Creating relational capital through socialization in project alliances

Kirsi Aaltonen · Virpi Turkulainen

56 citations0/0 files storedInternational Journal of Operations & Production Management

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Quality and Supply Management Construction Project Management and Performance Innovation and Knowledge Management

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the understanding of socialization in the context of temporary operations and organizational settings, using project alliance – the most contemporary approach to the management of large and complex projects – as an example. In particular, the paper also assesses how informal and formal socialization mechanisms are used to facilitate relational capital in such a setting. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected by two case studies of complex infrastructure projects in a Northern European city. The analysis focuses on how socialization is managed across organizational interfaces within the alliance organization during the project tendering and development phase to create relational capital. Findings The findings indicate that significant emphasis is put on socialization in project alliances. However, while in the tendering phase both informal and formal socialization mechanisms are used to create relational capital; in the development phase informal socialization mechanisms are associated with higher levels of relational capital and formal socialization mechanisms are used to maintain the level of relational capital. Originality/value While operations and supply chain management research argues that socialization is critical to manage organizational interfaces and to create relational capital in buyer-supplier relationships, research has mainly focused on ongoing operations. This study complements the prior research by developing further insight into socialization in the context of temporary operations and organizational settings; such settings create a unique empirical context, posing different managerial challenges as the results also indicate.

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References

1998Social Capital, Intellectual Capital, and the Organizational Advantage 1997Social Structure and Competition in Interfirm Networks: The Paradox of Embeddedness 2002Case research in operations management 2000Knowledge flows within multinational corporations 2009The impact of supply chain integration on performance: A contingency and configuration approach 2000Learning and protection of proprietary assets in strategic alliances: building relational capital 1977Toward a theory of organizational socialization 1996Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research

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