Interorganizational Interaction in Disaster Response Networks: A Government Perspective

Abstract

Governments play important roles as focal organizations in many interorganizational networks. However, the government perspective has largely been overlooked in the literature on supply networks, including research on humanitarian operations and logistics. So far, little attention has been devoted to how government agencies and other actors interact within complex networks. In this study, we use a qualitative research approach to study interorganizational interaction in the context of a major U.S. disaster: Hurricane Sandy. Specifically, we investigate the relatively successful Sandy response effort conducted by the New Jersey state government in interaction with other humanitarian actors. We find that the government took three main roles in interacting with other actors within the disaster response network: organizer, facilitator, and supply network member. Moreover, we develop a grounded model that provides a theoretical explanation of the interaction process and highlights the practices used by the government during the response stage. In addition to contributing to the humanitarian research domain, our study advances the emerging discourse on networks whose focal actors are not for-profit firms.