Larry Hearld, Jeffrey A. Alexander, Laura J. Wolf and Yunfeng Shi
Multisector health care alliances (alliances) are increasingly viewed as playing an important role in improving the health and health care of local populations, in part by…
Abstract
Purpose
Multisector health care alliances (alliances) are increasingly viewed as playing an important role in improving the health and health care of local populations, in part by disseminating innovative practices, yet alliances face a number of challenges to disseminating these practices beyond a limited set of initial participants. The purpose of this paper is to examine how alliances attempt to disseminate innovative practices and the facilitating and inhibiting factors that alliances confront when trying to do so.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopted multiple holistic case study design of eight alliances with a maximum variation case selection strategy to reflect a range of structural and geographic characteristics. Semi-structured interviews with staff, leaders and board members were used.
Findings
The findings show that dissemination is a multidirectional process that is closely if not inextricably intertwined with capacity- and context-related factors (of the alliance, partnering organizations and target organizations). Thus, standardized approaches to dissemination are likely the exception and not the rule, and highlight the value of existing frameworks as a starting point for conceptualizing the important aspects of dissemination, but they are incomplete in their description of the “on-the-ground” dissemination processes that occur in the context of collaborative organizational forms such as alliances.
Originality/value
Despite a rapidly expanding evidence base to guide clinical and managerial decision making, this knowledge often fails to make its way into routine practice. Consequently, the search for effective strategies to reduce this gap has accelerated in the past decade. This study sheds light on those strategies and the challenges to implementing them.
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Larry Hearld, Jeffrey A. Alexander, Laura J. Wolf and Yunfeng Shi
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between different aspects of alliance funding profiles (e.g. range of sources, dependence on specific sources) and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between different aspects of alliance funding profiles (e.g. range of sources, dependence on specific sources) and participant’ perceptions of how well the organization is positioned for the future.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed method study in the context of eight alliances participating in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Aligning Forces for Quality program. Data collection approaches included surveys of alliance participants and semi-structured interviews with alliance leaders.
Findings
The findings indicate that dependence on grant revenues, in particular, may be problematic for how well alliances are positioned for sustainability. While a number of approaches were identified to reduce dependence on grants, implementing these strategies presented more of a challenge for alliances due to the contextual demands of their external environment and a need to strike a balance between pursuing alternative revenue sources and fidelity to the mission and identity of the organization.
Practical implications
Alliance leaders need to have not only a broad and accurate understanding of their external environment, but also an appreciation of the alliance’s identity in that environment. Collectively, the findings can help organizational leaders be more informed about their funding choices and the implications those choices have for the future of their organization.
Originality/value
Collaborative forms of organizations (e.g. alliances, coalitions, networks) are increasingly viewed as an effective means of addressing complex, multifaceted health, and social challenges. For collaborative organizations that depend on the coordinated efforts of volunteers, addressing such complex issues is predicated on sustaining programmatic activities as well as the interest and participation of stakeholders over extended periods of time. This study sheds light on how leaders of these organizations may improve their prospects for sustainability.
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The article argues for the necessity of theory within sociology, in general, and metatheory, in particular. It explores how theoretical, metatheoretical, and philosophical…
Abstract
The article argues for the necessity of theory within sociology, in general, and metatheory, in particular. It explores how theoretical, metatheoretical, and philosophical background conditions affect sociological research. It makes the case for why attending to background conditions is important for both the sociologist as an individual and also sociology as a collective and a discipline. In this context, it makes the case for critical realism as a useful program of metatheoretical reflexivity that focuses upon the more philosophical dimensions of sociology including the place of ontology and even how theory itself should be understood.
Christy Harris Lemak and Jeffrey A. Alexander
We draw upon and integrate two organizational theory perspectives to develop a conceptual model of how managed care influences the treatment practices of outpatient drug treatment…
Abstract
We draw upon and integrate two organizational theory perspectives to develop a conceptual model of how managed care influences the treatment practices of outpatient drug treatment providers. First, using resource dependence theory, we suggest that treatment practices will vary as a function of an organization's dependence on managed care and the scope and stringency of oversight mechanisms used by managed care firms. Second, we apply institutional theory to suggest that the expectations of the professional staff and sources of legitimacy will also directly influence treatment practices. Finally, we draw upon previous integrative frameworks and argue that institutional factors will also indirectly influence treatment by moderating the negative effects of managed care dependence and oversight.
Rebecca Wells, Shoou-Yih Daniel Lee and Jeffrey A Alexander
In this article the authors explore how institutionalized social ties may buffer organizations against threats to survival and then even at the brink of extinction enable them to…
Abstract
In this article the authors explore how institutionalized social ties may buffer organizations against threats to survival and then even at the brink of extinction enable them to merge instead of close. Drawing on social capital theory, we propose that legitimating and mutualistic ties both buffer and enable organizations. We examine this proposition by first testing how both types of social ties affect the likelihood of either merging into other organizations or closing entirely. We then test how the same ties affect the likelihood of merging relative to closing for organizations that undergo one of these two events. Results from the U.S. hospital industry provide little support for the hypothesized buffering roles of social ties but greater support for the enabling roles of such ties. It appears that certain social ties yield corporate social capital that reduces endangered organizations' losses but yield little or no social capital that protects against the threat to their survival in the first place.
Denita Cepiku and Marco Mastrodascio
The purpose of this research is to highlight the impact of integrative leadership behaviors on network performance in local government networks.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to highlight the impact of integrative leadership behaviors on network performance in local government networks.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were retrieved from a survey conducted on 362 local government network leaders in Italy. Their leadership behaviors were compared with the level of network performance anonymously self-reported.
Findings
The findings show that high frequency in the usage of a specific category of behavior does not always lead to high performance in local government networks. Moreover, leadership behaviors leading to highly performing networks are not always engaged most frequently by networks' leaders.
Originality/value
This research gives an empirical contribution to a neglected topic: network leadership. Moreover, the authors attempt to highlight how it is able to influence network performance.
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Approaches to the sociology of culture have largely been constituted around the long tradition of functionalism in sociology. This has hampered the field greatly. Among other…
Abstract
Approaches to the sociology of culture have largely been constituted around the long tradition of functionalism in sociology. This has hampered the field greatly. Among other shortcomings, this intellectual foundation has led to a limited understanding of ideology and civil society, a conservative political orientation and an overdeterministic view of social action and the actor. In this paper, I explore and then apply a new approach to the sociology of culture, one that attempts to conceptualize more robustly the dynamics of ideology, ideological conflict and civil society. As part of this project, I endeavor to map out a critical cultural perspective that establishes a multidimensional understanding of the contingency of social action.
Jamee Pelcher, Sylvia Trendafilova and Jeffrey Alexander Graham
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the environmental values, beliefs, norms and behaviors of students in higher education institutions across North America, more…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the environmental values, beliefs, norms and behaviors of students in higher education institutions across North America, more specifically, undergraduate and graduate students in sport management programs.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was framed around Stern et al.’s (1999) value-belief-norm theory, which provides an explanation of the causes of the broad predisposition toward pro-environmental behavior. Furthermore, it was an extension of the work conducted by Casper and Pfahl (2012). Data collection was based on an online survey, comprising questions related to the students’ values, beliefs, norms and behaviors in relation to the natural environment.
Findings
Results indicated strong agreeance with the biospheric environmental statements that reflect the individuals’ personal ecological values, illustrating a moderate agreement with the degree of responsibility and obligation felt by the student to take environmental action. Findings also suggested that students hold sport organizations to a higher level of environmentalism than their personal environmental sustainability practices. Both groups, undergraduate and graduate students, have values, beliefs and norms moderately connected to pro-environmental stances.
Practical implications
It would be beneficial for educators to use this information as baseline from which to build and re-design their classes.
Originality/value
It would be beneficial for educators to use this information as baseline from which to build and re-design their classes. This study provides valuable information for faculty to create and frame curricula to better prepare future professionals for a career in the sports industry.