Title Page Governing Inter-organizational Supplier Collaborations at Jlr Using a Contingency Framework

Inter-organizational relationships are becoming an increasingly important source of competitive advantage and innovation. This paper looks at supplier relationships in the context of inter-organizational R&D collaborations in enterprises based in the European automotive industry. The concept of Collaborative Enterprise Governance (CEG) is presented and the Dynamic Enterprise Reference Grid (DERG) is used as a contingency framework to help manage CEG. Distinct types of enterprises are characterized based on empirical research conducted at Jaguar Land Rover, in the UK. The study explains and illustrates developmental paths and patterns in the evolution of inter-organizational relationships using three research and development examples. Each examples’ configuration and dynamic evolution is shown to be contingent upon the ‘engageability’ of the partner companies’ competences based on attractiveness, transferability and maturity. The study shows that the DERG is a contingency framework that is theoretically robust, transferable and useful.