A Systems Perspective on Inter-Firm and Organizational Collaboration in African Industry

Based on recent field survey data collected in three African countries, this study examines inter-firm and inter-organizational collaboration in African industry. Three sets of interactions were analyzed namely: firm-firm linkages, including user-supplier and subcontracting relationships; firm-university linkages; and firm-industrial association linkages. Employing univariate and multivariate analysis, we examined the channels and institutions for collaboration and tested three hypotheses. Collaboration with universities was expected to promote greater firm-level technical innovation resulting in greater output and product quality but little incidence of such collaboration was recorded. However, collaboration among suppliers of inputs, subcontractors and firms was found to have contributed to significantly better performance