Determinants and outcomes of interorganizational interaction in technological innovation

Innovation efforts in complex projects are often distributed among problem-solvers across organizational boundaries. Technological interdependence between two organizations in such projects arises from their reliance on each other for complementary resources and capabilities. How managers structure these projects and define the tasks can affect the level of interdependence between problem-solvers engaged in interlinked tasks, the subsequent need for interaction between them, and the efficiency and effectiveness of their interactions. Furthermore, these managerial choices can affect not only short-term project outcomes, such as quality, cost, and completion time, but also the evolution of new knowledge and problem-solving skills within each organization, and subsequent relationships and dependencies between the two organizations.;I examined the interorganizational interface between customers and suppliers of semiconductor components in three sequential phases of field research. An exploratory study of the technological context focused my investigation on interdependent problem-solving as a key mediating process. Subsequently, I examined the interorganizational engagement processes at four companies representing prevalent organizational forms in the industry. This phase of the study drew on 47 participants in 120 hours of interviews. The objective of these first two phases of the research was to develop a conceptual framework and generate hypotheses. Finally, twelve projects were selected at one firm, in order to study problem-solving interactions in depth. The intention was to validate the framework and crystallize the emergent hypotheses for follow-on research.;I find that projects are selected and structured in the context of existing and desired relationships, within the tension of short-term efficiencies and longer-term strategies. Due to these conflicting objectives, interaction needs between two organizations are not always facilitated by the existing infrastructure. High problem-solving interdependencies often require additional attention to task integration to support the need for interaction between problem-solvers. Managers create organizational solutions to facilitate these interactions. As problem-solvers interact, they create technical solutions that satisfy a project's objectives. However, these solutions are not always extendible beyond the relationship or the project.;The findings are used to formulate descriptive hypotheses and extended to prescribe the use of managerial levers to control the outcomes of custom product development projects.