Resource Tangibility and the Evolution of a Publicly Funded Health and Human Services Network

This article is a longitudinal examination of a publicly funded network of health and human services organizations that provide services to mentally ill adults. Data were collected at two points in time from a single network in a large U.S. metropolitan area: when the network was completely reorganized, and again when it had matured, four years later. Analysis focuses on changes in the patterns of interaction within and across five resource‐based subnetworks. The authors argue that the structure of network relationships depends on the type of resources involved—whether tangible or intangible, the stage of network evolution, and whether macro‐ or micro‐level interactions are considered. Implications for theory and for network management, governance, and policy are discussed.