Effective Stability of Representation Enhances Success in Healthcare Collaborations

Interorganizational collaborations have become essential in addressing complex healthcare challenges, encompassing strategies like strategic alliances, networks, joint ventures, and public-private partnerships. The success of these initiatives depends not only on the pooling of expertise to achieve shared goals but also on how well participants can leverage each other's knowledge for their own independent objectives. Progress in these areas can provide spillover benefits that encourage sustained participation.

A recent study conducted by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Santa Clara University explores how the stability of individual participants' roles—specifically the stability of the people representing organizations—is crucial for effective collaboration.

The study, published in Health Care Management Review, analyzed a successful U.S. healthcare alliance aimed at strengthening leading clinical centers. Researchers conducted interviews with 21 members involved in the alliance and examined seven years of its records to understand the dynamics of expertise sharing.

The findings revealed that often, valuable expertise that could support a participant's independent goals remained hidden because it was not directly relevant to the alliance's central objectives. To address this, the study identified mechanisms such as maintaining stable representation—ensuring the same individuals participate consistently—building strong interpersonal relationships, and implementing formal procedures like regular report-outs to keep attention on each organization’s independent goals.

Interestingly, the research highlighted that organizational stability does not automatically translate to individual stability. While organizations may have stable participation, the individuals representing them might change, leading to potential information loss. To mitigate this, intraorganizational handoffs and knowledge management tools, like dashboards or repositories, are recommended.

Expertise sharing best practices depend heavily on consistent representation and focused attention on both joint and independent goals. Maintaining stability in the individuals involved fosters trust, continuous relationships, and better leverage of expertise, ultimately enhancing the effectiveness of healthcare collaborations.

Limitations of the study include its small sample size and the need for further research to test causal relationships and the broader application of these practices. Nevertheless, the insights shed light on practical steps to improve stakeholder engagement and collaboration outcomes.

For more details, see the full study: Esther Sackett et al., 'Leveraging expertise in interorganizational teaming: Exploring the intertwined roles of goal awareness and expertise awareness,' published in Health Care Management Review (2025).

This research underscores that stability of representation—specifically the individuals involved—plays a vital role in fostering trust, knowledge sharing, and success in health care collaborations.