A structural perspective on the emergence of network organizations

A network analytic approach to the study of organizational response to cris es is used to determine the existence and form of integrated crisis managem ent units (ICMUs). ICMUs are network organizations that emerge in response to severe crises such as major oil spills, earthquakes, hurricanes and othe r natural and man made disasters. Although ICMUs have received considerable attention from scholars in the form of empirical case studies, much remain s unclear as to their nascent interorganizational structure and structural evolution. In this paper, we outline a network analytic framework for the s tudy of ICMUs and demonstrate how some of the predictions of previous resea rch can be more rigorously quantified and compared. We then apply our frame work to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The Valdez case study provides an illustration of the analytic framework and suggests some interesting direct ions for further research on emergent organizational forms. Results demonst rate (1) the emergence of a network organization which grew more complex an d more centralized over time, (2) the vulnerability of emergent structures to after shocks, and (3) the structuration of the organizational field thro ugh coordination of multiple network organizations, despite fluctuation in peripheral groups of stakeholder organizations.