Organizations have leeway in how much they employ their network
relations to the benefit of their clients. When do they do so more
rather than less? Relying on research on trust and knowledge
absorption, the authors suggest that providers’ network relations
generate better outcomes for their clients when these relations are
concentrated ...
Organizations have leeway in how much they employ their network
relations to the benefit of their clients. When do they do so more
rather than less? Relying on research on trust and knowledge
absorption, the authors suggest that providers’ network relations
generate better outcomes for their clients when these relations are
concentrated in a limited, exclusive set of partners. The authors
argue that providers’ relational exclusivity benefits clients because it
facilitates the awareness and use of partners’ complementary client
service capabilities. An analysis of a regional network of patient
referrals among 110 hospitals supported this argument. The study
highlights the role of interorganizational partnership networks in
activating client service capabilities and stimulates further inquiry into
providers’ network features that benefit the users of their services.