Goal diversity and resource development in an inter-organisational project

Purpose - This paper aims to discuss the role of goal diversity for resource development organized in an inter-organizational project. Design/Methodology/Approach - The paper builds on a case study of an inter-organizational research project in the field of plant biotechnology in Sweden. The project had four members with differing goals: two research departments, one firm and one co-operative. Findings - This particular project shows a diversity of goals and seeks to explain how actors with very different goals and resources involve in inter-organizational collaboration. The case illustrates how the goals are nested in different ways and how the goals are and become related with the resources developed during the project. The explanation found is that the involved actors manage to match their goals and resources. Research limitations/implications - The paper identifies goal-and-resource-matching processes as an explanation behind resource development in collaboration between actors with diverse goals. Practical implications - Designing projects with actors who have diverse sets of resources have enormous potential, but such projects need to ensure that the goals are resources become matched, processes which can emerge during the course of the project. Originality/value - Few studies have focused on the interplay between diverse goals and resources in inter-organizational projects.