The influence of network orchestration and organizational formalization on goal orientation in public service delivery networks: an experimental study

Prior research on networks has established that tensions might arise between organizational structures and processes and network goals. This study investigates the role that network managers can play in mitigating these tensions through network orchestration. Based on an experimental design involving students and practitioners from the social domain, the combined effects of network orchestration and organizational formalization on goal orientation were examined. Results show that a negative effect of organizational formalization on network goal orientation is mitigated by network orchestration. Thereby, this study contributes to our understanding of the role of network orchestration in coping with tensions inherent to networks.