La dinamicità del network: lo sviluppo di processi di cambiamento

[Autom. eng. transl.] The management of growing environmental complexity has led companies to seek new strategic alternatives based on cooperation. Attention is thus focused on the organizational model of the network of companies, or networks. In the latter relations are not mere links in a linear chain concerning an organization, but all relations are complexly interconnected. In the network, according to the IMP (Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group) approach, the strategy moves away from the traditional concept linked to planning (Ansoff, 1968). In Quinn's view (1996) the strategy is an overall plan that integrates the main objectives, policies and actions of a company that is considered as an independent unit. Unlike this interpretation, in the IMP network, the company "is not an island but a part of the continent" (Hakansson, Snehota, 1995, p.194), characterized by mobile borders. The environment, in this approach, is considered as a structured reality, formed by organizations linked by specific relationships and ties, and which depends on the choices made by the company. The environment is therefore interpreted, created by the company through the choice of the territory in which to operate and the interactions developed with other organizations (Hakansson, Snehota, 1989). The environment is stable, as the exchanges take place mainly within pre-existing relationships, and at the same time dynamic, as new relationships can arise, or change, through the interaction between the parties. What goals do companies pursue through interaction? How can interaction affect the dynamism of the network? Is the latter found at a structural and / or even process level? If the network is based on long-term relationships, and therefore on stability, can processes of change be detected?