POINTS OF POWER IN INTERORGANIZATIONAL FORMS: LEARNING FROM A LEARNING NETWORK.

This paper contributes to theory on the management of interorganizational collaborative relationships. Using action research and discourse analysis, we draw on data collected from a learning network and focus specifically on conceptualising some of the ways in which issues of power impinge upon participants in collaborations. The emerging theory encompasses a holistic and dynamic view of power. The notions of "power infrastructure" and "points of power" are introduced. Power is seen as shifting very frequently between these points and between the various actors who engage with them. We have also highlighted power issues relating to presence and absence and that power issues may relate to a much wider field than any acknowledged interorganizational relationship. The relationship of identity to power is raised through the discourse analysis. Support is provided for theories that suggest that self-identity is perceived as dynamic and nomadic whilst other-identity may be objectified. In extreme cases this can...