Social, Organizational, and Policy Network Analysis

Galaskiewicz, Joseph, Wolfgang Bielefeld, and Myron Dowell. "Networks and organizational growth: A study of community based nonprofits." Administrative Science Quarterly 51, no. 3 (2006): 337-380.
 
Abstract: The paper examined the effects of nonprofit organizations' network ties over time on growth. Donative non-profits, which relied heavily on contributions and volunteers, grew at a faster rate if they had high status, more ties to urban elites, and greater interorganizational network centrality. In contrast, commercial nonprofits, which depended on fees and/or sales and employees, grew at faster rates if they had fewer ties to other nonprofits and local elites. Also, as nonprofits became more dependent on fees and/or sales, they moved to the periphery of the interorganizational resource exchange network. The findings contribute to the social capital literature by suggesting that networks are more beneficial to organizations that depend on donations and gifts than on earned income. You may find this paper through Sage or your university library here.
 
Wasserman, Stanley, and Joseph Galaskiewicz, eds. Advances in social network analysis: Research in the social and behavioral sciences. Vol. 171. Sage Publications, 1994.
 
Overview: In this book, leading methodologists address the issue of how effectively to apply the latest developments in social network analysis to behavioural and social science disciplines. Topics examined include: ways to specify the network contents to be studied; how to select the method for representing network structures; how social network analysis has been used to study interorganizational relations via the resource dependence model; how to use a contact matrix for studying the spread of disease in epidemiology; and how cohesion and structural equivalence network theories relate to studying social influence. The book also offers some statistical models for social support networks.
 
Brass, Daniel J., Joseph Galaskiewicz, Henrich R. Greve, and Wenpin Tsai. "Taking stock of networks and organizations: A multilevel perspective." Academy of management journal 47, no. 6 (2004): 795-817.
 
Abstract: The central argument of network research is that actors are embedded in networks of interconnected social relationships that offer opportunities for and constraints on
behavior. We review research on the antecedents and consequences of networks at the interpersonal, interunit, and interorganizational levels of analysis, evaluate recent theoretical and empirical trends, and give directions for future research, highlighting the importance of investigating cross-level network phenomena. You may download this paper here.
 
Henry, Adam Douglas. "Ideology, power, and the structure of policy networks." Policy Studies Journal 39, no. 3 (2011): 361-383.
 
Abstract: This article investigates the role of power and ideology in the endogenous formation of policy networks. According to the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), shared ideology (conceptualized as a system of policy-relevant beliefs and values) is the primary driver of collaboration within policy subsystems. On the other hand, Resource Dependency Theory suggests that power-seeking is an important rationale behind network structure, and that collaborative ties are formed primarily on the basis of perceived influence. Hypotheses are tested using a new method of egocentric network correlation, based on survey data of policy networks in five regional planning subsystems in California (N = 506). Results suggest that ideology is an important force behind network cohesion: Not only do policy elites systematically avoid networking with ideologically dissimilar actors but collaborative ties are also systematically formed among actors with shared beliefs. Power-seeking does not operate on a network-wide scale but may drive network formation among coalitions of ideologically similar agents.  You may download this paper from PSJ or your university library here.
 
Henry, Adam Douglas, Mark Lubell, and Michael McCoy. "Belief systems and social capital as drivers of policy network structure: The case of California regional planning." Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (2010): muq042.
 
Abstract: This article uses exponential random graph models to investigate the roles of policy-relevant beliefs and social capital as drivers of network structure. The advocacy coalition framework argues that actors with similar policy beliefs are more likely to form coalitions, leading to policy subsystems fragmented into ideological groups. Social capital is defined as trust and norms of reciprocity, which helps cement cooperative relationships. Hypotheses are tested using survey data of policy elites involved in land-use and transportation planning in four regions of California. The findings suggest that coalitions of actors with similar belief systems are knit together by policy brokers seeking to build transitive social relationships. You may download this paper here.
 
Smith, Craig R. "Institutional determinants of collaboration: An empirical study of county open-space protection." Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 19, no. 1 (2009): 1-21.

Abstract: Collaboration is an increasingly important topic in the public administration and management literatures. A preponderance of studies focuses on how managers can build trust between the government and collaborative partners by means of behavioral attributes and managerial skill. In this article, the author suggests that stable institutions and local government structure facilitate collaboration by allowing public managers to more credibly commit in a policy arena. Using county data on open-space policy, the author finds empirical support for the proposition that county form of government, along with rules governing debt accumulation and administrative commitment, increases the breadth of county collaboration in open-space protection.  You may download this paper from JPART or your university library here.

 

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