Kitts, James A., Lomi, Alessandro, Mascia, Daniele, Pallotti, Francesca and Quintane, Eric (2017) Investigating the temporal dynamics of inter-organizational exchange: patient transfers among Italian hospitals. American Journal of Sociology, 123 (3). pp. 850-910. ISSN 0002-9602 (Print), 1537-5390 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1086/693704)

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Abstract

Previous research on interaction behavior among organizations (resource exchange, collaboration, communication) has typically aggregated records of those behaviors over time to constitute a ‘network’ of organizational relationships. We instead directly study structural-temporal patterns in organizational exchange, focusing on the dynamics of reciprocation. Applying this lens to a community of Italian hospitals during the period 2003-2007, we observe two mechanisms of interorganizational reciprocation: organizational embedding and resource dependence. We flesh out these two mechanisms by showing how they operate in distinct time frames: Dependence operates on contemporaneous exchange structures, whereas embedding develops through longer-term historical patterns. We also show how these processes operate differently in competitive and noncompetitive contexts, operationalized in terms of market differentiation and geographic space. In noncompetitive contexts, we observe both logics of reciprocation, dependence in the short term and embedding over the long term, developing into patterns of generalized exchange in this population. In competitive contexts, we observe neither form of reciprocation and instead observe the microfoundations of status hierarchies in exchange.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	interorganizational networks, network dynamics, relational event models, reciprocation
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Business Faculty of Business > Department of International Business & Economics Faculty of Business > Networks and Urban Systems Centre (NUSC) > Centre for Business Network Analysis (CBNA) Faculty of Business > Networks and Urban Systems Centre (NUSC)
Related URLs:	Publisher
Last Modified:	20 Apr 2020 08:21
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/16324

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