Paper info

UNDERSTANDING CONFLICTS IN INTERORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION TEAM THROUGH SCHEMAS - A CASE OF COOPERATION BETWEEN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Kristian Philipsen and Jesper Piihl

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

This paper investigates how conflicts in inter-organizational innovation team can be better understood through schemas. Most IMP investigations of conflicts in networks mainly focus on interests and intentions as sources of conflict while the schema of actors as source of conflict is not well understood. On the other side the IMP investigations of schemas, mental models or network pictures is dominated by focus on consensus approaches to relationships. Conceptually the paper develops the schema or mental model aspects of the ARAS model (Welch and Wilkinson 2002) by adding an explicit conflict perspective. The developed theoretical frame for sources of conflicts is used to investigate a special case about cooperation in an inter-organizational innovation team with members from three types of higher educational institutions with significant different schemas about teaching and learning. The case is special in the sense that it is not normal in Denmark that represents for three types of higher education institutions cooperate about an educational innovation. The intention and interests differ among involved actors, but play a minor role as source of conflicts and can thus not explain the major part of conflicts. Conflicts from schemas seem to be hard to fully recognize for actors, because actors’ assumptions or reflections about own mental models can be more or less conscious. Investigation of the cooperation among involved actors is used as a prism to investigate the importance of schemas as an important source for understanding conflicts in the innovation team. The empirical investigation is based on minutes from the innovation teams meeting, observation of and participation in the innovation teams meetings and also interviews with the members of the innovation team and finally document studies of the three types of higher education in Denmark. The paper contributes to develop the schema aspects of the ARAS model from a conflict perspective. Furthermore the paper discusses the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings.