The Social Psychology of Organizations.

This article examines the governance of organizational networks and the impact of governance on network effectiveness. Three basic models, or forms, of network governance are developed focusing on their distinct structural properties. Propositions are formulated examining conditions for the effectiveness of each form. The tensions inherent in each form are then discussed, followed by the role that management may play in addressing these tensions. Finally, the evolution of governance is explored.

/pdf/modes-of-network-governance-structure-management-and-3axrxbl4p6.pdf

Modes of Network Governance: Structure, Management, and Effectiveness

Understanding customer experience and the customer journey over time is critical for firms. Customers now interact with firms through myriad touch points in multiple channels and media, and customer experiences are more social in nature. These changes require firms to integrate multiple business functions, and even external partners, in creating and delivering positive customer experiences. In this article, the authors aim to develop a stronger understanding of customer experience and the customer journey in this era of increasingly complex customer behavior. To achieve this goal, they examine existing definitions and conceptualizations of customer experience as a construct and provide a historical perspective of the roots of customer experience within marketing. Next, they attempt to bring together what is currently known about customer experience, customer journeys, and customer experience management. Finally, they identify critical areas for future research on this important topic.

/pdf/understanding-customer-experience-throughout-the-customer-52i6qreyzk.pdf

Understanding Customer Experience Throughout the Customer Journey

Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology

What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

Policy networks and policy analysis : Scrutinizing a new analytical toolbox

This article offers insights into the complexity of assessing the performance of public networks. We have identified three so-called exogenous factors: form of the network, type of inception—whether the network was initially formed as voluntary or mandated—and developmental stage of the network. We argue that where a network stands on each of these factors will determine the appropriateness of specific criteria for assessing the performance of the network.

/pdf/towards-an-exogenous-theory-of-public-network-performance-1o1ncejl4f.pdf

Towards an exogenous theory of public network performance

We investigate the impact of communication in field-level networks on rates of formation of interorganizational collaborative ties, such as strategic alliances and joint ventures. After developing the concept of an organizational field network (“field-net”), we derive a set of testable propositions and corollaries that relate field-net properties, such as density, reciprocity, centralization, multiplexity, and hierarchy, to subsequent nonlinear changes in interorganizational tie-formation rates. We conclude by discussing aspects of empirical research for testing the empirical validity of these propositions.

/pdf/how-organizational-field-networks-shape-interorganizational-52lxhp60ge.pdf

How Organizational Field Networks Shape Interorganizational Tie-Formation Rates

In the essay, it is first argued that Western societies are moving towards a society of networks, i.e. a society, in which the formal, vertically integrated organization that has dominated the 20th...

Patrick Kenis

Papers

Modes of Network Governance: Structure, Management, and Effectiveness

Policy networks and policy analysis : Scrutinizing a new analytical toolbox

Towards an exogenous theory of public network performance

How Organizational Field Networks Shape Interorganizational Tie-Formation Rates

Heading Toward a Society of Networks Empirical Developments and Theoretical Challenges