A Modern Guide to Networks identifies five core characteristics of contemporary networks and translates these into ten key pieces of guidance for researchers and practitioners. Arguing that a knowledge–practice gap has emerged due to the lack of contact between network practitioners and researchers, contributors chart a more collaborative future for the field. They identify how research can be effectively translated and implemented to shape the future of social networks. A Modern Guide to Networks highlights the key dimensions of today’s networks, advancing knowledge of how networks operate and how they will function in the future. It showcases the diversity of these networks through extensive case studies, examining experiments in network structure, governance, management, leadership, and evaluation. Combining academic perspectives with practice-based insights, it pushes disciplinary boundaries and provides unique insights into researching and participating in social networks. Providing a state-of-the-art overview of modern networks, it will prove invaluable to academics and researchers in organization studies, public administration and management, and social networks. It will also be a useful resource for practitioners seeking guidance on how to adapt to the rapid evolution of networks.

Table of Contents:
Contents: PART I SETTING THE CONTEXT 1 Introduction: why a modern guide to networks? 2 Robyn Keast, Jack Wayne Meek, Joris Voets and Christine Flynn 2 What are networks? A social, relational perspective 15 Robyn Keast and Jack Wayne Meek PART II CASE EXAMPLES 3 ‘Travelling from 1600 to 2020 in one week’: resilience and leadership in school networks during the COVID-19 pandemic 33 Maria Cucciniello, Daniela Cristofoli and Alex Turrini 4 The role of communication in public health disaster management: city–county engagements during COVID-19 in Los Angeles County 53 Shawn R. Granger and Jack Wayne Meek 5 Strategic planning in a governance network: a life cycle approach 76 Laure Vandersmissen, Marianne Schapmans, Joris Voets and Bert George 6 Integrated service networks in Poland: insights from the delivery of social assistance in two cities 96 Piotr Modzelewski, Robyn Keast and Geoff Woolcott 7 ‘Coopetition-based’ network governance – mechanisms and pitfalls: the example of the German rehabilitation industry 123 Ingo Bode 8 A network analysis of a metropolitan affordable housing network: lessons for policy guidance from the City of Los Angeles 141 Helen Morales and Jack Wayne Meek 9 The role of shared identity in effective governance networks 166 Sinead Shannon and Mary Lee Rhodes 10 Network bandwidth management in public administration: definition and mechanisms 191 Barbara Zyzak 11 A modern network gap: a case for the establishment of formal boundary-spanning organizations to support innovation policy 211 David Noble 12 Global health networks: fostering convergence in women’s and children’s health policy 233 Mary E. Wiktorowicz, Yeonjoo Lee and Peter Tsasis 13 Knowing how, knowing who: the role of a UK online health informatics practitioner network towards system-wide learning 251 Louise Wilson and Marcus Baw 14 Positioning impact and sustainability under the umbrella of cultural accumulation theory: framing a novel conceptualization of modern networks 270 Geoff Woolcott, Robyn Keast, Amanda Scott, Tom Cosentino, Joe Harvey-Jones, Helen Lynch and Bronwyn Richards PART III NEXT PRACTICE AND GUIDELINES 15 Modern network research: insights from network practitioners in addressing the knowing–doing gap 291 Robyn Keast, Jack Wayne Meek, Christine Flynn and Joris Voets 16 Conclusion: the practices of modern networks 313 Robyn Keast, Jack W. Meek, Joris Voets and Christine Flynn Index