Abstract :
This paper aims at better understanding the reason why different organisations experience huge productivity differences and varying degrees of quality on similar knowledge-oriented work across organisational boundaries. Evidences from three case studies show that organisations, which work towards a similar objective as developing a specific project output, follow productive work steps that suggest almost identical business processes. However focussing on coordination routines behind the business process, considerable differences are identified in ways of how actors communicate and coordinate their work. For example how actors know what to do next, solve problems, or drive progress form distinct, but relatively consistent patterns of activity, which can be described in the cases as task partitioning with formal coordination, ad-hoc coordination, or building shared understanding and driving maturity. The analysis of the cases also shows that there is currently little support by collaboration tools in all patterns and each pattern is better or less suited to the different types of collaborative work. The findings are analysed and lessons learnt from the cases are outlined; especially they provide some explanation for the varying productivity and results experienced. Based on the findings, we elaborate a number of recommendations for future work specifically on how to better support patterns with current as well as emerging collaboration tools and how to better identify the most appropriate coordination pattern for varying working situations.
