Inter organizational innovation and human resources management

Organizational configurations have evolved. The classic corporate model has given way to networks of organizations in which a range of players collaborate and compete. These networks of organizations are externalized forms that bring together several organizations (companies, training bodies, research centers, etc.) that are legally independent and interdependent through their relationships. They are conducive to open innovation. Resources come from both internal and external environments, thanks to intensive interaction. Thanks to the development of organizational networks, it is possible to exchange knowledge, innovate through unconventional paths, and benefit from the results of innovations not initiated within one's own sphere.

While the benefits of organizational networks are undeniable, human resources management (HRM) is also a challenge. The challenge now is to integrate a diversity of players and expectations, and to motivate a group without being able to mobilize traditional human resources management levers (recruitment, remuneration). A new human resources management model, or at least innovative practices capable of adapting to this multi-player, multi-stakeholder context, must be envisaged.

We're looking more specifically at competitiveness clusters, whose mission is to create synergies between public and private players, with innovation as the gateway. Although the government has been ambitious in terms of financial allocations, competitiveness clusters are encountering real difficulties in mobilizing people around innovation. These innovation ecosystems are a priori The right conditions are in place for open innovation, but the management team responsible for setting up collaborative innovation projects (CIPs) is not always well equipped. To bring together a diversity of expectations and rationales, it is necessary to innovate in the management approach itself.

First, we describe the evolution of organizational configurations and discuss the impact of this evolution in terms of HRM. Next, we specify the case of the competitiveness cluster. We have been conducting research for several years in a competitiveness cluster called Alpha. This involvement enabled us to gain a better understanding of the complexity of collaborative innovative projects and the difficulties faced by project managers, but above all to co-construct adapted management tools with these project managers. We assessed the implementation of the tools and were able to define the conditions for success and the stages at which they proved relevant. While the tools are not standardized and are therefore unsuitable as they stand in any inter-organizational context, the approach followed and the conditions of implementation can...