Coordination mechanisms in a collaboration of competitors

This is a descriptive case study of a multi-party partnership in the aerospace industry. It examined the complexities of new product development when co-development involved multiple parties crossing boundaries of functions, companies, countries and even competitors. This study contributes an exploration of the vertical and horizontal coordination mechanisms that strengthened links between multiple parties during simultaneous design activities on a new product startup. Among them were compelling goals, common processes, teams and knowledge transfer. It also identified barriers to innovation and information-sharing across organizational boundaries---especially when working with competitors. Through qualitative interviews, examples of collaborative work provided an illustration of the complex challenges in aligning a large, distributed, globally-integrated product team. Implications for practice and further research are also reviewed.