Environmental Linkages and Power in Resource-Dependence Relations Between Organizations

• Published in: Administrative Science Quarterly Vol. 25; no. 2; pp. 200 - 225
• Main Authors: Provan, Keith G., Beyer, Janice M., Kruytbosch, Carlos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ithaca, N.Y Cornell University Graduate School of Business and Public Administration 01.06.1980; Cornell University, Graduate School of Business and Public Administration; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Agency Cooperation; Communities; Community power; Community structure; Energy resources; Financial budgets; Funding; Government services; Networks; Organization theory; Organization, Theory of; Organization/Organizations/ Organizational/ Organize/ Organizers/ Organized/ Organizing; Organizational; Organizational behavior; Organizations (Groups); Power; Power Structure; Relations; Scarce resources; Social Agencies; Social influence; Social service; Studies; Unit costs; United States/US; United Way; United way of America; Volunteerism
• ISSN: 0001-8392; 1930-3815
• DOI: 10.2307/2392452

An interorganizational network consisting of one United Way organization and 46 of its member agencies was studied to determine whether power relations within the network were modified by various possible linkages between the agencies and other elements in the community upon which the United Way organization depends for its survival. The general argument was that agencies that have linkages with important community elements would be more powerful relative to United Way than agencies lacking such linkages. To integrate conceptual and methodological distinctions in the literature, five measures of power were developed: two measures of perceived power, one of potential power, and two measures of enacted power. Specific hypotheses were developed and tested using data obtained from interviews with agency directors and staff, and from agency and United Way records. Results varied for different measures of power, with results for potential power, measured as net dependence, best supporting the hypotheses. Additional analysis revealed interaction effects between potential power and both perceived and enacted power measures. Most notably, agencies with low potential power were more successful in budget requests and in obtaining increased funding from United Way if they experienced client growth and had low costs per client. Agencies with high potential power did better if they had relatively many joint programs with other agencies and high costs per client.