ABSTRACT
The main purpose of this chapter is to highlight the role of the collaborating partners in the formation and development of a new cross-border joint-university, Castle University (CU), and to demonstrate the complex inter-organizational relationships among them. As a joint-university, it is easy to take for granted that CU has two founding partners: Harbor University (HU) and Mountainside University (MU). However, from my fieldwork, another university – Mountainside University (Spring Campus) (MU(S)) – also played a visible role in CU's history. Thus, CU must deal with three parties: HU, MU, and MU(S). The inter-organizational relationships are not necessarily harmonious, and include a combination of cooperation and competition. This chapter first briefly introduced the births and histories of HU, MU, and MU(S), then analyzes the complex interactions between CU and HU, MU, MU(S), respectively. Finally, the complicated inter-relationships among the four institutes are summarized.
