APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2014/2015

GRA 6832 Interorganizational Strategies

Responsible for the course
Helene Loe Colman

Department
Department of Strategy and Logistics

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
6

Language of instruction
English

Introduction
The main aim of the course is to introduce various types of inter-organizational relations and discuss their strategic rationale. Inter-organizational relations are used as means to gain access to complementary resources, increase firm flexibility and learning, and the objective of the course is to understand how and when different forms of relations can be useful. The course is structured along three dimensions: a) types of inter-organizational relations (various types of alliances, acquisitions and networks), b) theoretical perspectives that can be applied to understand inter-organizational relations (for instance transaction cost theory, resource based theory, relational perspectives and c) stages in the development of these relations (initiation, governance, structuring, management, re-structuring, performance and termination)

Learning outcome
The course should give an overview and a deep understanding of core parts of the research based literature on inter-organizational relations.
The course aims to develop the student's understanding of the challenges involved in identifying the needs for external relations, formulating and entering these relations as well as managing these relations over time to generate profitability.

Prerequisites
GRA 6830 Economical and Organizational Foundations of Strategic Management or similar courses

Compulsory reading

Articles:
The reading material for the course consists of a compendium of articles. The articles are from journals such as Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, Academy of Management (Review and Journal) and Organization Science

Other:
During the course there may be hand-outs and other material on additional topics relevant for the course and the examination.


Recommended reading

Course outline
The course will start with the analyses necessary to identify the needs for inter-organizational relations, and the pros and cons of the various choices for cooperation. Then the course will discuss various types of interorganizational relations and their theoretical underpinnings. The course will also look into specific requirements and characteristics of the different phases of entering, managing and terminating these types of relations. Core topics include: Alliances, Mergers and Acquisitions, Networks, Initiation and negotiation, Governance and control, Development over time, Trust, Performance and termination

Computer-based tools
It's learning


Learning process and workload
A course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of 160-180 hours.
Classes will be a mix of lectures, presentations and class discussions, where the students need to grasp theoretical articles, present these and apply their insight to real life cases.

The students need to be present in class, come prepared and be ready to discuss articles and cases when they come to class

Each student is required to read assigned articles and come prepared for class. Students will also prepare article summaries and do presentations.

Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage or in the required readings.


Examination
The course grade will be based on the following activities and weights:
The examination will be a mix between participation (30%), 48 hour take home exam (20%) and term paper (50%)
To get a final grade in the course, students need to complete and achieve a passing grade in all parts of the evaluation.

In this course class attendence is mandatory. Absences can result in a lower score. Specific information regarding student evaluation beyond the information given in the course description will be provided in class. This information may be relevant for requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several elements of the overall evaluation.

This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam elements) and one final exam code. Each exam element will be graded using points on a scale (e.g. 0-100). The elements will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the course. You will find detailed information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades on the course site in It’s learning.

Examination code(s)
GRA 68321 continuous assessment accounts for 100% of the final grade in the course GRA 6832

Examination support materials
N/A. Examination support materials at written examinations are explained under examination information in our web-based Student handbook. Please note use of calculator and dictionary in the section on support materials.

Re-sit examination
It is only possible to retake an examination when the course is next taught.
The assessment in some courses is based on more than one exam code.
Where this is the case, you may retake only the assessed components of one of these exam codes.
Where this is not the case, all of the assessed components of the course must be retaken.
All retaken examinations will incur an additional fee.

Additional information
Honor code
Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and represent values that are encouraged and promoted by the honor code system. This is a most significant university tradition. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the ideals of the honor code system, to which the faculty are also deeply committed.

Any violation of the honor code will be dealt with in accordance with BI’s procedures for cheating. These issues are a serious matter to everyone associated with the programs at BI and are at the heart of the honor code and academic integrity. If you have any questions about your responsibilities under the honor code, please ask.