Managing Interdependencies through Program Structures: A Revised Paradigm

Abstract

Many studies deal with the implementation of public programs through networks. In this paper I view networks as formal, organized efforts, rather than as informal relations and/or linkages among organizations. I refer to these organized efforts as program structures. Although we know networks exist, the questions we ask about them are asked as if they do not exist as a separate structural arrangement. The purpose of introducing the concept of program structure is not to describe what we know exists, but rather to present a paradigm that will enable us to ask the right questions about what exists. Asking the right questions makes a difference in how we organize for action and subsequently how we make choices in managing public programs. To indicate that interorganizational programs are implemented through a distinctly different structural arrangement therefore implies not only a distinct way of organizing activities but also that management of these programs will be distinctly different. Several examples of program structures, based on empirical research, illustrate the importance of this paradigm.