Blind Dates and Arranged Marriages: Longitudinal Processes of Network Orchestration
基于一个跨组织网络五年的纵向数据，研究网络协调者如何随时间演变其行动，从鼓励偶然相遇转向精心安排成员互动，以应对网络发展中的困境。
Using longitudinal qualitative and network data capturing five years of evolution of an interorganizational network, this paper explores network orchestration – the process of assembling and developing an interorganizational network. In particular, we analyze shifts in the network orchestrator’s actions and the network’s structure and composition. We find that an orchestrator builds the capacity to assemble a network over time through the accumulation of resources and specialized expertise. However, as the network develops, an orchestrator faces an evolving set of dilemmas arising from the need to demonstrate value for various members and audiences. To resolve these dilemmas, orchestrators may shift their actions, moving from initially encouraging serendipitous encounters between network members (“blind dates”) to increasingly selecting members and more closely influencing their interactions (“arranging marriages”). We discuss implications of our findings for a processual understanding of orchestrated network assembly and growth.