When Average Joe met the Inexperienced Superstar—a case study of the consequences for a university of a partnership with IKEA

The aim of this study was to explore how consequences from a university-wide partnership unfolded at various levels within a university and induced intra-organizational dynamics. This was achieved via an in-depth investigation of “The Bridge,” a collaborative partnership between the young mid-range Swedish Linnaeus University (“Average Joe”) and the home furnishing retail giant IKEA, which despite its global reach has only limited research capacity (the “Inexperienced Superstar”). Based on previous research that conceptualizes consequences of collaborations as changes in wide-ranging resource categories over time, this article develops a conceptual framework that advances the understanding of the consequences of collaborative efforts at both the level of faculty individuals and groups, as well as on a university-wide level. The study identified both differences and similarities between the two levels related to material, knowledge, and social resource mobilization, and revealed consequent tensions within the university due to an imbalance in material resource mobilization and social resource mobilization. The resource-based multi-level perspective that this study puts forward enables a more fine-grained and dynamic understanding of the conditions for undertaking and organizing university-wide long-term collaborative efforts.