This project investigates the tensions, or control challenges, in competitive inter-organisational relations and analyses the type and use of control systems for the purpose of managing these tensions. The study was conducted in the independent trade publishing sector in the United Kingdom. This sector is an appropriate research site for this project because firms are direct competitors but also simultaneously collaborate in activities across various functions of the value chain.

Furthermore, they collaborate when engaging in networks with both suppliers and customers. This contemporaneous membership of different networks provides an interesting opportunity to explore the tensions arising in the pursuit of competitive collaborations and the use of controls to manage these tensions both within and between particular alliances.