3. Public private service networks
Ameneh Deljoo and Marijn Janssen
PPSN are a type organizational network in which organizations can either be public or private organizations. There are some definitions about the network are available, according to Raab and Kenis( 2009) networks are“ consciously created groups of three or more autonomous but interdependent organizations that strive to achieve a common goal and jointly produce an output”( p. 201). Brass et al.( 2004) define a network in a very general way as“ a set of nodes and the set of ties representing some relationship, or lack of relationship, between the nodes.” They point out that the content of the relationships between nodes is“ limited only by a researcher’ s imagination”( p. 795). Brass provide an overarching look at organizational network research at the interpersonal, inter unit, and inter organizational levels of analysis( Brass et al. 2004). Consider networks as a unique organizational form because organizations are already embedded in their broader“ network” of economic and social relationships( Podolny and Page 1998). Although great strides have been made, a shared language with definite, concrete meanings in the study of networks has not been developed( Provan et al. 2007).
Networks as coordination mechanism are often discussed on a scale with hierarchies and markets at the ends, which are considered the traditional core model of organizing or coordination( Powell and Grodal 2005; Walter 1990). Networks differ from markets in that the actors in the network pursue“ repeated, enduring exchange relations with one another”( Podolny and Page 1998, p. 59), instead of relationships that are formed only for specific transactions( e. g. Transfer of goods and resources( Podolny and Page 1998; Powell and Grodal 2005)). In conclusion, PPSN are a particular type of organizational networks in which public and private organizations collaborate. Given the definitions about organizational network in the previous paragraphs help us to define PPSN as a network consisting of( at least three) autonomous public, private and non‐profit organizations which aim to provide a service to individual citizens or businesses.
Network organization can be classified as different stakeholders with different goals and interested. Any arrangement in the network has to deal with these differences( Klievink 2011). When it comes to public‐private networks, the difference between the goals, interests and values makes it potentially conflicting. There are both vertical and hierarchical relationships( often within organizations). As such there is no central authority and organizations employ a wide variety of technologies.
4. PPSN as complex adaptive system
In this paper we look at the organization as a type of actor and they are connected to each other and are within an environment. In turn an organization is often made up of departments, which consist of many subsections with huge interactions among stakeholders, customers, employee and employer by using technology. As we mentioned in section 2, a CAS is composed of many agents or actors which is interact with each other and environment. In traditional view the system or network cannot be influenced by the environment but the environment can influence the system( Stowell and Welch 2012). PPSN and environment have an impact on each other, therefore this effect can change the structure of network during time in the rest of this section we describe the evolving in the PPSN.
A complex organization is composed of a large number of individuals, groups, and human subsystems that have nonlinear interaction and the capability to make many local decisions and strive for specific end states or goals. These components build many relationships both within the organization and external to the organization’ s boundaries that may become highly complex and dynamic( Jiang et al. 2011). The world adaptive implies that the organization and its subcomponents are capable of studying and analyzing the environment and taking actions that internally adjust the organization and externally influence the environment in a manner that allows the organization to fulfill local and higher‐level goals. CAS or complex adaptive organizations, then, are composed of a large number of self‐organization components that seek to maximize their own goals but operate according to rules and in the context of relationships with other components and the external world( Dooley 1997). Therefore in our definition of PPSN, the organizations in the network as we shown in figure 1 have relationship with each other and with the environment. In the following, we investigate the PPSN characteristics by using the CAS lens.
Nonlinearities( Property): CAS exhibit nonlinear behavior,“ so it is difficult to predict their behavior. Aggregate behaviors cannot be easily analyzed into the separate behaviors of component variables via the simple opera‐
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