Industrial Management & Data Systems

Managing information for collaborative networks

Christopher Durugbo

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Christopher Durugbo , (2014),"Managing information for collaborative networks", Industrial Management &
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Managing information for

collaborative networks
Christopher Durugbo
Department of Management, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

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Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the orientations of collaborative networks (CNs)
for managing integrated information flow. It seeks to analyse and shed light into the main priorities
of firms for sharing and coordinating information with CN partners. These priorities are needed
to enhance practices to trade-off and integrate flows where appropriate for maximising profits
and performance.
Design/methodology/approach In this study, inductive multiple-case logic is applied to research
how six industrial firms manage integrated information flow in relation to their collaborative
networked organisations (CNOs). Guided by an interpretivism epistemology, 22 face-to-face and
13 telephonic semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 key informants in six industrial
firms. Interview data were analysed in line with the research agenda to understand orientations for
integrated information flow.
Findings The research finds that CN management is enhanced when flow integration for industrial
firms is skill, project, agreement and relationship oriented. The investigation also finds that CNO flow
integration could be enhanced when industrial firms confront and prioritise schemes for fluidity
prevention, systematised templates, procedural prompts, implementation checklists, confidence
building, issuance policies and concern separation.
Originality/value The major contribution of this paper is an exposition on priorities for integrated
information flow within CNs. It also offers insights that suggest industrial firms can boost the
performance of their CNOs by: working in small knit highly skilled teams, tactically implementing
manufacturability and marketability programmes, strategising their production contracts and
strengthening their company-customer-supplier ties.
Keywords Case study, Collaborative networks
Paper type Case study

1. Introduction
With industrial firms no longer competing as individual businesses but now as parts
of industrial collectives (Ball, 2007), collaborative networks (CNs) are increasingly
becoming the mainstay of manufacturing and production firms. CNs are constituted
by a variety of entities (e.g. organisations and people) that are largely autonomous,
geographically distributed and heterogeneous in terms of their: operating environment,
culture, social capital and goals and these entities collaborate to better achieve common
or compatible goals, and whose interactions are supported by computer network
(Camarinha-Matos and Afsarmanesh, 2005). Supply chains, virtual organisations,
virtual enterprises and professional virtual communities are some examples of CNs.
In these arrangements, information management poses strategic, provisioning and
complexity challenges that impact on the performance of CN partners (Afsarmanesh
and Camarinha-Matos, 2009; Afsarmanesh et al., 2009). For instance, citing examples
of firms such as National Semiconductor, Steelcase and Wal-Mart, Fawcett et al. (1997)
linked the performance of these firms to their strategies for managing information
within their networks for collaboration. They noted that the application of improved
schemes to manage the flow of information aided these firms in achieving competitive
networking and in positioning (or shaping) their businesses to meet market needs.

Managing
information for
collaborative
networks
1207
Received 13 May 2014
Revised 31 July 2014
Accepted 3 August 2014

Industrial Management & Data

Systems
Vol. 114 No. 8, 2014
pp. 1207-1228
r Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/IMDS-05-2014-0144

IMDS
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1208

On the flipside, through an example of how Cisco wrote off $2.2 billion due to serialised
information flow, Sherer (2005) suggested that better integrated flow of information is
needed to overcome problems of artificially inflated forecasts and overlapping orders
that fuel artificial demand spikes.
Integrated information flow in this context means the extent to which a focal firm
shares information with its partners (Rai et al., 2006). Extent relates to scope and
constraints that govern how information is accessed, exchanged and documented
(see for instance Ellis, 1989; Buchanan and Gibb, 1998; Manecke and Schoensleben,
2004; Durugbo et al., 2014). This necessitates avenues for coordination as evident in the
Cisco case where improvements were achieved through a private internet-based
network, dubbed eHub, which coordinated information by provided visibility to
partners thereby enabling Cisco to improve their responsiveness. Thus, faced by
challenges for integrated information flow, collaborating firms actively review
their information flow requirements and leverage the potentials of information and
communication technologies (ICTs) (Childerhouse et al., 2003a). This enables
collaborative networked organisations (CNOs) to re-engineer their networks and
supply chains for improve information sharing. Although the potential for enhanced
CN management through information flow has been highlighted by several sources
(e.g. Afsarmanesh and Camarinha-Matos, 2009; Afsarmanesh et al., 2009), and the
importance of information flow integration for supply chains has been suggested
by several authors (e.g. Rai et al., 2006; Klein and Rai, 2009), there is a need for clarity
on how the integrated flow of information is factored into CN management. It is this
gap that this paper attempts to address by providing insights into orientations of
integrated information flow for CN management. Orientation is used in a strategic
sense as the means employed to achieve business goals (Venkatraman, 1989) and has
been studied by researchers for developing and enhancing business philosophies
for innovation, information systems, sustainability, marketing activities and so on
(Miles and Munilla, 1993; Chan et al., 1997; Gatignon and Xuereb, 1997).
The purpose of this paper is to explore the orientations of CNs for managing
integrated information flow. It presents a multi-case exploratory study on how six
industrial firms manage integrated information flow in relation to their CNs. Related
studies have isolated and studied aspects of the flow of information and their connections
to the management of industrial firms. For instance, researchers have shown that
communication roles play a key part in transforming business processes (Yazici, 2002)
and that global competition is increasingly causing industrial firms to adopt knowledgeintensive service-driven operations (Youngdahl and Loomba, 2000). Also, the benefits of
exploring the characteristics of information within industrial firms is evident in recent
empirical works that have studied: the flow of technical information (Pedroso and Nakano,
2009), upstream/downstream information flow (Childerhouse et al., 2003a), availability/
willingness to share information (Li et al., 2005) and leveraging ICTs to achieve business
objectives and operational performance (McAfee, 2002). With this in mind, this research
was guided by the following research question: What are the main orientations
of industrial firms when managing integrated information flow within their CNs?
The remainder of the paper is structured as follows. Section 2, presents the
theoretical framework on integrated information flow that guides the research, Section
3, presents the methodology for an industry-based multi-case study to analyse
integrated information flow in six industrial firms, Section 4 presents the findings of
the study and Section 5 discusses the theoretical contributions and managerial
implications of the study.

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2. Theoretical framework
For modern firms in CNs, integrated information flow is characterised by the wide
spread use of ICTs such as electronic data interchange in production and operations
management systems such as in Materials Requirement Planning (MRP), Quick
Response, Efficient Consumer Response, Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), Collaborative
Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment, Business Process Reengineering (BPR) and
Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) systems. These systems control the extent to which
information is shared by attempting to replace human coordination, reduce uncertainty,
improve decision-making, promote new coordination structures and substitute
information and knowledge for inventory (Wisner and Stanley, 2008, p. 316). Also,
through the use of ICTs, firms such as Chevron, Xerox, AT&T, Hewlett-Packard,
FinnAir, Mitre Corporation and 3 M have transformed their company culture from one
driven by internal rivalry to a more accessible CN (Pereira and Soares, 2007).
In spite of this, few studies in literature have isolated and investigated information
flow integration within the context of managing CNOs because most CN studies
have focused on: mapping strategies, ontology, databases and rules for semantically
and syntactically heterogeneous information (e.g. Afsarmanesh and Camarinha-Matos,
2009; Afsarmanesh et al., 2009), collaboration and information management systems
for shared work and communication spaces (Pereira and Soares, 2007), and knowledge
management initiatives that increase inter- and intra-organizational knowledge
sharing capabilities through leveraging internet-driven new economy technologies
for managing electronic business knowledge (Warkentin et al., 2001). These studies
have been driven by experiments, algorithmic formulations and decision support
systems that shed light on how a wide variety of information in organisations can be
handled and used to support functions in CNs. Additional insights have also been
provided into the role played by legacy systems and authorisation for CN stakeholders
(Afsarmanesh and Camarinha-Matos, 2009; Afsarmanesh et al., 2009). However,
there is a need to balanced current research with an exploratory perspective on
industrial firms that captures the orientations of CNs for integrated information
flow management.
An analysis of literature suggests that information flow has been conceptualised
according to flow aspects such as accessibility for ease of retrieval, exchange
during interactions, documentation for reporting, quality for free flow and formats for
clear definitions (Manecke and Schoensleben, 2004; Durugbo et al., 2014). Others have
considered system design areas such as the information seeking behaviour (Ellis,
1989) and audit practices for information management (Buchanan and Gibb, 1998).
However, in view of the focus of this research, a framework of information sharing
and coordination, as shown in Figure 1, was adopted to characterise the integrated
flow of information for CNs. This is in line with existing attempts to delineate
flow integration, for which researchers have focused on avenues for sharing and
coordinating operational, tactical and strategic information to foster sustainable
competitive advantage for firms (Hoyt and Huq, 2000; Rai et al., 2006; Patnayakuni
et al., 2006; Tsaih and Lin, 2006; Durugbo et al., 2014). The needs of operational
information are shaped by day-to-day activities, tactical information needs are dictated
by specific objectives of well-defined programme areas (e.g. projects), and strategic
information needs are governed by the overall goals, values and missions of partners
(Braverman et al., 2004; Stevens, 1990). Insights into these levels of information can
enable firms to gain clarity during short-, medium- and long-term planning (Voudouris
et al., 2008) and to fully integrate facilities, people, finance and systems (Stevens, 1990).

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Information
sharing

Information
coordination

Integrated flow of
information

Internal networks
External networks

Upstream flow
Downstream flow

1210

Collaborative network
management

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Intra- and inter-organisational entities

Information and communication technologies

Figure 1.
Conceptual framework

Flow concepts

Contributes to

Information sharing, the first factor, for organisations means exchanging information
between individuals (interpersonal), departments or groups (intra-organisational)
and organisations (interorganisational) (Dawes, 1996). It is an important contributor
to integrated information flow for two-way communications between downstream and
upstream organisations within CNOs (Li et al., 2005; Lee and Whang, 2000; Chen, 1999;
Childerhouse et al., 2003a, b; Durugbo et al., 2014). Order state information is shared
downstream whereas sale and demand forecasting information is shared upstream to
partners. The flow in these situations depends on degree levels that constitute partially
and completed shared information by partners. For instance, a supplier may obtain
shared information content from retailers about the demand distribution and the related
inventory strategies (Li et al., 2005). In this case, information provided by the retailer may
partially show forecasted patterns or real-time inventory position. Partners also require
information sharing for flow fulfilment, i.e. downstream flow of critical information
detailing progress towards order completion and in relation to stipulated criteria such
as volumes, production dates and quality standards (Childerhouse et al., 2003a). Other
important factors for information sharing include willingness to share, commitment and
connectivity between network partners (Kwon and Suh, 2005). The shared information
leads to transparency for dampening demand amplification effects and improving the
responsiveness of supply chains (Lee et al., 1997). This transparency when based on
pure information, i.e. information with high fidelity, captures moments of information
(Childerhouse et al., 2003a). According to Lummus and Vokurka (1999), a moment of
information is any occurrence where a company can gain information from a customer,
and from which a response to customer demand may be made.
The second factor, information coordination means the orchestration of how
information is exchanged (Kolbe et al., 2011). Along with sharing information,
information coordination is needed in networks to reduce information asymmetries
that bring about operational inefficiencies, transaction risks and coordination costs
(Patnayakuni et al., 2006). Information coordination is important for CNs as it controls
what a firm and its competitors/suppliers know (Anand and Goyal, 2009). Several
sources suggest that the need for improved information coordination causes CN
partners to form new networks (Lummus and Vokurka, 1999; Dimitriadis and
Koh, 2005; Fiala, 2005). Others note that information coordination offers a useful
avenue for harmonising internal and external (incl. corporate flow from customers to
firms and environmental flow from firms to partners) communication networks of
CN partners (Wisner and Stanley, 2008). Coordination in these contexts, offers
a useful strategy for overcoming the internal and external pains of information

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(Childerhouse et al., 2003b). Internally, it enables firms to piece together data and link
systems with a view to generating a big picture of operations. Externally, the
challenge is to effectively handle customer-generated information and to discourage
arms-length relationships among CN partners.
However, an overemphasis on the control of information could lead to material
flow distortion that triggers operational losses (Anand and Goyal, 2009). Growing
variation upstream in supply chains, termed the bull-whip effect, is a potent source of
information asymmetry that also poses major problems for firms (Lee et al., 1997;
Fiala, 2005). Furthermore, information sharing possesses a dark side information
leakage, which refers to how shared information could reach unintended recipients
deliberately or unintentionally (Anand and Goyal, 2009, p. 438). This occurs because
once firms share valuable proprietary information with other partners, their power to
control or limit access, exchange or documentation of this information may be severely
compromised. It therefore becomes imperative that firms strike a balance between
completeness and partialness when sharing information (Gavirneni et al., 1999; Li et al.,
2005; Durugbo et al., 2014). Thus, firms and industrial collectives are required to apply
practices to trade-off and integrate flows where appropriate, to maximise profits
and performance.
Driven by the proposed framework, this paper seeks to enhance current CN
research and practice through an analysis of integrated information flow for CN
management. Specifically, the attention and interest of this research is drawn towards
identifying the main priorities of firms for sharing and coordinating information with
CN partners.
3. Research method
The research adopts the multi-case study logic[1] (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 2009) for three
main reasons. First, in view of the research motivation, the use of exploratory cases
(Marshall and Rossman, 1999) offered a useful avenue to address the research.
This motivation stirred the research towards the case study logic which offers a more
viable option to studying information-rich cases, in comparison to surveys (Yin, 2009).
Second, the multi-case variant of the case study approach is more robust and
generalisable, and offers the added benefit of replication for independent confirmation
of emerging themes and extension for revealing complementary aspects of phenomena
(Santos and Eisenhardt, 2004). Third, due to the research question, the study adopts
an interpretivism epistemology a theory of knowledge that attempts to understand
phenomena through accessing the meanings that participants assign to them
(Orlikowski and Baroudi, 1991, p. 5). This purpose is pivotal to this research
study, which concentrates on interviews and analysis of qualitative data. The next
subsections describe the case study domain and how data were captured and analysed.
3.1 Case study domain
Technology firms were chosen for this research due to their central position in modern
economies (Grinstein and Goldman, 2006, p. 121), and the focus was particularly on
Microsystems Technology (MST)[2] firms. In MST firms, operating principles aim to
deliver miniaturised sensing, processing and/or actuating systems, with dimensions
and functional parts that are typically in the order of microns, i.e. one millionth of a
metre (European Union, 1996). Due to the fragmented nature of the MST industry
(Doorn, 2006), MST firms face difficulty in positioning their businesses within the MST
value network (shown in Figure 2) so as to maximise value from their products. This is

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Research
Institutions
i Consultants

1212

ii Designers

iii Developers
Manufacturing
Foundries

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Microsystems Design

Software Designer

Device
Manufacturers
Prototype
Manufacturers

Intellectual Property
Provider

iv Marketers

Figure 2.
Microsystems value
network

Chip
Manufacturers

Machine
Manufacturers

Instrument
Manufacturers

Source: Durugbo et al. (2011)

primarily due to a melange of product life-cycle, time-to-market and competition-driven

challenges that require MST firms to adopt business models for small-volume/
large-variety or low-variety/high-volume production and to join fabless-foundry
partnerships for enhanced coordination and information sharing (Durugbo et al., 2011).
Also, with the recent surge in the demand for MST, in what experts have described
as a surprise to an enterprise (Fujita, 2007) phase, i.e. proof of MST concepts are
increasingly being commercialised, balancing the provision of high-tech products with
industrial services for added-value remains a major challenge for MST-based firms.
Furthermore, MST firms are typically characterised by geographically dispersed
partners and business units (for research and development (R&D), mass production,
sales and so on) that are interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary in nature (Hsu, 2002;
Doorn, 2006). In view of these characteristics, capabilities for the coordination and
sharing of information, such as information managers and ICTs, play a key role in
maintaining CNs and operations across MST partners. Using information managers
and ICTs, MST firms continuously improve their CNs, encourage the development of
value network relationships, merge business/technology flows and functions and align
MST demand and supply. This was the motivation for choosing the MST domain.
3.2 Data capture and analysis
Six MST firms[3] were chosen to source data for this research: SiliconFirm,
PolymerFirm, MicroInc, MachineLtd, DesignLtd and TechInc. In Table I, the different
market positions and roles of these firms in the MST value network are described.
The table also describes the product portfolio of case firms. In using these different
firms, the study attempts to generate an assortment of CN orientations that could serve
as the basis for optimising integrated information flow. This endeavour takes into
account suggestions that units in supply chains tend to optimise their operations
according to their own preferences (Fiala, 2005) and this is often dependent on the

SiliconFirm

MicroInc

TechInc

Case firm

Multinational technology firm with

a focus on the applications of
microsystems technology for
security related markets
Company size: large (410,000)
Years in operation: 10-20 years
Focus of operations: varied
Multinational semiconductorbased firm with a range of
business units for manufacturing
and marketing microelectronic and
microsystems technology-based
solutions
Company size: large (410,000)
Years in operation: 30-40 years
Focus of operations: varied
Technology specialist in the
research and development (R&D)
and the manufacture of
microfluidics using polymers and
precision engineering techniques
Company size: small (o50)
Years in operation: 20-30 years
Focus of operations: microfluidics

Overview

Customer Support
Manager
Chief Technical Officer

Company Director

Service Manager

(continued )

(1st and 2nd waves) 1

telephonic
(1st and 2nd waves) 3
telephonic
(2nd wave)

(1st and 2nd waves) 2

telephonic
(1st and 2nd waves) 1
telephonic
(1st and 2nd waves) 3
telephonic

Business Director

Designer, developer and marketer

of mass-produced off-the-shelf or
custom-made final work products

Designer of be-spoke devices and

physical prototypes

(1st wave) 1 telephonic

(1st wave)

Business Stream Manager

Systems Engineer

Designer and developer of virtual

and physical prototypes
Consultant for micro-fabrication
and micro-manufacturing
technologies

Design Manager

Involvement of informants
in case study

Case study informants

Market position and role in value

network

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Managing
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Table I.
Overview of key
informants

Subsidiary of a precision
engineering firm that
manufactures microelectronic and
microsystems technology-based
machines
Company size: large (o250)
Years in operation: 30-40 years
Focus of operations: varied

MachineLtd

DesignLtd

Technology center with several

collaborative agreements with
multi-national semiconductorbased firms to manage MST-based
projects for business clients
Company size: small (o50)
Years in operation: 10-20 years
Focus of operations: microfluidics
and microoptics
Multinational software business
with a focus on tools and platforms
for a wide range of microelectronic
and microsystems
technology-based solutions
Company size: large (41,000)
Years in operation: 20-30 years
Focus of operations: varied

PolymerFirm

Table I.

Overview

(1st wave)
(1st wave)

(1st wave)

Licensing Coordinator
Applicant Support

Marketing
Communications Engineer

Designer of intellectual property

cores

Designer and developer of

micro-fabrication and micromanufacturing machines

(1st and 2nd waves) 1

telephonic
(2nd wave)
(1st wave) 1 telephonic

Involvement of informants
in case study

Head of Operations
Commercial Director

Company Director

Case study informants

Designer of be-spoke devices and

physical prototypes
Consultant for sourcing and project
management

Market position and role in value

network

1214

Case firm

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operational focus of different firms. This focus is reflected in the different design,
development, consultancy and marketing functions undertaken within value networks
for the MST industry (Durugbo et al., 2011). Consequently, the unit of reference is
integrated information flow, and the unit of analysis is MST firms in relation to
their CNs.
To capture data on CN orientations for integrated information flow, semi-structured
interviews were held with 14 information managers who acted as key informants, as
shown in Table I. These informants were provided by the different case firms following
initial telephone conversations to request permission to carry out the study. Key
informants reflect participants who possess special knowledge, status, or
communication skills, who are willing to share their knowledge and skills with the
researcher (Gilchrist, 1992, p. 75). The decision to use informant was also made to
establish a form of purposive sampling, which allows for such deviant cases to
illuminate, by juxtaposition, those processes and relations that routinely come into
play, thereby enabling the exception to prove the rule (Barbour, 2001, p. 1116).
Using the conceptual framework shown in Figure 1, 22 semi-structured interviews
were conducted with the 14 key informants. This involved developing questions based
on the key concepts of the framework such as: what information is shared on a
by day-to-day basis, to achieve specific objectives or to support the goals of the
collaborating partners? how is information coordinated internally when working with
partners? and what technologies are used for managing exchanges with partners?
These interviews were conducted on site face-to-face with the informants in two waves:
DesignLtd, MachineLtd and TechInc took part in the first wave while SiliconFirm,
PolymerFirm and MicroInc participated in both waves. Interviews lasted between
30 and 95 minutes and were conducted after a six-month period of negotiations to gain
approval from management and to reach mutually acceptable dates with the provided
informants. In total, 13 additional telephonic-based interviews were also conducted
with informants to gain clarity on discussed concepts.
During interviews, notes were taken after which they were analysed in line with the
research agenda. For the analysis, a six-stage technique (Radnor, 2002) was followed in
which: topics were ordered, categorises were constructed, contents were read, coded
sheets were completed, coded note contents were generated and interpretation was
driven by analysis. Notes were subject to critical analysis to determine important (and
interesting) points that were raised during the interviews. The idea behind the analysis
was to synthesise, from note contents, the main priorities for information sharing
and coordination with CN partners. By applying the multiple-case logic, a range of
orientations for integrated information flow management were explored and captured
as shown in Table II. The study therefore generalises at a level of theory as opposed to
statistical representativeness or significance.
4. Research findings
Much like supply chain integration, information flow integration is built up from
relationships and enables firms to collaborate and to successfully apply competences
(e.g. Hoyt and Huq, 2000; Klein and Rai, 2009), and for the case firms studied as part of
this research, this building process revolved around CN partners coherently and
contextually sharing strategic, tactical and operational information downstream with
clients and with particular emphasis on client feedback. Table III summarises the
focus of information sharing and coordination within case firms for which orientations
with identified.

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Flow integration
orientation

Approach to prioritisation

Sample quotes

Agreement oriented

Using contracts to control how

strategic and operational
information is shared with
CN partners

Skill oriented

Tackling the skill-based needs of

experts for maintaining network
interactions

Relationship oriented

Improving relationships with

clients with a view to maintaining
and increasing confidence in
current and future partnerships

We need to have non-disclosure

agreements and for legal reasons we have
to have hard copies for that everything
else (interactions with CN partners)
mostly tends to be done by email
(Customer Support Manager,
SiliconFirm)
The way we work (within the CNO)
relies on IP solutions and this is
based on various options as
determined by liaisons with the
customer (Licensing Coordinator,
DesignLtd)
The levels of skills of the people involved
(for production) have all been high we are
talking of people who have got at least one
degree, typically scientists and engineers.
They are used to doing technical and
complicated project development (Chief
Technical Officer, SiliconFirm)
The nature of processes and the expertise
we have make it important that we are
able to manipulate information
automatically and mechanically [y] it is
feasible to do that by textual information,
very difficult to do that with anything else.
For a more general explanation, a video or
audio would be more appropriate
(Business Director, MicroInc)
Collaborations first and foremost
requires and is based on small
knit highly skilled engineers
(Commercial Director, PolymerFirm)
(In relation to working with CN partners)
[y] depends on the relationships that
how you communicate with them (Service
Manager, MicroInc)
Relationships (within CNO) are strong
because we share the same objectives,
goals, trust and work as a team and
underpinning our processes is business
management that partners to products
and determines unit cost that market can
support (Business Stream Manager,
TechInc)
So we had very good relationships and we
still do have a very good relationship
though not as much business together
(Company Director, SiliconFirm)

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Table II.
Orientations for
flow integration
from case firms

(continued )

Flow integration
orientation

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Project oriented

Flow integration
concepts

Approach to prioritisation

Sample quotes

Improving exchanges between

project members in CNOs through
the use of prompts, outlines and
versioning for electronic data
interchange

Some of it (information management) is

hierarchical some of it is collaborative,
I would say it is moving from a prescribed
hierarchical to a more collaborative form
and I think that is down to two things.
Firstly, the company is increasingly
distributed so for example in the design of
the components that I deliver, I have a
dozen here in the UK and 3 in France and
15 in India and there are working on one
projects [y] collaborating together
(Business Director, MicroInc)
Sometimes project tasks werent
completed on time and people had to be
reminded to get their reports in. I have no
knowledge of anything being catastrophic,
most are a complete misunderstanding.
I think with regular email exchanges if
things started to drift or there was going
to be problems, it would have been picked
up readily, it would have been picked up
easily (Customer Support Manager,
SiliconFirm)

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Table II.

Focus of case firms for study

Information sharing Upstream

Operational information: material and component specification, client requests/
orders, customer invoice, requests for clarification, and purchase order
Downstream
Strategic information: company reports, feasibility surveys, and inventory
status
Tactical information: feasibility reports, product specification, and delivery
contracts, schedule and quotas
Operational: production checklists, experimental results and computer models
of technologies, dispatch note, and production status
Information
Internal S
coordination
Weekly e-mails and face-to-face meetings, adhoc discussions, open door policies
and mobile phone conversations
Table III.
External
Focus of flow integration
Environmental flow: e-mail networks, materials requirement planning and
for identifying challenges
enterprise resources planning systems
from case firms
Corporate flow: e-mails, telephone and video conferencing

Generally, working in CNs was favoured by case firms in view of support for rapid
access to content (MachineLtd, TechInc, SiliconFirm, PolymerFirm, and MicroInc),
better presentation (SiliconFirm, PolymerFirm, DesignLtd, and MicroInc) and ease of
manipulation (TechInc, DesignLtd and MicroInc), even though participants agreed that

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some form of face-to-face communication, generally at the early stages of negotiation at

either company or CN partner site, was always needed to understand client needs
before agreeing on production schedules. ICT-generated templates of customer orders,
production status and schedules were also used to manage downstream interactions
with clients whereas upstream and sidestream[4] exchanges were handled on an ad hoc
basis (telephone exchanges, e-mails, etc.). These templates are based on spreadsheets
and text files from MRP and ERP systems that are used to comparatively analyse
weekly, monthly and annual performance.
Significantly, driven by pressures for MST production as part of CNOs, case firms
adopted four main orientations for flow integration management, as summarised
in Table IV, and now described.
4.1 Skill-orientation
At case firms, significant effort and time of usually small knit highly skilled engineers
is geared towards simulating production masks for use in mass production.
These simulation activities result in master set drawing through the use of blueprints
contained in both proprietary (MachineLtd, PolymerFirm and MicroInc) and
commercially available (MachineLtd, TechInc, SiliconFirm, PolymerFirm and MicroInc)
computer-aided design (CAD) tools that are industry standard. Models are created,
simulated and refined virtually according to a sub-set of available technological (product
and process) options. These models replicate the logic of MST foundries and devices
cheaply, rapidly and consistently. Where existing designs are inadequate as templates,
a separate project is set up to explore new designs. This is, however, very rare.
Regular updates on product and process status, in the form of checklists,
experimental results and computer models of technologies, are overseen by project
managers, engineers or scientists in CNOs working on client orders. At SiliconFirm,
the Customer Support Manager is also copied in these communications. The Business
Director at MicroInc noted that checklists, in particular, were prioritised as options
for communicating product families, components, fabrication processes and product
properties. Theses checklists are computer generated and clarify key aspects of
by-products and final work products. These aspects include device dimension, aspect
ratio, surface finish, shape, tolerance, geometric complexity and mould complexity.
At PolymerFirm, a proprietary ERP-based system containing several checklists is used
to manage MST projects and to track production costs, timescales and risks.
4.2 Project oriented
MSTs are high-tech solutions delivered by projects that last an average of three-six
months if designs exist. On the other hand, researching designs for an MST can be
very costly and last between two and five years. With this in mind, participants
observed that their CN partners usually worked in projects that began by asking if
standard production processes were available. This enquiry required case firms to
establish and share partial strategic and tactical reports and presentations across
virtual teams[5] on if the technology exists, is feasible, could be feasible or is not
feasible (Company Director, PolymerFirm). This feasibility is influenced by at least
two factors: manufacturability, a well-established concept in the IC industry focused
on the generating high yields from fabrication processes and marketability aimed at
getting technologies to the market more quickly so as to yield capital returns
(Hsu, 2002). In SiliconFirm, the Chief Technical Officer and Customer Support Manager
roles were specifically targeted at intra-firm information sharing to enhance

Relationship
oriented

Corporate and environmental

flow with clients
Environmental flow with CN
partners

Uncertainty in motivation for

quotas from clients and
achieving performance with
aggressive time scales

TechInc
MicroInc
SiliconFirm
PolymerFirm
MachineLtd
TechInc
MicroInc
SiliconFirm
PolymerFirm
Transforming concepts to
physical prototypes and final
work products

Internal flow within and across

virtual teams
Corporate and environmental
flow with clients

All case firms

Establishing feasibility of
solutions, baselines for
production, and rationale for
updates to production statuses

Internal flow within and across

virtual teams
Corporate and environmental
flow with clients

Agreement oriented

Skill oriented

All case firms

Distribution of resources and

aligning proactive and reactive
management approaches
Sticking a balance between
detailing and simplifying
content and understanding
client needs

Specialisation within firms,

communications for enhanced
marketability/
manufacturability, improved
bi-directionality of
communications, emphasis on
collective action for production,
and better managed electronic
trails of communications and
assessments of CN performance
Strengthened customer-supplier
relationships, information
leakage prevention, enhanced
fault detection and traceability
of processes in relation to client
consignments
Cheap and quick way to
communicate collaborative
capability and to reach
consensus on production
expectations
Regular feedback for moments
of information that aid in
understanding product use and
service needs of clients

Internal flow within and across

virtual teams
Environmental flow with
clients

Project oriented

Evidence from case

firm

Main collaboration challenges

Main network benefits

Integration focus

Flow integration
orientation

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Table IV.
Flow integration
challenges from case
firms in relation to
their collaborative
network (CN) partners

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1220

manufacturability and marketability, respectively. For DesignLtd, these abilities were

advanced by the Applicant Support and Licensing Coordinator roles. At TechInc,
information coordination to enhance both factors are overseen by the Business Stream
Manager whereas the Marketing Manager, Marketing Communications Engineer and
Commercial Director were appointed at MicroInc, MachineLtd and PolymerFirm,
respectively, to oversee information sharing that enhance marketability. According
to the Business Director at MicroInc, in doing this, case firms separated business
and technological concerns. This separation according to Company Directors at
PolymerFirm and SiliconFirm contributed to specialisation, enabling technical staff to
apply and improve key skill sets of software engineering, process design, material
science and device layout.
During MST projects, participants such as the Commercial Director at
PolymerFirm, Licensing Coordinator at DesignLtd, Marketing Communications
Engineer at MachineLtd and Customer Support Manager at SiliconFirm play a key role
in sending e-mail prompts to remind team members to provide timely project
status updates. This required the creation of e-mail templates to share operational
information on production progress within the firms and with CN partners (esp.
suppliers of materials)/clients. This information content was predominantly business
in nature (detailing production schedules, client contact and financial figures) with
minimal technical content. At the other case firms, informants drew attention to the use
of personal managers within software programs such as Microsoft Outlook for
prompting response to messages and for attending to project tasks. Participants
observed that in situations where CN partners needed technical content on aspects
such as the mechanical, thermal and magnetic behaviour of MST structures, staffs
within the firm (or CN partners) with relevant knowledge were then contacted. In most
cases, information managers are then copied in future e-mail correspondences. These
measures keep information managers in the loop and according to the Customer
Support Manager at SiliconFirm foster a courtesy copy (cc) culture for audit trails and
in which the big picture on client requests/orders is maintained.
More significantly, case firms prompted and reinforced the need to share
information with CN partners at weekly meetings. At these groupware[6] supported
meetings, staffs are prompted to report on project progress often based on short
presentations by working groups. A big picture is then created of the workings of CN
partners in relation to the status of technologies, clients and suppliers. These meetings
also offer an important avenue to review and align the short-, medium-, and long-term
goals. E-mails summarising the main points and discussions during these meetings are
customarily sent by information managers to respective company staff. Information
managers also analyse the minutes of the meeting a posteriori, and use this insight to
perform two important flow integration activities: manage client expectations based
on updated production details, and remind meeting attendees of resolutions and
buy-ins. Informants also indicated that close proximity of offices, as well as the
open-door policies and matrix-based management at the different case firms, enabled
staffs to prompt responses from managers in a timely, open and honest fashion.
The willingness of management to engage staff, contributed to shared objectives, goals
and trust that was translated to and reflected in communications with CN partners.
4.3 Agreement orientation
Due to the significant costs involved in generating production masks each typically
costing about one million US dollars production processes are closely linked and

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shared details on intellectual property and specifications are coordinated to

prevent leakage and fluidity, i.e. situations in which clients take designs (and other
by-products) away to fabricate products elsewhere. Information managers therefore
consult contracts and agreements prior to dealings with CN partners and clients. These
contracts are usually drawn up to reflect privity and tie-ins, and dictate business and
legal transactions of virtual team members in CNOs. Shared CAD files with CN
partners were also subject to strict issuance policies and systems for versioning, i.e.
assigning version numbers to unique states of deliverables. This process aids in fault
detection and traceability of processes in relation to client consignments. Information
managers noted that this issuance attitude was transmitted to firm operations even
during exchanges with clients and CN partners making staff accountable for CNO
communications.
Flow fulfilment is a priority for DesignLtd, SiliconFirm, PolymerFirm and TechInc
that causes them to periodically and virtually share and update production schedules
with clients (mainly original equipment manufacturers or an academic institution)
using the Licensing Coordinator, Customer Support Manager, Commercial Director and
Business Stream Manager as information managers, respectively. These staffs also
strive to and are responsible for building relationships with clients to manage
production expectations. Internally, case firm staffs working on client orders also act as
information managers that are responsible for their interactions with material and
component suppliers.
4.4 Relationship orientation
At SiliconFirm, PolymerFirm and TechInc, informants noted that in large projects
for complex systems, customers generally contract production to at least one other
supplier. The effect is usually one in which suppliers collaborate in a dynamic virtual
organisation[7] to fulfil customer requirements. For the CN partners, the priority is to
develop relationships that build confidence with clients so as to maintain and
increase quotas, and for clients, the purpose of multiple orders is to provide
added security and assurance that products will at least be partly produced and
delivered on time.
Driven by the need to build client confidence, all case firms employed staff with
roles to manage flows along their supply chains. The focus of these roles varied from
an emphasis on: sustaining relationships with existing clients (Business Stream
Manager at TechInc, Marketing Manager at MicroInc and Customer Support Manager
at SiliconFirm), reaching new clients (Commercial Director at PolymerFirm)
and managing technological contents with clients (Business Director at MicroInc,
Chief Technical Officer at SiliconFirm). At SiliconFirm, PolymerFirm, and TechInc
supplier-client relationships are promoted through regular feedbacks to clients and
request for client feedback. To enable moments of information, Customer Support
Manager at SiliconFirm noted that the initial (or preferred) channel for client
communication (e.g. e-mail or telephone calls) needed to be established. Irrespective of
this choice, e-mails were also used to provide feedback and to maintain an electronic
trail. Similar strategies were adopted in the other case firms where e-mails were used to
trigger telephone conversations (TechInc and MicroInc), to confirm the outcomes of
processes such as field service work with other CN partners (TechInc, SiliconFirm,
PolymerFirm and MicroInc), and to reinforce the consensus reached during real-time
two-way communications (such as telephone/video conferencing) with partners
(SiliconFirm and PolymerFirm).

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5. Discussion
In the next subsections the theoretical contributions and managerial implications of the
research are discussed.
5.1 Theoretical contributions
The paper makes two contributions. First, the paper analyses integrated information flow
in the context of CNs. As in existing literature (e.g. Afsarmanesh and Camarinha-Matos,
2009; Afsarmanesh et al., 2009), the importance of effective management of a wide
variety of information was highlighted within case firms. However, the dominant
rhetoric encountered during the research, was the need to demonstrate feasibility,
through technical and business reports, that communicate manufacturability and
marketability for firms and their clients. Manufacturability and marketability tend to
apply in manufacturing firms and are tied to technological and business functions that
generate high yields from fabrication processes and capital investments. Along these
lines, the importance of communicating feasibility reports and surveys to demonstrate
manufacturability and marketability was central to operations within the CNOs
of case firms. Also tied to this point is the need for creating sub-nets that reflect
concern separation in CNOs, e.g. manufacturing- and marketing-focused sub-nets.
With insights from the case firms, the paper makes a second contribution in the
form of a conceptual framework to manage flow integration. For supply chains, the
extent to which information is shared, contributes to lower risks and cost (Li et al.,
2005). These contributions centre on cooperation to improve return on investment and
resource sharing, competitive positioning of firms and planned actions in the market,
as well as coordinated sales and marketing initiatives with operational requirements
(Klein and Rai, 2009). Within this research, the orientations of CN for integrated
information flow management have been studied and the findings of the study reflect
mitigation attitudes that attempt to minimise risks and cost associated with production
processes, as shown in Figure 3. The figure combines the findings from the case study
with the original framework. It conceptually connects the CN orientations (shown as
frames) from the case study with the flow concepts identified from the literature. It also
posits priorities for CN management (shown as dotted line rectangles) captured from
the cases firms. From the fluidity prevention attitude that reinforces production
contracts to strict issuance policies that make individuals accountable for processes,
the extent to which information is shared among CN partners has enabled case firms to
create philosophies and collaborative cultures rich in risk mitigation and cost
management. These philosophies as suggested in literature promote competitive
advantage of firms and supply chains (Fiala, 2005).
5.2 Managerial implications
The findings of this study have some managerial implications. To begin with, driven
by the increasing transition to paperless communication encountered in case firms,
the findings of the study highlight the domineering role of e-mail networks for
coordination. The attractive prospect of rapid access at low communication cost,
made e-mails favourable to case firms for interacting in their CNs. However, informants
within top management of the case firms (i.e. Business Director at MicroInc,
Commercial Director and Head of Operations at PolymerFirm, and Business Stream
Manager at TechInc) all agreed that some form of face-to-face discussions was also
needed during early stages of projects or during initial contact with new CN partners.
During these discussions, the main priority for firms centred on how tactical

Agreement orientation
Relationship orientation

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Information
sharing

Skill orientation
Project orientation

Integrated flow of
information

Added value through

process planning and
execution

Information
coordination

Managing
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networks
1223

Process mitigation for

communication risks
and costs
Collaborative network
management
Fluidity prevention
Implementation checklists
Strict issuance
Quota enhancement
Systematised templates
Concern separation
Procedural prompts

Flow
concepts

Contributes to

Priority for
integrated flow

Collaborative
network orientation

information (often company reports) and strategic information (production capabilities

and schedules) was shared with clients and how impressions that were created (as well
as perceived trustworthiness of clients) during these discussions was serving as
yardsticks for future communications with CN partners.
Overall, the findings of the study seem to suggest that separating business and
technological information flows enhances flow fulfilment and facilitates moments of
information. This enables CN partners, independent of skill and knowledge level, to
easily and quickly absorb shared information on production progress and status.
The study also highlights production contracts as important aids for managing flow
integration. Other useful aids for flow integration include internally and externally
directed triggers to encourage two-way communications, cc cultures that keep managers
in the loop about production status and progress, issuance attitudes that make staff
accountable, and maintained trails of CN communication.
Building on this discourse, the findings from the case firms could serve as tenets for
added value by identifying some useful planning and execution factors for supply
chain integration. Planning wise, findings from the case firms suggested an emphasis
on preventing fluidity, procedurally generating prompts, creating implementation
checklists, striving to enhance quotas and relationships with clients, systematising
templates and electronic mails, formulating strict issuance policies and separating
business and technological concerns. In terms of execution, the importance of creating
synergies between humans- and computer-based information systems (Dimitriadis and
Koh, 2005) was emphasised throughout the study. In line with previous research (e.g.
Wisner and Stanley, 2008) the study found that computer systems (specifically MRP
and ERP systems) enabled firms to integrate flows in a cheap, rapid and consistent
manner. Also of noteworthy mention were human information managers who served

Figure 3.
Revised framework of flow
integration for enhancing
collaborative network
management

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as interfaces to business- and technology-driven functions. For instance, in the case

firms, information managers were appointed to champion marketability that fulfils
business goals (Marketing Communications Engineer at MachineLtd, Licensing
Coordinator at DesignLtd, Commercial Director at PolymerFirm, and Customer
Support Manager at SiliconFirm), and to champion manufacturability that leverages
technology to make business viable (Chief Technical Officer at SiliconFirm,
Applicant Support at DesignLtd, and Head of Operations and Head of Engineering
at PolymerFirm).
6. Conclusion
In CNOs, integrated information flow enables partners to share and coordinate
operational, tactical and strategic information. Upstream-downstream-sidestream
relationships between CN partners are enhanced and internal/external communications
associated with firms are harmonised using network technologies. Along these lines, this
paper attempts to offer insights into the main integrated information flow challenges for
CN management. It describes a study involving 14 informants from six MST-based
firms to shed light on the following research question:
RQ1. What are the main orientations of industrial firms when managing integrated
information flow within their CNs?
Theoretically, the research analyses integrated information flow in the context of CNs
and proposes a conceptual framework to manage flow integration using insights from
the case study. Skill, project, agreement and relationship orientations were uncovered
as important avenues for managing integrated flow. In view of these orientations, there
is a need for managers of CNs to prevent fluidity of collaborative agreements,
procedurally generate prompts, create implementation checklists, strive to enhance
confidence and relationships with partners, systematise communication templates
and electronic mails, formulate strict issuance policies and separate business and
technological concerns during collaboration with partners.
In view of the research focus and participants, the research is limited to the analysis
of a single sector and could be complemented by future cross-sector analyses that
investigate trends across industrial sectors. While, production contracts and feasibility
to demonstrate manufacturability and marketability have been highlighted in this
research as influential in strategies for managing integrated flow, their significance in
short-, medium- and long-term relationship building and decision making within CNOs
has not been ascertained. Future work is therefore needed to study these influences
and to shed light on factors, such as sidestream relationships, tie-ins, negotiations and
check listing within and across CN partners, and their connections to the performance
and success of CNOs. Further studies could also focus on developing information
models, experiments, algorithmic formulations and decision support systems for
enabling CNOs to better integrate flows.
Notes
1. The multi-case study is a variation of the case study approach that investigates a
phenomenon using two or more observations (Santos and Eisenhardt, 2004).
2. Also known as Micro-electro-mechanical Systems (MEMS) and micromachines.
3. Pseudonyms are used for confidential reasons and at the request of participating firms.

4. Sidestream exchanges in this context refers to flows and interactions with competitors and
colleagues in alliances or other industrial firms.
5. Virtual teams are temporary arrangement involving highly skilled staff for achieving intraand inter-organisational goals.
6. This involves using technologies such as telephone conferencing, video conferencing, and
electronic meeting systems.

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7. Dynamic virtual organisations are established in response to market opportunities and are
usually short lived.
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Corresponding author
Dr Christopher Durugbo can be contacted at: christopher.durugbo@bristol.ac.uk

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