Navigating Paradoxes of Interorganisational Collaboration for Sustainability Transitions

Abstract

Interorganisational collaboration has been a longstanding, central topic of interest to researchers and practitioners in construction management. Early studies have approached collaboration through factors- or indicators-oriented modes of theorising, with more recent studies zooming in on the practices of collaboration. Yet, how collaboration emerges and what effortful accomplishments need to be in place for collaboration to work remain under-explored. In this paper, we investigate how interorganisational collaboration emerges in the context of sustainability transitions, where transitions are characterised by long-term endeavours that go beyond a single project, and which are typically known for high levels of uncertainty and novelty. Through two living laboratories for regenerating the port cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, in which we work as engaged scholars in these settings we analysed how, how actors navigate through the paradoxes of identity, challenge specificity, and temporal uncertainties are analysed as they come together to learn to collaborate.