The Strategy and Structure of Collective Action

The developing literature on collective strategy points to the need to manage relations between a population of organizations and the broader social context in which they are located. This paper complements this perspective by examining the problems of collective action at the task environment level. It is proposed that collective action is a necessary response to environmental turbulence; which presents both opportunities and threatens organizations' resource base, and demands operational and output adaptations. It is suggested that different strategies require the solution of different crucial tasks and that specific modes of interorganizational coordination are needed to do this. The hypotheses are illustrated by four cases of collective action prompted by deregulation and technical change in the U.K. telecommunications industry.