Bardin, Luc; (2020) How Do Organisations Improve Cross-border Partnerships. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

By identifying consistent operational and cultural patterns, the thesis develops a cross-border cultural partnering model. With it, organisations can predict how cultural differences with their partner(s) might impact the development of their co-operations and proactively take measures to mitigate the risks and improve the outcome at each stage of the partnership maturation. Contribution to knowledge doesn’t fall into a specific area of theory but rather in those domains of knowledge – e.g. interorganisation, culture - which it integrates to provide a synthetical model on how cross-border partnerships can improve and therefore grow their positive role as an increasingly important form of cross-organisational structure. Real world observation intimates that strategic partnering has become integral to state and business affairs but is often a ‘hit and miss’ approach that fails or underperforms far more times than it succeeds – especially when practised across borders. Extensive scholarly literature exists on the essential and growing role of strategic partnerships – the why – and their manifestations and achievements – the what. But little is available on the ways they develop and the disciplines they require to perform well – the how. And there is no systematic approach to the considerable impact of national cultural differences, as they markedly amplify the risk and lead to quasi-systematic lower performance. Cases are countless, as some regions and countries are more or less predisposed to succeed in developing transformational partnerships. Hence culture fitness to partnering is a major strategic concern for firms, governments, NGOs and academic leadership. In application to Van de Ven’s ‘Engaged Scholarship’ research methodology, a ‘Pragmatist Integrative’ literature review approach was used to collect extensive data from literature and hundreds of practitioner cases. They were structured to determine: 1) the critical cultural traits to improve partnerships; 2) how they impact on the core partnering activities; 3) how some national cultural traits are fit – or less so – to the core partnering activities. Consistent patterns emerged, which enabled to form a cross-border cultural partnering modelled approach.

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