INTERORGANIZATIONAL COLLABORATION AND THE PRESERVATION OF GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY

Using grounded theory development research methods, the authors examin e collaborative processes in the global biodiversity preservation doma in. The processes examined are those initiated and convened by a subgr oup of the Swiss-based International Union for the Conservation of Nat ure known as the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission. The global collaborative initiatives of the grou p suggest that extant theory on collaboration may not adequately expla in collaborative processes in so complex a domain as global biodiversi ty preservation. Specifically, the authors suggest that in highly comp lex domains, effective structuring of collaborative initiatives may ta ke different forms. Propositions about structuring of collaborations i n complex domains are derived.