Managing strategically in collaborative networks

The relationship between strategy and structure is one of the long-lasting and rather controversial topics in the strategy literature. It is also an evergreen and unresolved issue in the literature on public networks. Some authors have focused on structural characteristics of public networks (i.e., network integration and centrality and/or network governance structure) and their relationship with network performance (Provan and Milward, 1995; Provan and Sebastian, 1998; Provan and Kenis, 2008; Kenis and Provan, 2009). Others have shed light on the criticality of strategies to manage public networks and of the mechanisms for strategy implementation and network partner interaction (Klijn et al., 2010), and have concluded that strategy matters (and matters even more than structure) in affecting public network performance (Klijn et al., 2010). However, just very few studies have investigated the possibility of an interaction effect among the abovementioned factors. In this sense, our chapter aims at understanding whether a relationship does exist between network structure, strategies and mechanisms in jointly affecting the network performance. In particular, by following the extant literature, we will focus on three configurations of network structure (i.e., decentralized and shared-governed networks, networks centralized in a Lead Organization, and networks centralized in a Network Administrative Organization), three strategies to manage public networks (i.e., facilitating, mediating and leading), and two kinds of mechanisms for strategy implementation and partner interaction (formalized and informal mechanisms), and explore whether different combinations of network structure, strategies and mechanisms can equally lead to good network performance. For this purpose a so called “configurational approach”, the Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) (Ragin, 1987), was chosen to systematically compare 13 networks for homecare assistance in Switzerland (Spitex networks) (along the abovementioned factors and their performance), and bring up varying configurations leading to network success. Results shed light on the efficiencies / inefficiencies of differently combinations of network structure, strategies and mechanisms together with giving some suggestions about how to strategically manage public networks successfully. The chapter is structured into three parts. The first part reviews the literature relevant for our research and presents the theoretical framework on which the research design was built. The second part introduces the applied method, the Qualitative Comparative Analysis, presents the empirical setting, as well as the case selection and data collection. The third part summarizes the key findings