Abstract
If most decision-making processes aimed at solving societal problems have a network-like character, then a key question is how to deal with networks so that they can achieve valuable solutions to societal problems. Managing networks differs considerably from the management advice contained in organisation textbooks, and there is a large and growing literature on how to manage complex processes in networks. After a short discussion of the emergence and characteristics of networks, the article focuses both on strategies to manage processes within networks – here called ‘process management’ – and on attempts to change the characteristics of networks – here called ‘strategies of institutional design’. Finally, we consider the effects of network management and the evaluation of management strategies, and discuss some future research questions.
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Notes
There is a large amount of literature that illustrates and analyses the empirical reality of modern decision-making and its network-like character. For recent examples see Agranov and McGuire (2003), Mandell (2001) and Meier and O'Toole (2001). Examples from the earlier literature, of course, include the famous Hanf and Scharpf (1978) publication, but also include Rhodes (1988), Hufen and Ringeling (1990), Marin and Mayntz (1991) and Marsh and Rhodes (1992). See also Marsh (1998) and Denters et al. (2003).
This notion of structure being both the context for interaction and the result of interaction is taken from Giddens (1984) who calls this the ‘duality of structure’.
If we define governance, roughly, as the ‘directed influence of social processes’, then it is a broader term than network management. It covers all kinds of guidance mechanisms in society including those that are not necessarily deliberate (like societal rules and norms). So again, network management is governance but not all forms of governance are network management.
Scharpf (1997) tries to solve this problem by generalising to types of games and institutional contexts. Although this is a very interesting thought, it will probably remain difficult to reduce the empirical variety of rules and strategies to the very limited number of games and rules that Scharpf uses.
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Klijn, Eh. designing and managing networks: possibilities and limitations for network management. Eur Polit Sci 4, 328–339 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.eps.2210035
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.eps.2210035