The struggles for (and of) network management: an ethnographic study of non-dominant policy actors in the English healthcare system

ABSTRACT

The coordinating skills of network management are well documented, but there is little understanding of how network management roles are acquired and sustained. This article reports on a two-year ethnographic study that investigated the introduction of a regional healthcare network in England. It describes the strategies used by non-dominant actors to acquire and sustain network management roles in the face of opposition from more powerful actors. These strategies complement existing theory on network management and offer new theoretical understanding regarding the social position of network managers.

KEYWORDS:

• Network management
• inter-organizational networks
• healthcare
• ethnography

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the feedback and guidance of the journal editor and peer reviewers. In addition, the authors would like to thank the participants of the 'Furthering Network Governance' panel at the 2018 IRSPM Conference, especially Erik Hans Klijn for his insightful suggestions around the focus and title of the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Justin Waring was supported by National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care East Midlands (CLAHRC EM). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

Notes on contributors

Justin Waring

Justin Waring’s research examines the changing organization and governance of public services, with a particular focus on the work, culture and identity of healthcare professionals and managers. His work has examined a large number of reform, modernisation and improvement agenda, from public service quality and safety, to public-private partnerships, system re-engineering, and network governance.

Amanda Crompton

Amanda Crompton is interested in public policy making and translation processes, with a particular focus on stakeholder holder involvement in decision-making. Within this context she has examined the power dynamics between different stakeholders, the construction of policy narratives and the negotiation of policy objectives. Her recent works have been published in Policy and Politics, Public Management Review and Sociology of Health and Illness.