Modeling service organization integration: a social networks perspective

PurposeOf the many ways in which service integration can be improved and evaluated, relationships are considered one of the most theoretically urgent and practically appropriate proxies for integrating service organizations. Considering social networks as a proxy for integration, this study explores the effect of social network variables on service organization integration in its various dimensions (community governance integration, normative integration, and functional integration).Design/methodology/approachA sample of 56 organizations in an Australian healthcare system were asked to complete a cross-sectional survey that collected information on their level of integration and network relationships. Hierarchical regression was used to explore three hypothesized associations.FindingsService organizations with overlapping relationships (i.e. network constraint) and reciprocated relationships have lower levels of integration. Geographic diversity positively moderates the relationship between reciprocated ties and service organization integration.Practical implicationsInstructive information about service connectedness can aid policy and decision makers to build equitable networks that can improve services and care delivery in an integrative manner.Originality/valueTo the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is among the first to explore the different ways for which organizations can be integrated (community governance integration, normative integration, functional integration) in accordance with social network characteristics, rather than considering integration as a unidimensional construct, thereby enabling a multi-level analysis of both social networks and organizational integration.