Managing structural inter-organizational tensions in complex product systems projects: Lessons from the Metis case

This paper examines a Complex Product System (CoPS) project, Metis, an externally occulted coronagraph that is part of the ESA's Solar Orbiter mission and whose development required the involvement of scientists, international firms and space agencies. Specifically, this study attempted to investigate two main issues: (i) the main structural inter-organizational tensions emerged over the years, and (ii) if and how they were solved, distinguishing between contingent and structural solutions. The coronagraph was successfully delivered to the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2017, notwithstanding two main tensions related to the shortage of financial resources and to the organizational design of the ESA mission. This study takes different theoretical lenses (contingency theory, paradox theory, and social balance theory) to infer about how structural inter-organizational tensions were mitigated, proposing the need to combine several theoretical perspectives. The contingent and structural solutions identified and discussed could have implications for several future CoPS projects.