(Un)bounding the Meta-Organization: Co-Evolution and Compositional Dynamics of a Health Partnership

Abstract

Abstract:In their treatise on meta-organization, Ahrne and Brunsson theorize a distinctive organizational form, the association of organizations. Meta-organizations have the properties of formal organizations-boundaries set by determinations of membership, goals, a centre of authority, and ways of monitoring and sanctioning member behaviors. The theory draws a strong distinction between meta-organizations and networks, suggesting that similarity among members is the primary characteristic of meta-organizations, whereas networks signify complementarity and difference. Meta-organizations serve and are governed by their members, though the meta-organization itself may develop its own agency and may regulate its members. It is on this basis that Ahrne and Brunsson develop an account of the dynamics of meta-organizations, placing less emphasis on external sources of change than on the internal relationships between members and the meta-organization itself. This paper appraises the theory of meta-organizations, using a case study of Partners in Paediatrics, a subscription association of health care organizations, as the empirical reference point. Data about this partnership's membership and its activities are drawn from 12 'annual reports' covering a 17-year period. Focusing, particularly, on the membership composition of the Partnership and its relationship to the changing environment, the case analysis traces the changing character and circumstances of the Partnership, identifying four distinct phases, and raising questions for meta-organization theory and its account of meta-organization dynamics.

Extending Meta-Organization Theory: A resource-flow perspective

“…Member resourcing often takes the form of contributions in-kind, for example, a representative nominated to serve on the meta-organization’s governing body, staff time to support committee work, participation in activities, meeting spaces, and access to other services (e.g. Brouder, 2009c; Cropper & Bor, 2018; Nowrot, 2009b; Porter, 2009; Varney, 2009). The acquisition of member resourcing to enable the coordination and realization of activity is particularly sensitive, since members may see this as incurring substantial costs on behalf of the collective.…”

Résilience d'une méta‐organisation : Le cas d'un commun de l'alimentation

“…Dans le cas de membres différents et complémentaires, la forme est celle du réseau. Pour d'autres la question est plus ouverte, avec une tolérance vers des formes plus hybrides (Provan et al, 2007;Cropper & Bor, 2018) voire une interrogation de ce postulat (Berkowitz & Dumez, 2016). Le cas étudié dans ce papier va plutôt dans le sens d'une certaine similarité, ou hétérogénéité restreinte, dans la mesure où les membres du CLAD sont des acteurs associatifs se revendiquant de l'ESS et que l'instance est clairement fermée aux acteurs identifiés comme lucratifs.…”

Civil Society Meta-organizations and Legitimating Processes: the Case of the Addiction Field in France

“…Our case study illustrates the fact that MOs are affected by the evolutions in the field at the same time that they are in a position to channel or even initiate these evolutions. This dual, interacting relationship, may be theoretically accounted for with the concept of coevolution developed by Rodrigues and Child (2003) and introduced in the MO literature by Cropper and Bor (2018). Cropper and Bor's contribution is of peculiar interest for our own research as they analyse the dynamics of MOs in a specific healthcare-related organizational field (i.e., pediatric cares in UK).…”

“…These structural misfits often constitute a driver for change in the meta-organizational landscape. For example, in their study of the pediatric care field in UK, Cropper and Bor (2018) show how, following some changes in the government policy, a lack of geographical 'fit' appears between the structures and territories of the NHS commissioning (i.e. the government body with which actors in the field have to negotiate) and the MO investigated.…”