Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that encourage or discourage organizations from collaborating with other organizations outside their jurisdiction in order to accomplish a common goal. Interjurisdictional collaboration was explored, including the motivation behind collaboration, the factors leading to its formation, and how the rules of governance change as a network evolves into a fully coordinated structure. Theoretical framework. The study built on Frederickson's (1999) notion of administrative conjunction and Meek, Schildt, and Witt's (2002) subsequent work on the forms of administrative conjunction and integrated it with Biel's (2000) model of interorganizational coordination. This integration of works resulted in a theoretical model that traced the evolution of collaboration from an informal network to a fully coordinated formal structure and helped to explain how and why this transition occurs. The theoretical framework for this study was grounded in social network theory, resource dependency theory, systems theory, and interorganizational relations. Methodology. This study conducted a case study of the Gotcha Anti-Graffiti Program, a formal interjurisdictional collaborative in Long Beach, California. Data collection methods included structured interviews of senior management, middle management, and staff-level representatives from six organizations, direct observation, and content analysis. Findings. The findings revealed that the problem of graffiti, and the lack of a comprehensive effort to combat it, was the primary motivation for collaboration. The leadership and resource commitment of the Long Beach City Prosecutor's Office were found to be critical to the program's formation and eventual transition from an informal network to a formal structure. Support from senior management was also found to be a significant factor in each organization's commitment level to the program. Finally, this study found that the rules of governance evolved into a hierarchical system of governance as the program became fully coordinated. Conclusions and recommendations. This study contributed to the literature by providing insight on how a network of organizations moves from one phase of collaboration to the next, until reaching full coordination. In the process, trust, leadership, commitment, and incentives were among the central themes that emerged from the study and resulted in questions for future study.