Interorganizational Networks: a context where collaborate to innovate it can produce learning at interorganizational level

Inter-Organizational Network (ION) (for example:Joint Venture, Strategic Networks, Consortia,etc.) are considered a specic organizational paradigm that researchers used to understand performance (Powell et al., 1999), learning (Knight, 2002) and innovation (Faber & Meeus, 2006) of the rm involved in Inter-firm Networks. In such contexts, enterprises learn and improve their collaborative skills and innovative capabilities and both as single-individual enterprise and also as a group of companies and in this way they can better compete in a wider markets. ION is dened as 'a group of three or more organizations connected in ways that facilitate achievement of a common goal. Network members can be linked by many types of connections and flows, such as information, materials, financial resources, services, and social support. Connections may be informal and totally trust based or more formalized, as through a contract.' (Provan, Fish and Sydow, 2007). A literature review was conducted to investigate if and how ION facilitates innovation within the companies that constitute the network; two model consider and study specically the relationship between ION and innovation: Dynamic Capabilities perspective, studies how a rm combines its resource with resources of other rms of network to construct a organizational routine able to facilitate continuous innovation; Relational Perspective, that with the support of Social Network Analysis (SNA), studies how the features of relation between organizations and the social structure of these exchange relations can influence the innovation of product and service of organizations. This poster will present some aspects of our literature review: - the reciprocal relationship between collaborative processes, network of exchange relations (for example example:resourse, information, knowledge, etc.) and innovation of organizational products and services; - ION where actors (for example: entrepreneurs, professionals or other organization members) learned and developed inter-organizational routines to manage their exchange relations show an improvement of innovation capability at rm level. Finally, the author suggests some possible 'meeting points' between Dynamic Capabilities and Relational Perspective that could be useful to consider in the future inquiries on Innovation process in ION context.