identified that resource dependence, micro-economics and strategic
management theories are effective in explaining some of the preconditions and outcomes
of collaboration, but do not effectively describe the actual process of the collaboration.
Other theories such as political, institutional or negotiated order theories focus on process
but do not adequately examine the determinants or outcomes.
Economic Strategies
From an economic theory perspective, cooperative strategy is explained through a range of
theories including market-power theory, transaction-cost analysis, resource-base theory,
transaction-value theory and agency theory. Market-power theory is a strategy by which
firms attempt to improve their competitive success by securing stronger positions within
markets (Cousins 2001). A collaborative strategy may provide a mutually beneficial
opportunity for organisations to modify the position that they occupy within the industry
and enable them to increase their market power (Child et al. 2005). This strategy may be
initiated through either an offensive or defensive coalition. The offensive coalition is
intended to develop and extend the competitive advantage of that organisation whilst the
defensive coalition would seek to stabilise a position to reduce a declining market.
Market-power theory provides several useful insights into the initiation of collaborations.
However, the theory does not readily explain the processes through which co-operative