Abstract

While there has been increasing interest in understanding network performance in public and nonprofit sectors, the existing literature on network performance has primarily focused on the internal functioning of networks, paying less attention to the external environment. In this study, we address this gap by adopting a network domain perspective in combination with social network analysis technique to examine both internal and external stakeholder assessments of network’s symbolic performance. Examining a case where multiple networks exist in one county who all focused on the health domain, the study aims to test competing hypotheses built upon institutional theory and strategic management literature on the relationship between network isomorphism and networks’ symbolic performance. Our findings aim to contribute to both the public network literature as well as advance institutional theory within networked environments.

摘要

尽管人们对理解公共和非营利部门的网络性能越来越感兴趣，但现有的关于网络性能的文献主要关注网络的内部功能，较少关注外部环境。在这项研究中，我们通过采用网络领域视角结合社交网络分析技术来检查内部和外部利益相关者对网络符号性能的评估来解决这一差距。研究一个县中存在多个网络且都专注于健康领域的案例，该研究旨在检验建立在制度理论和战略管理文献上的关于网络同构与网络符号性能之间关系的竞争假设。