Managing for environmentally sensitive technology: networks for collaboration and learning

Environmental issues are acknowledged as problems which transcend boundaries at organizational and societal levles. By adopting the notion of product stewardship, companies are required to manage their products from conception to resurrection, while recognizing many stakeholder interests. This demands a new style of management which emphasizes collaborative structures. In the case of teh development of greener, more environmentally sensitive technology, there is a role for new collaborative networks which affect technology in either incremental or revolutionary ways. These networks can exist within the organization (intra-organizational), between organizations in the supply chain (trans-organizational) and with organizations at the domain level (supra-organizational). This paper analyzes the management, development and effect of thse networks on the greening of technology. It sets out a conceptual framework for exploring the role of collaborations in the management and development of environmentally sensitive technology. It than links the types of collaboration to empirical evidence from a detailed case study of a major internationa UK manufacturing company. The paper concludes by highlighting the implications for management and research that stem from the findings.