It's where you are that matters: The networking behaviour of English local government officers

Richard M. WALKER*, Laurence J. O'TOOLE, Kenneth J. MEIER

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal PublicationsJournal Article (refereed)peer-review

57 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Increased complexity in the world of public management has resulted in the growth of networks of actors who, operating interdependently, co-produce public services. Much of the prior networking literature conflates structure (the network) with behaviour (networking). Based on this concern we analyse the managerial networking practices of over 1,000 officers in English local government. We find extensive networking activity amongst three groups of officers and show that corporate officers, chief officers and service managers develop logical patterns of interaction among network nodes and initiation that reflect their level of management. We conclude that where you are in the organizational hierarchy matters for networking behaviour and discuss the implications of these findings for future research. © 2007 The Author. Journal compilation © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)739-756
Number of pages18
JournalPublic Administration
Volume85
Issue number3
Early online date17 Aug 2007
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2007
Externally publishedYes

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