Abstract
Networking has become a key theme in the research literature, reflecting a shift from government to governance. Though scholarship on this topic has grown apace, little evidence has been produced on the ways in which managerial networking manifests itself across national settings. Given this state of affairs, we explore whether managerial networking is a broad and common pattern in contemporary governance systems or contingent on setting. Analysis was undertaken from a sample of over 600 US public managers and 300 UK local officials. The results confirm that managerial networking is extensive and support the view that networking is a key management competence. While general networking behaviours are evident in the data presented, there was also variation, suggesting that managers are able to exercise choice and construct their networked environment to reflect local requirements.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 401-420 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Public Management Review |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 7 Sept 2007 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2007 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
This article is part of an ongoing research agenda on the role of public management in complex policy settings. We have benefited from the helpful comments of Bob Agranoff, Stuart Bretschneider, Amy Kneedler Donahue, Sergio Fernandez, H. George Frederickson, Holly Goerdel, Carolyn Heinrich, Norman Hunter, Patricia Ingraham, J. Edward Kellough, Erik-Hans Klijn, Laurence E. Lynn, Jr, Michael McGuire, H. Brinton Milward, David Peterson, Hal G. Rainey and Bob Stein on various aspects of this research programme.Keywords
- Co-operation
- Cross-national comparison
- Local government
- Managerial networking
- Network behaviour
- Organizational echelons