A knowledge-intensity-based collaborative community governing mechanism for inter-organisational HR collaborations

Abstract

Purpose – Studies of inter-organisational relationships have mainly investigated collaborations in the technical domain. There is considerably less research conducted in the field of inter-organisational collaborations in the domain of human resource management (HRM). At the same time, it is acknowledged that inter-organisational collaboration in this domain is relevant for organisations. By focusing on inter-organisational HR collaborations, this study provides insights into how these collaborations are governed, as well as how the mode of governance is explained. Design/methodology/approach – The paper relies on a quantitative study among 161 Dutch companies that collaborate with each other on HR-related issues. A measure of governance of inter-organisational HR collaboration is developed and applied. Findings – Organisations tend to apply a mixture of governance mechanisms to govern their inter-organisational HR collaborations. Hence, they apply a collaborative community type of governance to these HR collaborations. The analyses show that the level of knowledge intensity, in particular the extent to which the organisation applies organisational learning practices, explains the use of collaborative community. Originality/value – First, this study focuses on an under-researched field: inter-organisational HR collaborations. Secondly, the study extends existing insights into the governance of inter-organisational relationships by analysing a novel data set.

Keywords

• Inter-organisational human resource collaborations
• Governance
• Collaborative community
• Knowledge intensity