Production of Collective Action in Alliance-Based Interorganizational Communication and Information Systems

Abstract

This article presents a public goods-based theory that describes the process of producing multifirm, alliance-based, interorganizational communication and information public goods. These goods offer participants in alliances collective benefits that are (a) nonexcludable, in that they are available to all alliance partners whether or not they have contributed, and (b) jointly supplied, in that partners' uses of the good are noncompeting. Two generic types of goods produced are connectivity, the ability of partners to directly communicate with each other through the information and communication system, and communality, the availability of a commonly accessible pool of information to alliance partners. Four types of alliances that can produce these goods are identified: (a) precompetitive, (b) competitive, (c) joint value creation, and (d) value chain. The article examines a variety of factors that influence the production of alliance-based connective and communal goods. Twenty-three integrated propositions are presented. The article concludes with an example of the application of the theoretical model to research on connectivity and communality provided through an alliance-based interorganizational communication and information system linking more than 50 alliance partners.