Many studies have striven to understand which factors affect the performance of public networks. However, there are very few studies in the field of public management that investigate the joint, interactive effects of different determinants on network performance. This article uses the relatively new method of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to investigate the complex causality of determinants and network performance. It examines the combination of resource munificence, centralization of the network structure, formalization of coordination mechanisms, network management and their joint effects on network performance. An analysis of 12 Swiss networks providing home and social care services shows that there are a range of possible paths. Various combinations of the above-mentioned factors can in fact lead to high network performance. The paths provide insight into how to make public networks really work. INTRODUCTIONEver since Provan and Milward (1995) published their seminal article on four public mental health care networks in the US, scholars in the field of public management have tried to assess whether public networks really work and which determinants affect their performance. There have been increasing efforts by scholars to shed light on a plethora of factors that affect network performance (for a review see Turrini et al. 2010, among others), but they have rarely investigated the possibility of these factors having a combined effect on network success (Turrini et al. 2010;Raab et al. 2015;Verweij et al. 2013).Exploring this aspect is the aim of this article. In particular, we are interested in the way in which four of the predictors of public network performance identified by previous studies (Provan and Milward 1995;Kickert et al. 1997;Agranoff and McGuire 2003; Provan and Kenis 2009) combine to give high network performance. These predictors are resource munificence, centralization of the network structure, formalization of coordination mechanisms and network management.The configurational approach of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA, Ragin 1987) was chosen in order to conduct a systematic comparison of 12 home care networks in Switzerland (along with the above-mentioned factors and their performance) and identify the different paths that lead to network success.The article is divided into four parts. The first section reviews the relevant literature for our research and outlines the theoretical background on which the research design was based. Different determinants of public network performance have been extracted and operationalized along with the performance measurement criteria. In the next section, there is a presentation of the method applied (qualitative comparative analysis) and the empirical setting, along with details of the case selection and data collection processes. The third section contains a summary of the findings. The QCA follows an iterative approach and constantly goes back and forth between empirical cases, theories and the actual results, so the findings will be inte...

This paper compares four cases and explores the effects on network performance of network governance, coordination mechanisms, and the abilities of the network manager. The focus is on shared-governance networks, which are in general considered to have difficulties achieving high-level performances. The cross-case comparison suggests a relationship between coordination mechanisms and the way shared-governance networks are managed: in order to be successful, they must be able to rely on formalized mechanisms and make a pool of ''network administrators'' responsible for their governance.

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This study explores how certain characteristics of the network structure, such as autonomization and connectivity, differently combine with individual leadership in order to produce high network performance. Data gathered through a survey of 265 networks for homecare assistance shed light on three different paths simultaneously leading to network success. First, the presence of autonomy from government (autonomization) appears to be able to ensure network success, irrespective of the other conditions. Secondly, the presence (or absence) of an individual network leader combines differently with the network's connectivity. Sparsely connected networks seem to require a network leader, forging agreements and leading partners towards a common objective. On the contrary, in highly connected networks, it is the intensity of network ties that appears to lead the network (the network leader seems to be not important). These networks seem to be leaderless, but not necessarily leadershipless.

This article presents experimental results related to rheological viscoelastic properties of polymer modified bitumens, PmBs. Experiments were performed by a dynamical shear rheometer before and after thermo‐oxidative aging. Two types of bitumens with different asphaltene contents were modified by the addition of two types of reactive ethylene terpolymers, Elvaloy AM, and Elvaloy 4170, with a different percentage of reactive functional group, glycidylmethacrylate, GMA. Results of the investigation indicate that the degree of reactive polymer modification is a function of bitumen type, bitumen‐polymer compatibility, and polymer concentration. Polymer modification improves the following physical properties of the base bitumen: penetration, softening point, temperature susceptibility, and elastic recovery. Reactive polymers are effective binder modifiers that improve the susceptibility to high temperature of asphalt mixes, and also their rutting resistance, contribute to their good storage stability and make them less sensitive to aging. This is a result of the formation of a chemical bond between the polymer and molecules of asphaltenes. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:1056–1065, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers