HOW TO INITIATE COOPERATIVE NETWORKS Practical guidelines for industry associations, development

HOW TO INITIATE COOPERATIVE
NETWORKS
Practical guidelines for industry associations, development
agencies and SMEs
Matthias Nöster, Marita Gruber, Sylvie Feindt
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 3
Purpose of the guide ..................................................................................... 3
Success factors for Cooperative Networks........................................................ 5
THE INITIATION PROCESS................................................................................ 7
TAKING FIRST STEPS....................................................................................... 8
Bringing companies together ......................................................................... 8
Creating interest in the network ....................................................................10
Moving from interest to commitment .............................................................12
PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY......................................................................14
Deriving the network business case ...............................................................14
Establishing a network manager ....................................................................16
Developing terms of cooperation ...................................................................19
FACING “SOFT FACTOR” PITFALLS....................................................................21
ANNEX ..........................................................................................................23
Literature ...................................................................................................23
Best practice...............................................................................................24
Contacts.....................................................................................................25
Endnotes ....................................................................................................27
2
INTRODUCTION
Purpose of the guide
Despite the often cited advantages of network cooperation for SMEs such as sharing
risks and resources, complementing competencies and capacities or increasing
market power, good practice research shows that not many networks achieve the
above. The reasons are that SMEs often have little experience with cooperation and
are reluctant to withdraw resources (time and money) from daily operations to longterm, strategic business development. A cooperative network, however, has to be
considered as an integrative part of the company’s strategy in order to create value.
In addition, approaches to network initiation have often placed too much focus on
infrastructure and organizational architecture. Otherwise, they have not paid enough
attention to the personal, soft factors of cooperation and failed to embrace a more
organic process of network initiation.
These guidelines on “how to initiate cooperative networks” are the result of 18
months of practical experience with the initiation of cooperative networks in three
European countries. They also embody the knowledge from several years of joint
industry-university research into good practice in the domain of cooperative
networks as well as knowledge inputs from the exchange with numerous European
experts and projects.
Cooperative networks hereby are understood as groups of legally independent
organizations (and its individuals) that aim to cooperate closely and on a long-term
basis with significantly fewer centralized management functions than traditional
business organizations.
The aim of these guidelines is to provide practitioners, i.e. industrial associations,
development
agencies
and
individual
companies
with
practical
and
critical
information about how to setup cooperative networks. The specific objectives of
these guidelines are to:
•
Endow these target groups with a sound understanding of the crucial aspects
(success factors) in the set-up process;
3
•
Enable them to shorten the process and save resources;
•
Introduce them to existing network initiatives and network experts.
This compact document thereby focuses on the initiation – the earliest stages – of
networks. This early phase is particularly critical for the later stages of network
cooperation and has shown to require careful support and guidance.
Thereby, it is assumed that the practitioner reading this guide already has a basic
knowledge of cooperative networks and virtual organizations in general. The guide
does not introduce the concept from scratch, but provides practical, checklist-like
recommendations for each step of the initiation process. The Annex contains further
references to literature, good practice examples and experts.
4
Success factors for Cooperative Networks
Good practice networks reveal that the success of a cooperative network largely
depends on five interrelated factors. Respecting these basic principles will also
improve the network initiator’s work notably:
NETWORK
MANAGEMENT
BUSINESS
OPPORTUNITIES
TRUST
COMMITMENT
EXCHANGE OF
INFORMATION
Business opportunities must be identified and realised
New business opportunities are the reason why companies join a network. In a
cooperative network these opportunities stem from new and productive combinations
of competences and resources and not simply from networking. When a network is
initiated by a supporting organization, a possible lack of a concrete business case
must always be offset by a clear strategy that will lead to business opportunities in
the future. In any case the cooperation must bear fruits; otherwise companies will
lose interest soon.
Network-Management needs to be in place, sound and trusted
Cooperative networks are “light” organisations with little hierarchy and central
management functions. Nevertheless, a common understanding of how to handle
business as well as conflict situations is crucial for success. It is therefore necessary
to define basic roles and to establish some rules. Network management also plays a
critical role in the initiation process where guidance and coaching are required before
the rules have been put into place.
5
Commitment to active cooperation needs to be assured
The active involvement of all participants and the sufficient allocation of resources
(time and personnel) are critical for a network to identify and realise business
opportunities. One of the most important aspects defining commitment is whether
the network strategy has been well aligned with the individual strategic aims of the
participating companies. This strategic match needs to be assured in the initiation
phase.
Trust needs to develop as the foundation of cooperative behaviour
Trust has been recognized as a major factor for success in any type of cooperation.
Whether and how quickly trust develops depends on the personalities of the involved
people and the relationships between them. In any case the companies have to get
to know each other and work together in order to develop trust. Particularly in the
initiation phase, personal meetings and social gatherings facilitate this process.
Nevertheless, networks must not only rely on personal trust but also need to
establish norms to institutionalize trust.
Information exchange has to be intensive and transparent
Open communication is a basic factor in trustful relationships. During network
initiation a lot of information has to be shared between the potential network
members that need to get to know each other well. The network manager can
contribute significantly to improving the flow of information in this phase. At later
stages basic IT tools or platforms can support this task.
6
THE INITIATION PROCESS
The focus of these guidelines is on the process of initiating cooperative networks of
SMEs. The success factors above necessitate the involvement of strategic decision
makers in the cooperative network who, in the case of SMEs, are usually the owner
managers. These individuals need to be brought together so that the initiation
process can be compared to a group or team building process, consisting of the
following phasesi:
FORM
STORM
NORM
PERFORM
NETWORK INITIATION
Each phase needs to be completed before the next phase is reached: In the form
phase, a newly established team is cobbled together and in the storm phase, the
group members aim to develop a common understanding in a sometimes conflict
ridden process. Companies can either drop out if they do not agree or take a position
of silent resistance. In the norm phase the group eventually agrees on the specific
rules of the game und only then can the group perform and start creating economic
benefits.
The model is supposed to illustrate that when initiating a cooperative network, a
group of companies will go through a number of phases - form & storm & norm before it can start to perform, i.e. operate and do business. It is the network
initiator’s task and challenge to guide the group through these phases which require
significant time (maybe up to 24 months) and effort (support activities), depending
on the particular situation. The following chapters aim to provide stepwise, hands-on
recommendations on how to meet this challenge effectively:
‘Taking first steps’ covers activities that largely take place in the form & storm phase
of the group building process while ‘planning for sustainability’ deals with some
important tasks that facilitate the norming of the group.
7
TAKING FIRST STEPS
Bringing companies together
OBJECTIVE
At the very beginning of the forming phase, it is necessary to gather a number of
companies – including competitors - for the first time. This group of potential
network members should be large enough to ensure that some companies will
eventually become interested. This section deals with how to best approach
companies and what kind of information to provide.
CAUTION
Be prepared to act as a missionary and sell the concept! Many companies are not
familiar with cooperative networks and some might even be skeptical towards this
approach!
ACTIONS
DO: Before taking any steps towards network set-up, be sure to have
identified a clear opportunity for this type of cooperation.
NOTE: Even if you see the business opportunity, it does not mean that the
companies will see it, too!
DO: Have the business situation analyzed by a third party (consultant or
university for instance) in an investigative study.
NOTE: Hard facts (about sectors, markets….) can facilitate your further work
considerably.
DO: Be ready to do some preparatory work and make individual phone calls
to invite companies.
NOTE: Build on personal contacts you have with come companies that might
lead or drive the network set-up from the inside (opinion leaders).
DO: Narrow down the target group from the beginning, because too diverging
businesses will not see the common issues.
DO: Organize a short (2-3 hours) workshop combined with a social gathering.
8
DO: Provide a simple, but concise presentation of the cooperative network
concept proposed.
NOTE: Understanding of cooperative networks will be different from company
to company. Room for questions & answers is needed to informally assess
this understanding.
DO: Invite a good practice example from your country to present its work.
NOTE: Companies relate more to national examples.
DO: Organize a social gathering after the workshop.
NOTE: The social gathering after the workshop should also help you to
observe the first reactions of the companies. Spontaneous enthusiasm should
be taken up immediately and companies that develop ideas or propose
leadership need to receive specific attention.
RESULT
The result of these first steps should be a workshop that is attended by about 10 or
more companies from a similar industry branch. At end of the workshop, they should
have understood the added value of a cooperative network and the difference to
other cooperation concepts.
9
Creating interest in the network
OBJECTIVE
The next step is to immediately follow-up on the first awareness created in order to
generate actual interest in the cooperative network model. It is more effective to
focus on two, three companies where a positive attitude has been observed. This
core group should be brought together in several informal, but moderated meetings
in order to develop a common agenda as soon as possible.
CAUTION
Companies are sluggish to recognize a common opportunity in cooperating with
other companies. The vision for the network develops slowly!
ACTIONS
DO: Make individual follow-up phone calls the days after the first workshop.
DO: Ensure that high level management gets involved in order to make
strategic decisions.
DO: Organise several short (2-3 hours) meetings within 4 weeks, dedicated to
identifying common needs and a way to address these in the network.
NOTE: Organise the first meeting within four weeks.
DO: Ask the companies to make a company presentation.
NOTE: Use interactive techniques to make the presentations more
dynamic.
DO: Carry out a SWOT analysis for the specific industry branch if the
companies do not perceive commonalities at first sight.
DO: Use some brainstorming technique for vision findingii.
NOTE: Do not expect a clear vision to develop at this stage, because it
needs more time to crystallise.
NOTE: Joint purchasing in networks is an easy to understand concept
and can be a proposed as part of the network vision; the practical
implementation however is not always easy.
DO: Try to ‘lock-in’ companies as forming the core group of the network.
10
DO: Ask companies to fill in a questionnaire assessing cooperation abilities.
DO: Always fix a date for a next meeting where additional companies would
participate.
NOTE: Each company to invite two other companies they would like to have
as partners in the network.
RESULT
The outcome of this stage should be that a core group of companies has expressed
serious interest to further develop the network idea.
11
Moving from interest to commitment
OBJECTIVE
The race is not yet won at this stage, because the difficult task is to bring companies
from being interested in the network companies to actually investing any resources
for its implementation. A number of tasks and activities can help to create
commitment in this phase.
CAUTION
The time of general managers/owners is a very scarce resource! Companies quickly
lose interest if things do not move on.
ACTIONS
DO: Propose an external network manager to the companies that leads the
set-up process.
NOTE: The companies appreciate a person dedicated to the network.
DO: Organise short and moderated workshops/meetings that take the vision
of the network further towards strategic implementation;
DO: Use these meetings to analyse the companies’ core competencies
(questionnaires can provide structure for this task).
DO: Organise the meetings at companies’ premises and have a guided
tour after the meeting.
NOTE: This is a real incentive for the other companies to participate
and a sign of readiness for mutual trust.
Consider inviting other good practise examples to provide further
inspiration on how to cooperate in the network.
DO: Create first tangible results such as a competence database.
DO: Carry out analytical work in parallel that help you to develop and propose
ideas and steps how to proceed consequently.
DO: Develop a step-wise action plan that involves tasks to be carried out by
each company.
12
DO: Initiate small joint projects of knowledge exchange or market analysis;
NOTE: Make sure that most companies are involved or at least that the
projects are open and transparent to everybody in the group.
NOTE: The short-term projects will only lead to commitment if the long-term
objectives of the network are also clear.
DO: Create network boundaries in order to create a sense of exclusiveness.
NOTE: If the group has the impression that other companies also benefit from
the initiative they will be reluctant to commit resources.
DO: Create a brand name and Web site for the network.
RESULT
At the end of this stage a small group of companies (a minimum of 3) should start
referring to themselves as the network. The vision has been formulated and written
down, and regular meetings and communication takes place. Do not expect to reach
this point in less than a year’s time.
13
PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Deriving the network business case
OBJECTIVE
Cooperative networks require significant management (external or internal) effort
before the network can eventually perform and create value. This effort needs to be
justified and contingent financial means be assured. Therefore, a business case
needs to be identified and put on record as soon as possible. The management effort
represents the mayor cost element for the network and can be estimated. The
returns, though, will be close to zero before the perform phase and even then
probably be hard to measure. It thus makes sense to carry out a cost/benefit
analysis with the network members, instead of discussing a potential return on
investment. The benefits need to be recognized by the network members themselves,
but the initiator can support the thinking process. In any case he/she should have
perceived clear benefits before launching the network initiative. The costs need to be
estimated in detail, best according to the various management functions. If financing
is required, public funding programmes in many European countries provide financial
support for cooperative networks and could always be considered in order to cover
part of the costs. The rest needs to be covered by the network members.
CAUTION
Do not underestimate management costs! Therefore, try to keep other costs
(administration, overheads, legal) as low as possible!
ACTIONS
DO: Identify medium to long-term opportunities and goals (benefits) with the
network members.
DO: Identify ways in which network management can contribute to achieving
these goals and discuss them with the companies.
NOTE: Some management activities are critical for all networks; others
depend on the specific case.
DO: Make a realistic estimation of the management effort (costs).
14
NOTE: Move down to function and task level.
DO: Identify public funding opportunities and discuss advantages as well as
disadvantages (delays in setting up the network) with the network members
DO: Suggest and discuss a mix of financing mechanisms, such as commission
based fees for acquisition activities and a fixed fee plus public funding for
coaching/coordination tasks.
NOTE: Demand a financial contribution from the companies to close the
financing gap and to create commitment.
DO:
Evaluate
whether
all
companies
will
benefit
equally
from
the
management activities.
NOTE: If some will obviously benefit more than others, consider individual
invoicing these companies.
NOTE: Substituting the network manager’s effort with the members’ effort
can lower the financial requirements, but not the total costs (opportunity
costs). This approach is hence of limited applicability.
DO: Present the business case and financing options to the members; make
them decide whether there is a business case and put his on record.
DO: Suggest carrying out a simple cost-benefit analysis periodically.
RESULT
The companies should have understood that there is a business case and have
agreed to make a financial contribution for a pre-defined time. Public funding for
cooperative networks is usually provided over three years regressively. Hence a plan
for how to cover the costs over the whole period must be provided in a proposal and
agreed upon with the network members.
15
Establishing a network manager
OBJECTIVE
As a cooperative network requires significant management effort in all its phases, a
network should establish the role of the network manager and appoint a dedicated
person with the right skills to take over that role. Usually, network members are not
qualified for this job or lack the necessary time. Preferably either the network
initiator or a third party take over this role as soon as possible in the process.
Definitely, the initiator will have to take over the management functions in the
earliest stages of the network where the network manager role has not yet been
defined. If the facilitator does not have the required skills, it is more effective to
appoint an external network manager at this early stage in order to drive the process.
Both will lead to a situation where costs arise at a stage where the network
membership is not yet stable and hence membership contributions are not possible.
A solution to this problem is again to acquire some public funding for the initiation of
the network or to accept the financial risk until a later stage.
CAUTION
As much as the network manager can speed up the network initiation process, he
can also slow it down due to other agendas or lack of skills!
ACTIONS
DO: Assess your qualifications in terms of:
Profound knowledge of and work experience in the target industry
NOTE: This increases credibility before the network members.
Ability to develop valuable marketing and business strategies jointly
with the network members
NOTE: This requires knowledge of analytical tools and techniques.
Proven commercial and entrepreneurial skills
16
NOTE: It helps when the manager can stimulate business ideas and
activities.
Excellent and proven project management skills
NOTE: They are particularly important in the perform phase.
Excellent interpersonal and social skills, such as an ability to
communicate clearly, to moderate discussions, to support trust
building, to solve conflicts
Practical experience in managing cooperative networks
DO: In case you do not have the above qualifications, consider appointing a
third party network manager that meets all the requirements above.
DO: Select the most appropriate candidate that can start immediately and
can dedicate several days a month to the network management activities.
DO: Appoint someone who understands and believes in the cooperative
network concept and its win-win orientation.
NOTE: This will have a positive impact on companies’ attitudes towards
cooperation. An entrepreneurial industry insider risks being closer to some
companies than to others or might have a different agenda with some of
them.
DO: Face or set the following tasks for the initiation phase of the network
Communication and trust-building support
Network strategy development
Network meetings coordination
Network business plan
Coordination of joint projects
DO: Focus on specific management functions in line with the network’s
strategy.
NOTE:
These broad
management
functions
are:
coaching, marketing,
coordination, acquisition (brokering), R&D liaison; intensive communication
cuts across all the functions.
NOTE: During the norm & form phase, where companies need external
guidance, the coaching and coordination functions are particularly important.
17
RESULT
The result of this activity is to have established the role of the network manager,
who supports the cooperative network throughout all phases and supports the
activities described in the previous chapters.
18
Developing terms of cooperation
OBJECTIVE
When either the facilitator or a third party has taken over the role of a coordinating
network manager, work can become more structured and formalised. References,
such as a business plan, an action plan or a cooperation agreement need to be
developed in order to stabilize the process, as time passes. These references (norms)
need to be developed and agreed upon jointly by the network members. Some
important issues to address are legal (such as warranty or intellectual property rights)
and financial (transfer prices) aspects, but also quality and technical features of joint
products. Dedicated working groups should be established to tackle some of these
topics. At this point it is also necessary for the network members to involve other
members from their organisations in the network, because of the technical expertise
or the time required to participate to these working groups. Hence the owner
managers need to be prepared to pass on the network idea to their staff. This
internal as well as the external promotion (marketing) of the network should
therefore be subject to extensive discussion or trainings with the owner managers.
CAUTION
Do not over-formalise cooperation! Make sure that simple norms are in place and
that network does not get stuck in endless discussions of every detail!
ACTIONS
DO: Agree to a simple network etiquette that sets out the basic behaviour for
cooperation.
DO: Distribute work tasks between the network members, including the
following:
NOTE: The members should gather information and develop ideas themselves.
Assessing market needs and potential for the network products and
services (marketing or business plan)
Identifying joint advertising & PR opportunities
Developing logo and brand (if not developed earlier)
19
Investigating legal requirements
Investigating financial requirements
Investigating quality and technical requirements
NOTE: It might help to establish dedicated working groups to address some of
the tasks on the list.
DO: Facilitate the on-going work and integrate the findings and ideas.
DO: Fix a meeting schedule (how, where and when) for several months.
DO: Formalise the results in written documents.
NOTE: Use templates where available to reduce the effort.
DO: Have the documents approved by all network members.
DO: Organise trainings on how to promote the network internally and
externally.
NOTE: An external communication expert might be required for this task.
RESULT
Norms necessary for the network have been developed and approved by all members.
They have been formalised in a marketing or business plan and a cooperation
agreement that serve as reference documents. The network idea has been extended
throughout the member companies and staffs have become involved in the
cooperation. The network should dispose of the necessary terms of cooperation to
perform and effectively pursue its strategy.
20
FACING “SOFT FACTOR” PITFALLS
Objective
Following the guidelines up to now, you might have brought companies together,
have developed a joint network vision, established network management and basic
norms. This, however, was not the most difficult part. The real challenge is to ensure
that companies actually make use of these agreed terms of cooperation in order to
perform and hence create economic value!
The companies that have decided to continue the cooperation activities at this point
are obviously convinced that there is a business case and believe that the benefits
outweigh the risks/costs. The most critical factor for sound cooperation, however, is
not the optimal combination of core competences, nor the existence of a lucrative
business case. The way how network participants get involved in cooperation
activities is strongly affected by personal relationships and trust. A network of
companies is basically a network of people and it depends on the right mix of people
in order to perform. This means that in parallel to the development of the
organisational cooperation abilities, there should be significant consideration of the
development of the social relationships between the people involved. A stable
cooperation network can only be built on a stable network of trusting people.
CAUTION
The best business case (hard fact) will not lead a network to perform if some of the
owner managers do not trust each other or the network manager (soft factor).
ACTIONS
DO: Treat companies as members instead of participants!
NOTE: Every company shall have an active role in the network and therefore
be certain that the process in their hands.
DO: Work with the participants according to their preferences, expectations
and time!
21
DO: Establish periodical and obligatory meetings in order for the owner
managers to get to know each other as persons.
NOTE: Let the members themselves organize the meetings at their premises
DO: Start a discussion about joint rules for doing business as well as for
conflict situations. Trust cannot develop without proper rules being formalised.
DO: Establish small working groups on different topics like marketing of the
network, financial issues, joint events etc.
DO: Always reserve sufficient time for informal talks and meetings.
Keep in mind the Golden Rules of Charles Handy
Trust needs touch: People do not trust each other from the very first moment.
Sustainable, trustful relationships require profound knowledge of each other and
common experiences in business as well as in informal events. Trust takes time
to develop.
Trust needs boundaries: Trust can only be established in a well-defined
environment. A unifying goal of all network members is the basis for commitment
and mutual confidence.
Trust is tough: Trust in a group cannot be established without impositions. If one
partner betrays does not play fair there is no other way than to exclude him from
the network.
22
ANNEX
Literature
Arnold, H., Benz, H., Bonnet, P., Bürkle, P., Gölz, A., Hofmann, J., Jacobi, J.,
Schulte-Wieking, J. (2003): Besser arbeiten in Netzwerken – Wie virtuelle
Unternehmen Erfolg haben. Shaker, Achen.
Brennecke, V. (2004), Innovationsnetzwerke – ein anwendungsorientierter Leitfaden
für das Netzwerkmanagement; VDI Verein deutscher Ingenieure (ed.), Düsseldorf.
Huber, C., Plüss, A., Schöne, R., Freitag, M. (2005) ‚Kooperationsnetze der
Wirtschaft; vdf, Zürich.
Schöne, S. (2000), Kooperationen von kleinern und mittleren Unternehmen – Ein
Leitfaden; Polygraphisches Zentrum der Universität Chemnitz, Chemnitz.
Schubert, I. (2000), Kooperationsprojekte erfolgreich durchführen, RKW, Eschborn.
Stahl-Rolf, S., Hamann, O., Hausberg, B. (2004), Kompetenz mobilisieren – Ein
Leitfaden für Initiatoren und Manager von Kompetenznetzen; Bundesministerium für
Bildung und Forschung (ed.)., Bonn-Berlin.
Umbauer, G., Lämmerer, W., Eder, W. (2005): Erfolgreich kooperieren!
Unternehmensnetzwerke anbahnen, realisieren und begleiten, Fachgruppe UBIT,
Wirtschaftskammer Steiermark (Hrsg.), Leykam, Graz.
Wiendahl, H.P., Dreher, K., Engelbrecht, A. (2005), Erfolgreich kooperieren. BestPractice-Beispiele ausgezeichneter Zusammenarbeit. Physica-Verlag, Springer, Berlin.
23
Best practice
Die Aufmöbler
http://www.aufmoebler.at
IMPRO
http://www.impro-praezision.de/
Swiss Microtech Enterprise Network
http://www.swissmicrotech.ch/
Virtuelle Fabrik Nordwestschweiz Mittelland
http://www.virtuellefabrik.ch
Virtuellbau Holding AG
http://www.virtuellbau.ch/
Vollbad
http://www.vollbad.at
24
Contacts
- Experts
Leyla Arsan
VERITAS network manager Turkey
TAGES Industry & Information
Technologies R&D
ISTANBUL
leyla.arsan@tages.biz
+90 212 2232101
Georges Puissant
VERITAS network manager Belgium
Puissant BtoB Consultancy
BELGIUM
georges@puissant.be
+32 2 3811852
Franz Sebl
VERITAS Network manager Austria
SECO
AUSTRIA
Franz_sebl@gmx.at
+43 676 7009035
Charles Huber
Network Manager
Virtuelle Fabrik Nordwestschweiz
Mittelland
Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz
Institute for Business Engineering
SWITZERLAND
charles.huber@fhnw.ch
+41 56 4624194
Dr. Adrian Plüss
Coach
Virtuelle Fabrik Nordwestschweiz
Mittelland
Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz
Institute for Business Engineering
SWITZERLAND
adrian.pluess@fhnw.ch
+41 56 4624192
Michel Pouly
Coach of Swiss Microtech Network
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne
SWITZERLAND
michel.pouly@epfl.ch
+41 21 6932559
Franz Filzmoser
Innovation expert
Innovation Network Austria
AUSTRIA
filzmoser@inna.at
+43 1 9617111
Dr. Matthias Freitag
Network expert
ISA Institute for Systemic Approaches
GERMANY
office@mfreitag.de
+49 178 8831110
Prof. Dr. Roland Schöne
Network expert
Chemnitz University of Technology
GERMANY
ebbw@phil.tu-chemnitz.de
+49 371 5314250
Mob +49 178 546 07 63
Werner Pamminger
Cluster manager
Kunststoffcluster Upper Austria
Clusterland Oberösterreich
AUSTRIA
werner.pamminger@clusterland.at
+43 732 798105117
25
- Authors
Matthias Nöster
Network expert
Sylvie Feindt Consulting
AUSTRIA
noester@sfconsulting.net
+43 1 789061216
Marita Gruber
Network expert
University of Vienna
Faculty of Business, Economics, and
Statistics
AUSTRIA
Marita.Gruber@univie.ac.at
+43 1 427738177
Sylvie Feindt
Network expert
Sylvie Feindt Consulting
BELGIUM
feindt@sfconsulting.net
+32 2 6622400
26
Endnotes
i
Tuckman, Bruce W.: Developmental Sequence in Small Groups, Psychological
Bulletin, vol. 63, 1965, pp. 384-399.
ii
Some techniques are described at www.businessballs.com
27