Getting what you want from your transorganizational partners : “Social-sharedness” and decision-making within a transorganizational system

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how the group decision-making process unfolds over time in a transorganizational system (TS) planning change. Design/methodology/approach – A longitudinal qualitative case study was designed to enable researchers to identify different stages in the group decision-making process. Findings – The findings from this case study indicated that the group decision-making process in a TS planning change could be conceptualized to include five distinct steps: working in solitude; starting a dialogue; finding a common goal; suggesting decision alternatives; and deciding among alternatives. The group proceeded through these steps sequentially over time. Practical implications – The paper offers TS practitioners a framework to follow when making group decisions within TSs. Originality/value – The study develops a conceptual framework that describes how the group decision-making process unfolds over time in a TS planning change. This framework can be tested in other contexts and advance theory in both the TS and group decision-making areas.