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The Qualities Needed for a Successful Collaboration: A Contribution to the Conceptual Understanding of Collaboration for Efficient Public Transport

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  • Robert Hrelja

    (K2—The Swedish Knowledge Centre for Public Transport, SE-223 81 Lund, Sweden
    VTI/Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, SE-581 95 Linköping, Sweden
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Fredrik Pettersson

    (K2—The Swedish Knowledge Centre for Public Transport, SE-223 81 Lund, Sweden
    Department of Technology and Society, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Stig Westerdahl

    (K2—The Swedish Knowledge Centre for Public Transport, SE-223 81 Lund, Sweden
    Department of Urban Studies, Malmö University, SE-205 06 Malmö, Sweden
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

The creation of an efficient public transport system requires collaborations between formal independent organizations. This paper examines collaborations between public and private organizations and passengers, with the aim of contributing to the conceptual understanding of collaborations on public transport. The study begins by describing previous research on collaboration in the public transport area and in other research fields analytically relevant for public transport. Accordingly, collaboration is defined as an attempt to overcome problems with collective action and to transform a situation in which the various organizations operate independently into a situation where they act in concert to achieve shared objectives. The collaboration process involves the establishment of joint rules and structures that govern the relationship and behavior of the organizations. According to this definition, collaboration is a more sophisticated form of collective action than is indicated by terms such as “co-operation” or “coordination”. Fully-functioning collaboration can be described as a form of “co-action”, as opposed to “individual action”. In co-action, formal independent organizations together reap the benefits of working together and achieve more than if they had acted alone. Co-action can be regarded as a gradual trust-building process that requires qualities such as mutual confidence, an understanding of other organizations’ motivations, and joint problem formulation.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Hrelja & Fredrik Pettersson & Stig Westerdahl, 2016. "The Qualities Needed for a Successful Collaboration: A Contribution to the Conceptual Understanding of Collaboration for Efficient Public Transport," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-15, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:6:p:542-:d:71633
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Paulsson, Alexander & Isaksson, Karolina & Sørensen, Claus Hedegaard & Hrelja, Robert & Rye, Tom & Scholten, Christina, 2018. "Collaboration in public transport planning – Why, how and what?," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 377-385.
    3. Pettersson, Fredrik & Westerdahl, Stig & Hansson, Joel, 2018. "Learning through collaboration in the Swedish public transport sector? Co-production through guidelines and living labs," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 394-401.
    4. Hrelja, Robert & Khan, Jamil & Pettersson, Fredrik, 2020. "How to create efficient public transport systems? A systematic review of critical problems and approaches for addressing the problems," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 186-196.
    5. Kimberly Pugel & Amy Javernick-Will & Matthew Koschmann & Shawn Peabody & Karl Linden, 2020. "Adapting Collaborative Approaches for Service Provision to Low-Income Countries: Expert Panel Results," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-26, March.
    6. Sørensen, Claus Hedegaard, 2018. "A typology of inter-organisational coordination in public transport: The case of timetable planning in Denmark," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 411-419.
    7. Cannon, Russell & Zhao, Chunli & Winslott Hiselius, Lena, 2024. "Barriers to better bicycle parking for promoting intermodal journeys: An inter-organisational collaboration perspective," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 65-73.
    8. Vanessa Stjernborg & Ola Mattisson, 2016. "The Role of Public Transport in Society—A Case Study of General Policy Documents in Sweden," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-16, November.
    9. Hrelja, Robert & Rye, Tom & Mullen, Caroline, 2018. "Partnerships between operators and public transport authorities. Working practices in relational contracting and collaborative partnerships," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 327-338.

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