Table 2.
Mechanisms present in prior phase of realist synthesis (left) vs. refined theory (right), an explanation of these mechanisms, and which outcome these mechanisms typically produce
| Initial mechanisms | Refined mechanisms and their type | Explanation | Most frequent outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Task achievement and performance | Effectiveness through collaboration: enabling innovation, reduced duplication of effort, sharing of best practices, increased access to resource, reduced gaps in services, increased influence over others | The ‘ultimate outcomes’ that usually underlie actual improvements to key metrics of organisational performance | n/a |
| Synergy and collaborative inertia | Changes towards collaborative behaviour from competitive behaviour (behaviour) | A move from competitive organisational behaviours to collaborative ones | Collaborative effectiveness |
| n/a | Risk threshold (cognitive process) | How much risk an organisation is willing to take on with a collaborator | Collaborative behaviour |
| Faith | Faith (cognitive process) | A belief in the collaborative endeavour as a positive force and therefore a motivation to work on its goals | Collaborative behaviour |
| Perception of progress | Perception of progress (mindset) | Whether actors perceive advancement towards the goals of the collaboration | Faith |
| Conflict | Conflict (mindset) | The perception by organisational actors that they are in opposition to collaborators in some way | Trust |
| n/a | Approach to conflict resolution and accountability (cognitive processes) | Processes and attitudes in place that lessen the severity of conflict | Conflict |
| Trust | Trust (cognitive process) | “A psychological state comprising the intention to accept vulnerability based upon positive expectations of the intentions or behaviour of another” [83]. | Risk threshold |
| Confidence | Confidence (cognitive process) | A belief that a collaborator will behave collaboratively due to contractual or other obligation | Risk threshold |
| Initial trust | Initial trust (cognitive process) | Trust that manifests as a result of pre-existing contextual factors | Trust |
| Power | n/a (now a contextual factor) | Whether one organisation has more influence on proceedings than another | Trust |
| Leadership | n/a (now a contextual factor) | The set of behaviours and attitudes that key organisational leaders possess | Trust |
| Cultural integration | Cultural assimilation (cognitive process) | How well actors between organisations are aligning in terms of attitudes and behaviours | Trust |
| Interpersonal communication/ coordination | Interpersonal communication & information sharing (behaviour) | The behaviour of communicating and sharing information | Trust |
| Perception of task complexity | Perception of task complexity/initial faith (cognitive process) | How complex actors perceive the collaborative endeavour to be | Faith |
| n/a | Clarity and sharedness of vision (cognitive process) | How well-defined and to what extent the vision between partners is agreed-upon | Trust |
| n/a | Perceived legitimacy of collaboration (cognitive process) | How actors perceive the collaboration in terms of its authenticity | Initial faith |