Desperately Seeking Selznick: Cooptation and the Dark Side of Public Management in Networks

Most literature on public-sector networks focuses on how to build and manage systems and ignores the political problems that networks can create for organizations. This article argues that individual network nodes can work to bias the organization's actions in ways that benefit the organization...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public administration review 2004-11, Vol.64 (6), p.681-693
Main Authors: O'Toole, Laurence J., Meier, Kenneth J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arrays
Articles from the Seventh National Public Management Research Conference
Business networking
Educational administration
Governance
Government bureaucracy
Hispanics
Institutions
Logic
Management
Managers
Network Analysis
Networks
Organizational behaviour
Personality
Political Issues
Politics
Program Design
Program Implementation
Public administration
Public management
Public policy
Public Sector
Public services
Researchers
School districts
School dropouts
School superintendents
Standardized tests
Studies
Teachers
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Most literature on public-sector networks focuses on how to build and manage systems and ignores the political problems that networks can create for organizations. This article argues that individual network nodes can work to bias the organization's actions in ways that benefit the organization's more advantaged clientele. The argument is supported by an analysis of performance data from 500 organizations over a five-year period. A classic theoretical point is supported in a systematic empirical investigation. While networks can greatly benefit the organization, they have a dark side that managers and scholars need to consider more seriously.
ISSN:0033-3352
1540-6210
DOI:10.1111/j.1540-6210.2004.00415.x