Governance and Management of Horizontal Business Networks: An Analysis of Retail Networks in Germany

Abstract

The paper examines two important elements in the development and effectiveness of horizontal business networks: governance and management. Case studies were conducted in three horizontal retailer networks in Germany with the aim of understanding how these networks are structured and which internal governance mechanisms support their development. Through secondary data and in-depth interviews, the study shows that the retail networks developed and implemented their own governance mechanisms and management structures to retain and attract a large number of members, facilitate strategic decision making and increase their effectiveness. The results highlight that governance structures are transitional and adapted according to specific contingencies. In the cases studied, the growth and effectiveness of the business networks have demanded changes in the governance structure, with greater autonomy for professional network managers. Although the retail network keeps its cooperative character, there is a trade-off, in which member-firms agree to delegate greater decision making power to managers in exchange for greater network efficiency and competitiveness.

Motivational factors of formation, cooperate actions and gains obtained from the cooperation networks of building material retail in Parana: A comparative between the associated managers and retailers perceptions

“…This notion elaborated by the networks studied here is explained in the studies of Wegner and Padula (2010); they affirm that the retailing cooperate networks can strengthen their competitive positions regarding the competitors or even the position on the value chain when better negotiating with the suppliers and clients.…”

Governance of Industrial Districts: Bibliometric and Cluster Analyses

“…The latter focuses on the economic power distribution as pivotal determinant of district partner relationships and discusses strengths and weaknesses of connected governance schemes by relying on case study evidence based on primary and secondary data (Sacchetti & Tomlinson, 2009). Research also emphasizes the contingent nature of network governance structures and highlights that each solution aims to attract new companies, support network management and increase its effectiveness (Wegner & Padula, 2010).…”

“…Aside this line of inquiry, other investigations have followed an institutional approach to examine industrial districts and have focused on the practices and the regional governance agents involved in managing networks (Alberti, 2001). Following the wave of reforms in the 1990s and prompted by the European Union (European Commission, 2002), the majority of these studies has discussed the role of district committees and meta-managers also in connection with local policies and national regulations in force by examining their contribution to the district strategy and providing prescriptive suggestions for network governance (Wegner & Padula, 2010). Despite this line of inquiry has emphasized the importance of the local asset base in supporting the industrial district development and the meta-managerial effectiveness (European Commission, 2002;McDonald, Tsagdis, & Huang, 2006), both theoretical and empirical contributions on this topic are still limited and usually anecdotal (Mistri, 1999).…”

A influência do gerenciamento da rede na criação de valor em redes estratégicas regionais

“…Outra delimitação importante diz respeito á noção de governança em seus aspectos micro e macro (Wegner & Padula, 2010). A partir de uma simplificação, o aspecto macro ocupa-se da estruturação da governança e o micro da operacionalização da gestão do arranjo em si.…”

“…No âmbito desta aproximação é possível distinguir os estudos sobre governança de redes em aspectos de macro e micro governança (Wegner & Padula, 2010). Em linhas gerais, a macro governança refere-se ao modo de coordenação da rede, e a micro governança ocupa-se em identificar os objetivos e mecanismos que tais estruturas de coordenação adotam para influenciar a dinâmica geral da rede, ou seja, refere-se ao gerenciamento em si (Dagnino et al, 2016;Klaster et al, 2017).…”