Nettverkssamarbeid – Veien til økt organisatorisk robusthet? : En case-studie innen mekanisk industri

Abstract

Given that supply chain management has become increasingly more demanding due to the increased globalization and focus on competitive strategies, the concept of resilience has grown to complement traditional risk management and reduce vulnerabilities in organizations and supply chains. Based on this, the master thesis aims to shed light on how network collaboration can contribute to increase the organizational resilience for SMEs in mechanical industry. This is discussed based on theories related to vulnerability, organizational resilience and network collaboration. The thesis is based on an abductive research design andis carried out as a qualitative case study with interviews and document research. The reason for this choice is that we wanted to search for detailed descriptions of reality and thus gain a deeper understanding of the thesis central subjects. To answer the problem statement, two research questions were developed to answer: 1) How businesses can increase theirownresilience, and 2) In which situations it is beneficial to enter into a supplier collaboration to increase the organizational resilience.The findings indicate that it would be beneficial to be a part of a supplier collaboration with suppliers that supply the business with products that are essential for the end product, in order to ensure quality and functionality. The various elements of network collaboration: trust, information sharing, innovation, knowledge development, and dependencies,are seen as favourablefor organizational resilience and will bring benefits especially forSMEs. Trust is seen as critical for achieving a long-lastingsupplier relationship because it increases the willingness to share information. Information sharing plays an important role both before and after the occurrence of supply chain disturbances, because potential supply chain problems are easieridentified and managed in relationships where information is shared. A collaborative supplier will also add increased competitiveness and expertise to the buyer enterprise through joint product development. Through close collaboration, the buyer achieves greater control, insight and priority from the supplier, which contributes to reducing the probability of disturbances and breaches. However, it will be important to balance the benefits achieved through collaborationwith the dependency that occurs inthe relationship. The focus on the indicators for organizational resilience and the elements of network collaboration, will however not be enough to achieve organizational resilience. In addition, it will be necessary to increase expertise and raise awareness in the organisationabout what it means to be part of a network collaboration.