What drives network effectiveness? A configurational approach

Abstract

Scholars have been trying to fully comprehend the drivers of the performance of public networks. Based on the multilevel performance model proposed by Cepiku, this article employs a fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to study twelve UNESCO’s Heritage Sites in Italy with the aim of investigating configurational conditions that impact community-level network performance. The analysis reveals different but functionally equivalent configurations of causal conditions that lead to high performance at the community-level, which are different from the configurations that lead to poor performance. The findings show the importance of network management to network effectiveness and reveal a path to effectiveness for highly complex networks.