Organizational Values and the Network Governance of International Nongovernmental Organizations

This study asks the following questions: What explains the governance structures of inter-organizational networks? Are the multiple levels of network governance studied in the public (forms of coordination) and nonprofit literatures (network boards) related or do they respond to different driving influences such a dominant stakeholder group (Brown, Ebrahim and Batliwala, 2012) or the need to balance internal tensions (Provan & Kenis, 2008)? And are the values outlined in a network's vision, mission and values statements related to the governance structures they adopt? From this comparative case study of 41 humanitarian INGO networks, using a mixed methods research design, I find evidence for the following conclusions. First, the structural dimensions of network governance do indeed appear to cluster around two key components, the structure of the network board and a network's form of coordination, and these two dimensions are only loosely related. Second, while a network's form of coordination appears to be most related to internal dynamics related to size and resource disparities within the network; values, as well as philosophical and regional origins combine with age to provide the best explanation for why a network board is structured the way that it is. Although a balanced funding structure does appear to allow some secular networks to decentralize. And only when a network is sufficiently small and homogenous do factors such as the purpose of network coordination appear to impact how it is coordinated. And third, the values expressed by humanitarian INGO networks appear to vary along two dimensions (i.e. their general orientation and their approach to humanitarian action) although these dimensions are generally consistent with a three sector value trichotomy: Aligning with either a market, public or non-profit sector value system. In general, these findings support the propositions from the most recent theories of network governance in both the public (Provan & Kenis, 2008) and nonprofit (Brown, Ebrahim & Batliwala, 2012) literature. However, some extensions are proposed. First, the results of this study support the proposition that a network’s purpose influences the form of coordination it adopts. This contrasts with other empirical tests of this proposition. Second, the detailing of the various network governance characteristics that comprise the general network board structure expand and add clarity to the discussion of network forms. Specifically, how members are represented on a network board appear to be closely related to the purpose of coordination adopted by the network. And finally, nonprofit organizations appear to express values from the market, public and nonprofit values systems. However, each network tends to express a set of values consistent with just one of these value systems. And these values appear to be related to how the network is structured. Specifically, values appear to serve as a filter through which other environmental factors such as philosophical origins, regional culture and the era can influence the structure and functioning of a network. This moves forward the values discussion within these literatures by expressly connecting values to structure, which itself has been linked consistently to issues such as strategy and effectiveness.Release after 16-Sep-201

Network formation, governance, and evolution in public health: The North American Quitline Consortium case

BACKGROUND: Collaborative networks of health organizations have received a great deal of attention in recent years as a way of enhancing the flow of information and coordination of services. However, relatively little is known about how such networks are formed and evolve, especially outside a local, community-based setting. This article is an in-depth discussion of the evolution of the North American Quitline Consortium (NAQC). The NAQC is a network of U.S. and Canadian organizations that provide telephone-based counseling and related services to people trying to quit smoking. METHODOLOGY: The research draws on data from interviews, documents, and a survey of NAQC members to assess how the network emerged, became formalized, and effectively governed. FINDINGS: The findings provide an understanding of how multiregional public health networks evolve, while building on and extending the broader literature on organizational networks in other sectors and settings. Specifically, we found that the network form that ultimately emerged was a product of the back-and-forth interplay between the internal needs and goals of those organizations that would ultimately become network members, in this case, state-, and provincial-level tobacco quitline organizations. We also found that network formation, and then governance through a network administrative organization, was driven by important events and shifts in the external environment, including the impact and influence of major national organizations. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The results of the study provide health care leaders and policy officials an understanding of how the activities of a large number of organizations having a common health goal, but spanning multiple states and countries, might be coordinated and integrated through the establishment of a formal network

Awareness of Evidence-Based Practices by Organizations in a Publicly Funded Smoking Cessation Network

This research examines the awareness of evidence-based practices by the public organizations that fund services in the North American Quitline Consortium (NAQC). NAQC is a large, publicly funded, goal-directed “whole network,” spanning both Canada and the United States, working to get people to quit smoking. Building on prior research on the dissemination and diffusion of innovation and evidence-based practices, and considering differences between network ties that are homophilous versus instrumental, we found that awareness of evidence-based practices was highest for quitline funders that were strongly connected directly to researchers and indirectly to the network administrative organization, controlling for quitline spending per capita and decision-making locus of control. The findings support the importance of maintaining instrumental (a technical/rational argument) rather than homophilous ties for acquisition of evidence-based practice knowledge. The findings also offer ideas for how public networks might be designed and governed to enhance the likelihood that the organizations in the network are better aware of what evidence-based practices exist