This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (5) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Meier, K. J. Articles by O’Toole, L. J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Managerial Networking

Issues of Measurement and Research Design

Texas A&M University

Laurence J. O’Toole, JR.

University of Georgia

The study of networks is a growth area in public management. This article argues that small studies of networks need to be supplemented with large n studies that permit one to include more theoretically relevant control variables and to deal with issues of causality. Using survey data from several hundred agency heads, this article presents a reliable measure of management network activities that has demonstrated substantial empirical import. If the right network nodes are selected, contact information on only a limited number of nodes is needed. Who initiates contacts within the network is also shown to be important.

Key Words: management • networks • public organizations • measurement

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Hicklin, L. J. O'Toole Jr., and K. J. Meier Serpents in the Sand: Managerial Networking and Nonlinear Influences on Organizational Performance J. Public Adm. Res. Theory., April 1, 2008; 18(2): 253 - 273. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]