Collaborative Performance as a Function of Network Members’ Perceptions of Success

Abstract:

Interorganizational networks are a common collaborative approach to tackle complex issues such as public health, national security, education, and poverty. While there is a consensus that networks are a viable approach to these issues, it is unclear what factors lead to effective collaborative performance. One issue for assessing performance is the lack of sufficient evaluation/assessment methods and, subsequently, of empirical data. Applying a conceptual model based in the literature, this study examines characteristics of network members and their perceptions of success in order to ascertain the degree to which members’ agreement on outcomes varies among networks and the characteristics of members of networks that report greater levels of success or of disagreement about success. This study contributes to the collaborative performance literature by analyzing an unprecedentedly large N (n = 98) dataset of interorganizational (whole) networks to test empirically the conceptual model. The results show that higher trust and greater resource contributions predicted higher levels of perceived success among members of a network. A second model, with disagreement about success as the dependent variable, more resources, and higher amounts of diversity, predicted higher levels of disagreement about success. We conclude that the literature on interorganizational networks overemphasizes the benefits of network diversity, and that diversity may, in fact, hinder perceptions of success.

Notes

For example, our review of 32 empirical studies on whole network studies in public affairs/public health found that the number of whole networks analyzed ranged from one to 12, with the majority analyzing less than two. One study, by Faust and Skvoretz (2002), compared 42 networks, but the composition of the variables included and the methods for collecting data varied considerably.

Additional information

Danielle M. Varda is an Associate Professor at the School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado Denver with a secondary appointment in the Colorado School of Public Health, Department of Health Systems, Management, and Policy. She is Co-Director of the Nonprofit Concentration, Advisor to the Dual MPA-MPH Degree, and Director of the Research Program on Collaborative Governance. She also sits on the AmeriCorps NCCC Federal Advisory Board, and is an alumn of the AmeriCorps NCCC (Class 5 and 6).

Jessica H. Retrum is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Dr. Retrum also served for three years as a post Doc Fellow and Research Associate at the School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado Denver, where she provided support to the HYPERLINK “http://www.partnertool.net” PARTNER project through community outreach and education, training, data management and analysis, scholarly work, and grant writing.