Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-1-2006
Abstract
Collaboration is widely studied and continues to draw attention from academics and practitioners alike. This paper builds on an everyday practitioner’s puzzle: Why are good collaborative practices difficult to duplicate? This paper uses an existing theoretical framework to explore the concept of pragmatic collaboration, and introduces the concept of rational divergence, which can weaken collaboration. Clearly the everchanging economic, political, social, and technical world requires managers to continuously align incentives for individuals, firms, and the industry by way of policy to create a “winning” environment. Let us suppose that all incentives to collaborate are aligned, a culture of trust is present, and that economic, political, social, and technical matters are addressed. Even in such an ideal situation, individuals may diverge from a stated goal. Although some researchers have said that this divergence is because of lack of incentives or because of opportunism, this paper will suggest a different reason—that the divergence is seen as rational by the individual, based on that person’s own local set of circumstances. Such rational divergence results in suboptimal participation during collaboration, both within companies and among supplier relationships. An individual may be reluctant to participate in collaboration, or try delaying tactics. The paper explores the idea of rational divergence; that individuals deliberately make decisions that result in reduced collaboration. The study looks at perceived opportunism and pragmatic collaboration, while asking the question, “What happens if we take the concept of trust out of the equation?” This paper reviews the elements of rational divergence, opportunism, and pragmatic collaboration, away from the overall dimension of trust.
Keywords
organizational effectiveness, cooperativeness
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Khambete, Surendra S., "Practicing Pragmatic Collaboration: The Challenge of Recognizing and Managing Rational Divergence" (2006). Student Scholarship. 340.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/340