Call for papers: "Inter-Organisational Networks: Towards Linking Individual, Organisational and Global Phenomena"

For a special issue of the Global Business and Economics Review.

Inter-organisational networks (IONs) have been one of the fastest developing topics in management science over last two decades. However, this construct affects not only organisational phenomena, but also influences global economy (e.g. the role of transnational corporations) on the one hand, while on the other is influenced by the impact of global factors.

Therefore, IONs realm encompasses phenomena at multi-ontological, epistemological, and methodological levels. Specifically, it reflects micro- (e.g. role of managers in establishing and retaining the network, the micro-foundations of network relationships), meso- (e.g. the role of top management teams), macro- (e.g. internal constituents of node network organisations, i.e. strategies, structures, shared values, etc.), and global (e.g. economic factors contributing to either facilitate or inhibit inter-organisational networks functioning) levels of analysis. Admittedly, it might involve a multi-level methodological approach.

Most scholars focus mostly on the advantages and benefits of participating in inter-organisational networks or on their influence on the global economy. However, too little attention has been paid to constraints and limitations of inter-organisational networks membership. Consequently, it calls for further discussions about all micro, macro, and global consequences (also negative ones) of cooperation and/or competition within the inter-organisational networks.

The objective of this special issue is to identify and discuss both positive and negative implications of inter-organisational networks, especially their associations with the micro-foundations of network relationships (micro level), teams (meso level), internal elements of node network organisations (macro level) as well as with the mechanisms of developing IONs and their role in global economy (global level).

We invite conceptual, methodological, and empirical papers using wide-range approaches, however, research results submitted should explicitly apply a network paradigm as a generative lens to theorise and empirically examine both economics and management issues considering whether, how and why the phenomena of particular levels (separately or jointly) matter in the process of network cooperation/coopetition, as well as under what circumstances they are likely to be beneficial or inhibitory in terms of network survival, particular network members effectiveness, and economic growth.

Suitable topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Micro-, meso-, macro-, and global antecedents and mechanisms of establishing and developing inter-organisational networks and their life cycles
• Consequences of inter-organisational network membership in terms of financial and non-financial performance of both node organisations and whole IONs as well as other advantages and disadvantages of inter-organisational network membership (micro, meso, macro, and global level), e.g. the influence of network membership on strategies, structures, and organisational culture of node organisations; addiction to the inter-organisational networks; coopetition and co-specialisation
• Position and power within inter-organisational networks and its impact on network and network organisations performance (financial and non-financial)
• The role of IONs in global economy and their influence on economic growth
• Research methodology (quantitative, qualitative, mix-methods research, multi-level approach) due to examining inter-organisational networks

Important Dates

Manuscripts due by: 31 December, 2017
Notification to authors: 28 February, 2018
Final versions due by: 30 April, 2018