Collaborative Working Research
ISO 44001 and Business Relationship Management Systems
Collaborative Working is a business discipline that goes beyond collaboration. It is a framework for structured collaboration, and it is codified in an International Standard – ISO 44001 Collaborative business relationship management systems.
External Research
THE JOURNEY FROM UNSTRUCTURED TO STRUCTURED COLLABORATION
AND ISO 44001
Denis Leonard
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper is to understand why organisations engage with and how they manage the process of collaborative management, especially ISO44001 to drive change and impact performance. Using qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted using open-ended questions with senior managers across 10 large organisations certified to ISO44001. The findings reveal that collaboration was adopted to develop a new or reinforce an existing collaborative and customer-focused culture. A structured approach and ISO44001 were implemented to provide a process to better manage collaboration. Behaviours were seen as a fundamental whether using unstructured or structured approaches. There were a wide range of positive financial and non-financial impacts. Collaboration will become more important in the future, and it is critical that ISO44001 continues to develop and engage more SMEs. A conceptual model was developed to articulate the collaborative journey. The lessons learned can be acted upon to improve collaborative performance.