Unpacking variation in network management: How organizational and implementation context factors shape managerial activity in collaborative policy delivery

Debates over the effectiveness of policy implementation networks and the role of network management have attracted considerable scholarly attention in recent decades. Research has focused on the tasks network managers perform, proposing that network management improves network performance. This study takes a step back by investigating why some network managers intervene in their networks more intensively than others, addressing an important research gap. Using data from 13 Swiss smoking prevention networks, this article bridges the research on policy implementation and public management by analyzing how organizational features and implementation context-related factors jointly influence managerial action within collaborative policy delivery networks. Rather than assuming that managerial activity is driven by single factors, this paper employs Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) alongside in-depth case study evidence to identify combinations of factors that shape the level of managerial activity. The study suggests that high-intensity network management in mandated networks is shaped by the interplay of network managers’ organizational affiliation (public vs. non-state), the presence or absence of goal conflicts, the level of resources available for network management, and the existence of ties within the network. It finds that NGO-affiliated network managers are more likely to apply high-intensity network management – either proactively under favorable conditions or reactively when facing challenges – while public managers typically engage less due to structural constraints or managerial preferences. By conceptualizing network management as a phenomenon situated at the intersection of organizational structure and implementation context, this study offers a more integrated understanding of how public service delivery is coordinated in complex governance settings.