Partner selection as a control mechanism in inter-organizational relationships: a meta-model approach
Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change
ISSN: 1832-5912
Article publication date: 11 July 2022
Issue publication date: 21 March 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a meta-model that systematically aggregates and organizes research on “partner selection” in interorganizational relationships (IORs), which is scattered across several disciplines, to help future researchers explore various aspects of this control mechanism in a more consistent manner. This paper also aims at critically reviewing each aspect of this control mechanism examined in the prior literature and identifying important research trends.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper conducts a comprehensive review and in-depth analysis of the key theoretical and empirical research findings on partner selection in IORs by identifying 172 papers across 46 journals that specifically discuss this control mechanism. A meta-model approach is adopted to review and identify the shortcomings in extant research and provide guidance to future researchers on exploring unanswered research questions. Moreover, maps are constructed using the Luft and Shields’s (2003) approach to graphically present the causal-model forms examined in this topic area.
Findings
This meta-model shows how the research on partner selection in IORs is scattered across different disciplines, resulting in its inconsistent evolution with researchers, in many cases, not being able to effectively synthesize contributions from fields that are not their own or not closely allied. The causal-model forms also enable rapid tracing of what has been researched.
Originality/value
There has been considerable research on control mechanisms in IORs till date. However, “partner selection,” which is an important control mechanism, has received little attention and is often neglected. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first to develop a meta-model to consolidate knowledge on this topic that is important for further advancement of research.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author thanks Margaret Abernethy, Naomi Soderstrom and participants of the 12th international conference of the Japanese Accounting Review (November, 2021) and the 2016 Advanced Managerial Accounting Research class at the University of Melbourne for their helpful comments. This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship. The author is also grateful to the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne for their financial support.
Citation
Desai, H. (2023), "Partner selection as a control mechanism in inter-organizational relationships: a meta-model approach", Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 351-375. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-11-2021-0154
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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