Title: Managing and organising collaborative improvement: a system integrator perspective

Authors: Rick Middel, Olaf Fisscher, Aard Groen

Addresses: Department of Operation, Organization and Human Resources, School of Business, Public Administration and Technology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, Enschede, The Netherlands. ' Department of Operation, Organization and Human Resources, School of Business, Public Administration and Technology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, Enschede, The Netherlands. ' NIKOS, Dutch Institute for Knowledge Intensive Entrepreneurship and Department of Strategic Market Oriented and International Management, School of Business, Public Administration and Technology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, Enschede, The Netherlands

Abstract: More than ever, companies are challenged to improve their performance and respond quickly and accurately to changes within the market. Because of external dynamics, competition is moving towards the level of networks of organisations, and thus the individual firm is an inadequate entity for identifying improvements. The concept of continuous improvement must be applied and used in inter-organisational settings, leading to the concept of collaborative improvement. In order to gain an insight and develop knowledge of the process of collaborative improvement from a system integrator perspective, we use the network model of actors. This paper will discuss some empirical findings on the scope, scale, skill and value, and social networking of collaborative improvement as part of the network model.

Keywords: collaborative improvement; continuous improvement; action research; system integrators; network model.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2007.012259

International Journal of Technology Management, 2007 Vol.37 No.3/4, pp.221 - 236

Published online: 02 Feb 2007 *

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