Determinants of network outcomes: The impact of managerial strategies

This article examines management's impact on network effectiveness answering the following research questions: a) "what are the effects of network management strategies on perceived outcomes?" and b) "does active network management improve the level of trust in networks?". We do so by incorporating data from a large number of cases on action networks (Agranoff, 2008) and their management for urban revitalization of economically depressed neighborhoods in Catalonia (Spain). In order to simultaneously assess the measurement model and determine the effects of strategy and trust on perceived outcomes as a function of project complexity and intensity, we employed the Partial Least Square (PLS) approach to structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings from our structural model demonstrate a strong relationship between network management strategy and trust, both impacting on the perceived outcomes. We also found that management intensity has a positive impact on strategy as well as on trust in the project. Moreover, our findings show that complexity has a negative impact on trust, but does not appear to have a significant effect on strategy.