Aim of the project: To provide insights into how variations in governance structures either foster or hinder 'horizontal' collaboration within inter-organizational networks.
Project info
Project consists of following studies
Power dynamics in inter-organizational networks
Governance of inter-organizational networks: a systematic literature review and qualitative meta-synthesis
Description
The project aims to describe and explain under which conditions cross-border collaborative networks contribute to the creation of innovative and sustainable learning in the health care sector. Many contemporary industrialized societies face labor market shortages in the health care sector due to - amongst others - increased demand caused by population aging. One way to address the rising demand for health care professionals is the recruitment of these professionals from other countries in order to create sustainable labor markets in the sector. However, cross-border recruitment is not a straightforward task due to the fact that each country has unique health care and education system characteristics. Along with different skill and competency requirements and diplomas tailored to the specifics of the national health care context, there are also differences in clients' expectations and institutional arrangements across countries. The success of cross-country recruitment of health care professionals thus depends on the establishment of a productive and effective collaboration regarding learning opportunities, employment policies, job profiles, and education programs by multiple stakeholders in both the health care and education sector, such as nursing schools, hospitals, recruiters and professional associations, on both sides of the border.
For several decades now, collaborative networks between public organizations have proven their value as a tool to improve the service provision in the health and education sectors within many European countries. An increasing number of such collaborative networks represent cross-border collaboration (CBC) initiatives (Perkmann, 2003). But do such networks really work?
Project start
01/12/2017
End date
31/08/2022
Behavioral theory
- Identities
- Networks
Researchers
Supervisor
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Subjects
- co-operative development
- Cooperation
- Employees
- Sociology
Audience
- Managers
- Organisation science
- Policy advisors
- Sociology
Work package
- Work
Sustainability threat
- External Shocks
- Feedback Cycles
- Spillovers
Challenge
- Reshaping organizational forms
- Shared responsibility and sustainable cooperation
Theoretical background
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Research design
This project capitalizes on a unique opportunity to collect longitudinal data in a large cross-border collaborative network in the Northern part of the Netherlands and Germany. Modeling the evolution of collaborative networks in a multilevel organizational field with more than 50 participating organizations and hundreds of health care students requires a mixed method research design, combining both quantitative and qualitative data collection. The first stage consists of mapping the stakeholders involved in a specific internship trajectory and the inter-organizational networks and their multilevel governance structure. In a second step, multilevel longitudinal sociometric and attribute data will be collected on (changes in) the overarching network structure and the tasks implemented in the network (i.e., internship provision and supervision, learning trajectories, recruitment efforts, and adjusting educational materials). Specific attention will also be devoted to identify the threats to sustainable cooperation and the related solutions in terms of network governance.
Related sources
Funders
Name
Grant ID