RESULT
The DIMECC REBUS programme has been an essential phase in continuing the research work that was started in DIMECC’s Innovation and Network (I&N) programme (2009-2014). The DIMECC REBUS final report introduces highlights from the programme and presents 20 practical business case examples, which - following system thinking - are organized from macro to micro level: the publication starts from cases describing the change process in the business ecosystems (Part I), continues with network structures (Parts II-III), turns to relationship management (Part IV), and finally presents the exploration of the network capabilities of case companies and state-of-art contracting as a network practice (Part V).
Though the final report focuses particularly on companies’ perspectives and learning, besides these practical outcomes, the academic results with 155 publications, 8 doctoral and 14 other theses, are engrossing. In addition to the final report, also a jointly written book “Practices for network management - In search of collaborative advantage” (published by Palgrave Macmillan) with 36 REBUS authors involved presents a collection of the programme results in the form of network management tools to be used in an inter-organizational context. Ambitious scientific goals of the programme included a new theoretical approach - the systems approach to networking and both this final report and the Palgrave Macmillan book are a starting point for the broader academic discussion.
