Administrative Freedom for Interorganizational Action

This article speculates that the applicability of specific models of interorganizational relations for public agencies may be linked to the stage of the organizational life cycle in which a particular agency is located. Five classes of models are examined, each of which implies different types of interorganizational problems and different amounts of freedom for public administrators to handle these problems. It is suggested that administrative freedom of action in interorganizational relations is at the maximum near the "midlife" of public organizations, at the minimum near their "birth " and "death. "