Do governance choices matter in health care networks? : an exploratory configuration study of health care networks

Background: Health care networks are widely used and accepted as an organizational form that enables integrated care as well as dealing with complex matters in health care. However, research on the governance of health care networks lags behind. The research aim of our study is to explore the type and importance of governance structure and governance mechanisms for network effectiveness. Methods: The study has a multiple case study design and covers 22 health care networks. Using a configuration view, combinations of network governance and other network characteristics were studied on the level of the network. Based on interview and questionnaire data, network characteristics were identified and patterns in the data looked for. Results: Neither a dominant (or optimal) governance structure or mechanism nor a perfect fit among governance and other characteristics were revealed, but a number of characteristics that need further study might be related to effective networks such as the role of governmental agencies, legitimacy, and relational, hierarchical, and contractual governance mechanisms as complementary factors. Conclusions: Although the results emphasize the situational character of network governance and effectiveness, they give practitioners in the health care sector indications of which factors might be more or less crucial for network effectiveness

Badminton players’ moral intentions : a factorial survey study into personal and contextual determinants

Improving and maintaining high ethical standards among athletes is a major challenge in sports, which requires sufficient knowledge on athletes’ moral intentions. This study advances our knowledge on athletes’ moral intentions by examining the personal and contextual determinants (factors) that influence moral intentions of badminton players. In a factorial survey study, a total of 171 participants were asked to respond to scenarios describing moral dilemmas in the context of badminton. This approach allows combining advantages from both classical experiments and survey methods, enabling the determination of the underlying principles of the judgments and intentions of respondents. Multilevel analysis indicated that intention to engage in the described behaviour was impacted by both the act and the gender of the subject. This study complements previous research on athletes’ moral intentions by the advanced method of factorial survey, while supporting the development of more specific approaches in the promotion of ethical behaviour in sports

Learning mode of small business owners

The aim of the paper is to explore the learning mode of small business owners, from a theoretical stance, and based on empirical evidence. We distinguish between the required learning mode, the actual learning mode and the supported learning mode. Data were collected using the focus group method in a very heterogeneous sample of Belgian small business owners. The results indicate several gaps between the required, actual and supported learning modes, of which many are due to unawareness of learning needs and lack of reflective learning among small business owners. The data also indicate among others that solutions to fill learning gaps proposed in the literature are not applicable to all owners, e.g. not all owners are able to learn through networks. Keywords: Belgium, learning capability, learning mode, learning gaps, learning process, learning support, reflective learning, research paper, small business owners, focus group

The interplay of determinants of network effectiveness: a comparative study of health promotion networks

Interorganizational networks have become increasingly important as policy tools to address complex social and health problems, such as physical inactivity. However, despite the broad literature on network effectiveness, there is still insufficient insight into the environmental, structural and managerial determinants of whole network effectiveness, and particularly on how these determinants are related. The 13 mature whole networks for local health promotion in Flanders were selected as cases for which data were collected through interviews and surveys. Based on the conceptual model of Parent and Harvey (2009), potential determinants were identified. Cases could be identified as effective or not and key determinants and configurations of determinants could be identified using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). The overall configuration for network effectiveness including the following determinants: political and exposure motives of network partners, network governance, commitment of the network partners, staff quality, and personal contact with other representatives