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Paper info: Network strategizing: a resource analysis

Title


Network strategizing: a resource analysis

Authors


Debbie Harrison
Norwegian School of Management
Norway
Debbie Harrison and
Lars Huemer
Norwegian School of Management
Norway
Lars Huemer

Place of Publication


The paper was published at the 32nd IMP-conference in Poznan, Poland in 2016.

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Abstract


The purpose of the paper is to investigate how the Norwegian Airport Express train company Flytoget is attempting a deliberate shift to a network strategy. The company wishes to shift their strategic understanding in a number of dimensions including how the firm itself creates value, how it relates to the surrounding network of actors and how it can influence others to strategize in networks. In other words, there is recognition of the need to work within current relationships in a different way and to build new relationships for the strategy to become networked reality. ‘Collective strategy’, ‘relational strategy’, ‘strategic networks’, ‘strategic nets’ and more recently ‘network strategy’ are commonly used terms in discussing strategic action at the inter- organisational level (e.g. Blumberg 2001: Dyer & Singh 1998: Gulati, Nohria, & Zaheer, 2000: Möller & Svahn 2003: Baum & Rowley 2008). IMP provides an understanding of strategising with key counterparts at both the relationship and network levels based on resource and activity, as well as actor, connections (Gadde et al., 2003). As Gadde et al (2003) argued, a company’s strategic orientation can only be considered via the three layers of substance - actors, resources and activities – and therefore strategising involves ongoing actor bonds, resource ties and activity links. We will analyse Flytoget’s strategizing efforts using the resource layer tool kit (Håkansson and Waluszewski, 2002a: Baraldi et al, 2012a, b) as attempts are made to imagine, identify and build resource connections which were previously not in place. We employ a longitudinal case based approach based on in-depth interviews and participant observations. Flytoget’s network awareness is present in its strategic plan of 2014 where the company articulates its ambition to be a central actor in the creation of seamless travel networks. The paper is a work in progress effort to follow the firm’s strategic development in real time.