PurposeThis paper seeks to give empirical examples of the processes whereby networks learn to collaborate. Specifically, the authors aim to examine efforts to learn to collaborate in response to the challenge of climate change.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses case study research methods to examine concepts previously developed in the literature and propose a conceptual framework of barriers to learning to collaborate.FindingsExisting research on collaboration over environmental issues highlights the prevalence of cognitive deficiencies, an abundance of conflicts and disputes and the ignorance of exchange opportunities among interdependent actors. Based on a theoretical review and an empirical case study, the authors put forward a framework that involves three stages. The paper proposes that networks learning to collaborate undergo a process of: framing the problem; negotiating; and achieving wise trades.Practical implicationsAt all three of the stages given above, there are significant cognitive biases, which can lead to failure to learn to collaborate. The paper gives examples that should help businesses and regulators to understand and avoid in‐built barriers that could lead to a failure of the network to learn to collaborate.Originality/valueThe paper reviews a number of research disciplines linked to collaboration and gives an empirical case study that explores their links. The authors then propose a conceptual framework of barriers to learning to collaborate, which can be used to help guide practitioners. Failure to learn to collaborate can be found in the many contemporary cases of conflicts and disputes; such as in the areas of intellectual property rights, international trade, inter‐firm alliances and vertical marketing systems.

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This study highlights significant discrepancies between CO 2 market design and the actual operation of CO 2 markets. Our findings are based upon an empirical investigation undertaken in the context of the European Emissions Trading Scheme between January 2009 and May 2010. CO 2 markets are examined from a practicebased perspective in which actors are engaged in exchange, representational and normalizing practices. Discrepancies between the actual and intended CO 2 market practices are explained using the concepts of framing, overflowing and regulatory capture. We argue that the design of the European Emissions Trading Scheme has been influenced in such a way that it does not actually challenge market participants to reduce their CO 2 emissions. In this way, the study challenges the near universal reliance upon CO 2 markets as the primary policy mechanism for mitigating climate change.

In this paper we investigate whether innovative and flexible contractual arrangements can support the process of achieving ambitious sustainability goals. We explore this question through an analysis of the role of umbrella agreements in driving energy savings in the building sector. Drawing on a case study of the iconic Empire State building, we examine the typical challenges faced by clients and contractors in devising suitable agreements that facilitate managing contractual and performance risks, as well as the sharing of responsibilities and cooperation between multiple project stakeholders. We find that the project arrangements appear to exhibit the adoption of the key characteristics commonly found in umbrella agreements which incorporate sustainability measures that maximize income through efficient delivery of outcomes. Specifically, this means that they need to enable stakeholders to manage repeated review cycles, complex perceptions and expectations, and different tacit assumptions and codes of behaviour, as well as managing and communicating in networks and obtaining agreement also from non-contractual parties. Moreover, we demonstrate that umbrella agreements can facilitate a network perspective of business relationships by emphasizing value co-creation and the embeddedness of firms within a network of interactions.

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