Interaction challenges in leadership and performance management in developing a network environment

Purpose – Network‐level collaboration between different organisations is acknowledged to be one of the success factors in achieving a competitive advantage in business. However, contemporary business environments demand more suitable managerial tools and practices at both organisational and network levels. The purpose of this paper is to summarize approaches to managing and developing network‐level processes. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical evidence is based on a multiple case study on leadership and performance management in a network environment. The empirical data were gathered in 18 semi‐structured interviews at the case companies. The cases were chosen because they represent different types of networks, which make it possible to identify common factors in leadership and performance management regardless of the specific characteristics of any certain type of network. Findings – The findings of this study support the assumption that the networked way of doing business needs a shared management perspective that discusses and leads operations of the network. Furthermore, there is little point in designing measurements and other managerial tools in the organisations, if the culture and leadership behaviour are not committed to changes and collaboration. Research limitations/implications – Future studies will include in a wider way the roles of networking when more individuals are engaged in the action and the objectives of the participants are achieved. Although the creation of the network is an on‐going process, the preliminary results are promising. Practical implications – The study reveals significant requirements that contribute to successfully establishing collaborative networking, and the development of knowledge sharing, leadership and managerial procedures and systems. Originality/value – The potential value of this research paper is in its function as a summary for organisation scholars looking for approaches to manage and develop network‐level processes. Even though the networking trend itself has received a lot of researcher attention, collaboration between different organisations influenced by a combination of transformational leadership and performance management has not been much noticed.