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Modeling Network Management: An Examination of Internal and External Strategies

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Abstract

Within the last decade scholars have begun to emphasize the importance of exploring management within an inter-organizational context (O’Toole and Laurence Public Administration Review 57(1):45-52, 1997; Agranoff and McGuire 1999; O’Toole and Meier Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 9(4): 505-526, 1999). These studies have demonstrated the importance of network management on organizational performance. However, McGuire (2002) argues that the literature on networking does not demonstrate the intricate activities of network management that lead to increased performance, asserting case studies are necessary to achieve this goal. This work uses large-n data and presents the concepts of internal and external networking as a framework for understanding how network management contributes to improved organizational performance.

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Notes

  1. Factoring the 8 contact nodes used to create the variables NE and NI created this measure. This measure is not comparable to the M2 used by Meier and O’Toole. The M2 that Meier and O’Toole use only includes 5 nodes: school board members, local business leaders, other superintendents, state legislators and the Texas Education Agency. The measure of overall networking that I use in this paper is composed of 8 nodes, thus differences in impact on performance may be expected.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Stephen Sargent

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  1. Stephen Sargent
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Correspondence to Stephen Sargent.

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Sargent, S. Modeling Network Management: An Examination of Internal and External Strategies. Public Organiz Rev 11, 335–349 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-010-0127-2

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