What do effective business networks look like? : the social construction of effectiveness as defined by the members and directors of business networks and compared and contrasted with the literature

<p>Definitions surrounding what constitutes an effective business network are both sporadic and incomplete. However, couching the formalized business network in voluntary organization literature and the corresponding definitions of organizational effectiveness, this study uses an emergent approach to examine the various perceptions (i.e. - the body of literature, the members of existing networks, and the directors of existing networks) of business network effectiveness. Using data from networked businesses (N=1,037) in 27 different networks, results are compared and contrasted with the findings in the literature as they relate to business network effectiveness. In particular, I look for commonalities and discrepancies throughout the data. Finally, themes from in-depth interviews with the directors of the 27 networks are used to further explore any commonalities and differences in perceptions of business network effectiveness.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Hofstedt, Brandon

Language dc:language.iso

en

Identifier

archive/lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/18762/

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dr.lib.iastate.edu:20.500.12876/72697