Sandra G.L. Schruijer and Petru Lucian Curseu
This paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of what collaborative leadership in interorganizational systems entails.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of what collaborative leadership in interorganizational systems entails.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical basis consists of the dynamics observed during two behavioral simulations involving seven stakeholders with managers and professionals as participants, dealing with a complex regional development issue.
Findings
The authors describe what functions collaborative leadership in multiparty collaboration serve by discussing relevant literature and introducing a system psychodynamic perspective on leadership that focuses on the emerging dynamics between a leading party and other stakeholders. The relational dynamics between the leading party on the one hand and the other stakeholders on the other, are described and interpreted, taking the larger systemic context into account.
Practical implications
The authors discuss some important group dynamics aspects that emerge in a multiparty context that can be used by participants in and facilitators of such complex systems in order to foster effective collaboration.
Social implications
Multiparty systems are set up to deal with some important societal challenges that require the integration of insights, resources and interests across several organizations and societal actors, therefore this study provides important insights into the complexity of collaborative leadership emergent in such contexts in which position power is lacking.
Originality/value
The study provides a qualitative, in depth analysis of the collaborative leadership as it emerges in a multiparty context simulated by an experiential learning context.
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Petru Lucian Curseu and Sandra G.L. Schruijer
This paper aims to report the development of the multiparty collaborative leadership scale (MCLS) that assesses four dimensions of collaborative leadership that have been defined…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report the development of the multiparty collaborative leadership scale (MCLS) that assesses four dimensions of collaborative leadership that have been defined in the literature regarding the functions of collaborative leadership in intra- and interorganizational settings.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors have tested the validity and reliability of the MCLS in a sample of 110 managers and professionals who participated in five multiparty collaboration workshops, each lasting for two days. The authors used multilevel analyses to test the construct, discriminant and predictive validity of the MCLS.
Findings
The results generally supported the reliability and validity of the MCLS. The scale has good internal consistency and in terms of validation, the authors show that MCLS negatively predicts the conflictuality and positively predicts the collaborativeness of the leading party as well as trust in the multiparty system and its entitativity.
Research limitations/implications
The MCLS can be used to extend literature on collaborative leadership and generate insights on the antecedents and consequences of effective collaborative leadership in multiparty systems.
Social implications
Multiparty systems are set to deal with important societal challenges and mediators involved in multiparty issues are asked to settle important international disputes and conflicts. Understanding collaborative leadership in such systems and its role in establishing effective multiparty collaboration is key. The MCLS can be used as a research instrument and as a development tool toward realizing much-needed collaboration.
Originality/value
The authors present a first attempt to develop a short scale to assess collaborative leadership in complex systems in which participating stakeholders lack position power.
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Petru Lucian Curșeu and Sandra G.L. Schruijer
This study aims to investigate the role of minority dissent (MD) as an antecedent for task (TC) and relationship conflict (RC) in groups engaged in multiparty collaboration. The…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the role of minority dissent (MD) as an antecedent for task (TC) and relationship conflict (RC) in groups engaged in multiparty collaboration. The authors hypothesized that MD triggers both TC and RC and that the association between MD and RC is mediated by TC. Moreover, the authors hypothesized that the positive association between MD and RC is attenuated by social acceptance, while the positive association between TC and RC is attenuated by trust.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors have tested the hypotheses in 36 groups comprising in total 145 professionals that attended a two-day workshop on working across organizational boundaries and who filled in three surveys during a multiparty simulation. The authors used multilevel mediation analyses to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results generally supported the role of MD as an antecedent for both TC and RC as well as the mediating role of TC in the relationship between MD and RC. The attenuating role of social acceptance in the relationship between MD and RC was fully supported, while the attenuating role of trust in the relationship between TC and RC was not supported.
Research limitations/implications
This study is based on a rather small sample and used a cross-lagged data collection design, and no causal claims can be derived from the findings. Behavioral multiparty simulations create a realistic context in which the authors investigate the dynamics of conflict transformation and explore the interplay of MD, TC and RC.
Social implications
As nowadays, multiparty systems are engaged in dealing with important societal challenges and because RC is detrimental for collaborative effectiveness, the results have important implications for facilitating effective collaboration in such complex systems.
Originality/value
This study makes an important contribution to the literature on conflict in multiparty systems by showing that as an antecedent of intragroup conflict, MD can have both a beneficial as well as a detrimental impact on the conflict dynamics of multiparty systems. It points out the importance of social acceptance as a buffer against the detrimental role of MD.
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The purpose of this study is to explore whether a group dynamics perspective still exists in the scientific study of groups and what factors may account for the current situation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore whether a group dynamics perspective still exists in the scientific study of groups and what factors may account for the current situation.
Design/methodology/approach
Alongside reflections based on my professional experience, I have analyzed the main academic journals that publish group research.
Findings
A group dynamics perspective is almost totally absent in the scientific study of groups. Contributing factors to this state of affairs are disciplinary developments in psychology (e.g. individualization, experimentalization and specialization), the demise of the status of psychoanalysis, changes in the meaning and manifestation of the “group,” and effects of New Public Management.
Originality/value
The study offers a critical perspective on current group research practices and considers these in a larger (social and historical) context. It advocates a group dynamics perspective for the study of groups, based on systems-psychodynamic insights.
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Anneli Hujala, Helena Taskinen, Sanna Laulainen, Charlotte Klinga and Sandra Schruijer
In the implementation of integrated care, the role of managers is important and their mutual collaboration should be addressed more visibly. The purpose of this study was to…
Abstract
Purpose
In the implementation of integrated care, the role of managers is important and their mutual collaboration should be addressed more visibly. The purpose of this study was to investigate how cross-boundary collaboration is constructed in the discourse of middle-level managers in health and social care.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was based on a discursive approach. Group discussions with three groups of Finnish middle managers (n = 39) were analyzed using discourse analysis.
Findings
Five ways of talking about cross-boundary collaboration were identified, labeled “ideal”, “structure”, “defence”, “money” and “support” discourses. In the ideal discourse, cross-boundary collaboration appeared as a “good thing” and is self-evident. Structural discourse defined managers as passive actors in self-sustaining entities. Defensive discourse highlighted the problems of cross-boundary collaboration and the hierarchy within the health and social sectors. Financial discourse constituted the ultimate obstacle to successful cross-boundary collaboration, and both strengthened and explained defensive discourse. Supportive discourse portrayed other managers as partners and as an important resource.
Research limitations/implications
Cross-boundary collaboration can be experienced as a resource, helping managers cope with their workload. However, identification of and continuous attention to challenges at macro, meso and micro levels of integrated care is crucial for successful collaboration. Thus, critical discussion of collaboration needs to be given space.
Originality/value
The study design and discursive approach highlights the power of language and give voice to middle managers who are key actors when implementing integrated care.
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Sandra G.L. Schruijer, Tharsi C.B. Taillieu, Leopold S. Vansina and Petru L. Curșeu
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the authors’ action research praxis regarding the development of collaborative relations between organizations that incorporates an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the authors’ action research praxis regarding the development of collaborative relations between organizations that incorporates an element of play. Based on transitional change thinking, the authors use play and simulation, creating a naturalistic setting, and provide spacing for relational dynamics to unfold so as to learn from these.
Design/methodology/approach
The perspective taken in this paper draws on organizational psychology, systems psychodynamics and organization development.
Findings
One workshop is described in detail, namely, “The Yacht Club.”
Originality/value
The rationale for and design of workshops that provide transitional space for experiencing, researching and learning about interorganizational dynamics as a valuable alternative to positivist experimentation are described.
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This paper aims to address the group dynamics that evolve when representatives from various organizations come together to develop and work on a joint goal. Its aim is to share…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to address the group dynamics that evolve when representatives from various organizations come together to develop and work on a joint goal. Its aim is to share the author’s learnings when it concerns the understanding of the group dynamics of interorganizational relationships and the development of collaboration between these organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
The perspective taken draws on social and organizational psychology, systems psychodynamics and organization development.
Findings
The paper concludes with reflections on generic learnings about collaboration, its dynamics and its development.
Originality/value
Various action research projects are presented that have been conducted in different sectors.
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Based on an experience, the paper aims to describe how group dynamics can play out in a traditional classroom setting and reflect on how the author worked with these dynamics from…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on an experience, the paper aims to describe how group dynamics can play out in a traditional classroom setting and reflect on how the author worked with these dynamics from a systems psychodynamic perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The experience involved teaching a two-day module on group dynamics to a class of 35 mature students enrolled in a business school. The author tried to create a space to understand and work with here-and-now dynamics as the module progressed.
Findings
Frustration grew among the students regarding the time spent on discussion and reflection. The group was split in two, with one subgroup opening up to experiencing and reflecting on the dynamics, whereas the other subgroup grew more frustrated and demanded that the author take up his authority. Apart from attempting to work with the dynamics, the author introduced relevant concepts and theories that could help to understand the dynamics. The group was characterized by an emotional climate of dependency while students projected hitherto unexplored frustrations onto the lecturer. Although the conditions for experiential learning were far from optimal, the group did experience group dynamics and did engage in reviewing their experiences. Learning did take place, although the depth varied among individuals.
Originality/value
Reflections are provided on the (im)possibilities of learning about group dynamics at business schools. Suggestions are given how to create conditions for experiential learning in management education.