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Can nonstate militants professionalize? That is the core question of this piece. Discussions of professionalism have spread to the state military from civilian professions such as education, medicine, and law. This piece examines whether nonstate actors exhibit the same fundamental processes found within these state-based organizations. These fundamentals are the creation of a recognized internal ethos, which acts as a collective standard for those involved. A commitment to expertise and the punishment of those who do not reach these collective expectations reinforce this ethos. To answer this question, this piece examines the development of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) during the Troubles. It highlights consistencies and inconsistencies with traditional forces and argues that groups like the PIRA can professionalize and increase their effectiveness in doing so. This widens the field of professionalism studies and provides an additional lens through which to examine nonstate groups.

Can nonstate militants professionalize? That is the core question of this piece. Discussions of professionalism have spread to the state military from civilian professions such as education, medicine, and law. This piece examines whether nonstate actors exhibit the same fundamental processes found within these state-based organizations. These fundamentals are the creation of a recognized internal ethos, which acts as a collective standard for those involved. A commitment to expertise and the punishment of those who do not reach these collective expectations reinforce this ethos. To answer this question, this piece examines the development of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) during the Troubles. It highlights consistencies and inconsistencies with traditional forces and argues that groups like the PIRA can professionalize and increase their effectiveness in doing so. This widens the field of professionalism studies and provides an additional lens through which to examine nonstate groups.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the development of a technology alliance for B2B marketplaces.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper there was a lack of rigorous empirical evidence in the area upon which to base this study, so an exploratory methodology chosen was deemed appropriate. An interpretative case study was undertaken in the Eutilia B2B marketplace. Data gathering took place over a three‐month period from July to September 2003. The data‐gathering techniques used were semi‐structured interviews and document analysis.FindingsThis paper draws upon research on co‐operative partnerships and strategic alliances to explore the applicability of technology alliances to business‐to‐business (B2B) electronic marketplaces. The paper explains a model developed by Eutilia, a leading B2B marketplace in the utilities sector, to justify such a technology alliance. The case study illustrates how Eutilia operationalised this model and entered a technology alliance with a competing B2B marketplace. The analysis shows how both marketplaces benefited from the technology‐alliance, and the paper concludes by proposing determinants of technology alliances for B2B electronic marketplaces.Research limitations/implicationsIn this paper a single case study was the method adopted, so findings may not be generalisable.Originality/valueThis paper illustrates how B2B electronic marketplaces can benefit from technology alliances. This paper is of interest to both academics and practitioners involved in B2B electronic marketplaces.

Previous research has highlighted the need to examine the appropriateness of existing information systems methods in the context of electronic business environments. This paper argues for a re‐examination of the suitability of current planning practices in light of the complexity of developing electronic business systems. In particular, the paper illustrates that planning and developing business‐to‐business electronic trading systems (ETS) is fraught with difficulties associated with the priorities and power of individual actors in participant organisations. The authors discuss triple loop learning (TLL), an approach that deals with diverse requirements and power issues, and argue that it may assist in overcoming some of the problems identified. The study aims to analyse the theoretical usefulness of the concepts of triple loop learning in the context of planning inter‐organisational ETS. Using the data gathered from case studies of three inter‐organisational networks, the authors argue that approaches associated with TLL can offer insight into managing inter‐organisational systems complexities, and can thereby enhance planning methods for ETS.

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the ways in which firms utilise hierarchical relationships and the market system to supply and acquire intellectual property (IP) and/or innovation capabilities from sources external to the firm.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conduct a field study to explore emerging governance structures for open innovation, using multiple data sources including documents (e.g. white papers) and interviews published by the firms studied, analysis of the firms' web‐based systems (where applicable), secondary content (e.g. news articles) and elite interviews with key personnel.FindingsThe analysis of seven exemplars of open innovation reveals that inter‐organisational relationships that facilitate open innovation can be categorised based on whether they are mediated or direct, and seek to exchange intellectual property or innovation capability. Using this categorisation, the authors present an analysis that reveals four governance structures along ten dimensions, and discuss the influence of knowledge dispersion, uncertainty and transaction costs on the emergence of such structures. The authors conclude that the appropriateness of hierarchical/market relationships or intermediaries to source IP and/or innovation capability is dependent on the information asymmetry in relation to the existence and availability of potential solutions/solvers; the suitability of potential innovation partners (solution providers and solvers); and the acquisition process for external innovations (including problem specification, solution evaluation, transfer, etc.).Research limitations/implicationsThe research is exploratory in nature, and designed to serve as a foundation for future research efforts. In particular, the work highlights the need for research that takes an inter‐organisational perspective on facilitating open innovation.Practical implicationsThe research highlights the prominence of information asymmetry as a key issue in choosing and designing appropriate governance structures for open innovation.Originality/valueThe paper presents an exploratory study of an emerging, and consequently under‐researched phenomenon.

AbstractThis paper presents a case study of the co‐operative design, development, and implementation of an XBRL‐enabled interorganizational system (IOS) by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the Reserve Bank of Australia (central bank), and the Australian Bureau of Statistics to revolutionize reporting by financial institutions in Australia. The findings illustrate that the complexity of data consumption patterns drove increased interdependence within the financial information supply chain requiring the co‐operative development of context sensitive data exchanges and commodity‐like IT infrastructures. The paper concludes that the co‐operative model to IOS development exhibited here is likely to be more suited to the development of systems for financial information supply chains than the hub and spoke model characteristic of IOS in other sectors. Copyright © 2009 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.