Linkage between Service Delivery and Administrative Advocacy: Comparative Evidence on Cliques from a Mental Health Network in the US and an Elderly Care Network in China

Abstract

Third-party service providers often collaborate in both service delivery and administrative advocacy. Yet the linkage between such collaboration has been overlooked. The article studies how joint advocacy inside two government-funded service delivery networks are formed, based on the concepts of service provider clique overlap, multiplexity, and resource tangibility. Comparative network analysis of data from a mental health services network in the US and a community-based elderly care network in China showed consistent support for the linkage between service provider cliques and joint administrative advocacy. Theoretically, it advances the study of advocacy coalitions by highlighting the nuanced effects of service provider cliques on advocacy partnerships.

Keywords:

• service delivery collaboration
• administrative advocacy
• comparative network analysis
• urban governance

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Bill Wuestenhagen, Hunter Esmiol, and Ramya Gorantla for research assistance. We are grateful to three anonymous reviewers, Kate Cartwright, and Uday Desai for their very valuable comments on the manuscript.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kun Huang

Kun Huang is Associate Professor of Public Administration and Population Health (Secondary Appointment) at the University of New Mexico. He studies inter-organizational networks in health and human services, including innovation, evolution, governance, and resilience.

Bin Chen

Bin Chen is Associate Professor at Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, Baruch College and a doctoral faculty at The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, and a research fellow with China Institute for Urban Governance, Shanghai Jiaotong University. He studies inter-organizational collaboration, regional governance, and comparative public administration.

Beilei Yang

Beilei Yang is Associate Professor in the Department of Public Administration, School of Economics and Management at Tongji University. She studies inter-organizational collaboration in the delivery of community-based elderly care.

Shanshan Zou

Shanshan Zou is Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Administration, School of Economics and Management at Tongji University. Her research focuses on nonprofit organization management.