Interorganizational Conflict Between Government and Voluntary Agencies in the Organization of a Volunteer Program: A Case Study

Abstract

This article involves an analysis of the conflict between representatives of a gov ernment agency and several voluntary agency representatives. These events are de scribed and analysed within the frame of reference of the roles and behaviors of "boundary personnel", including such basic functions as representation, informa tion processing, and negotiation. The distribution of power, the nature of exchange relationships, and their impact in this context are also considered. While the analy sis is primarily exploratory in nature, the data from this study are relevant to a number of issues regarding the nature of interorganizational relationships. It is hypothesized that the extent of conflict is related to the extent of routinization and stability in interorganizational relationships, and the relative distribution of power and autonomy in an interorganizational context. General ideological differences related to the nature of the activities involved are also considered.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adams, J. Stacey 1976 "The Structure and Dynamics of Behaviour in Organizational Boundary Roles," in Marvin D. Dunnett (ed.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Chicago: Rand McNally .

Akinbode, I. Adefolu and Robert C.

Clark

1976 "A Framework for Analyzing Interorganizational Relationships," Human Relations, 29: 101-114.

Aldrich, H. and Herker, D. 1977 "Boundary Spanning Roles and Organization Structure," Academy of Management Review, 2: 217-230.

Berger, P. and Luckman, T. 1966 The Social Construction of Reality, New York: Doubleday.

Blau, Peter M. 1964 Exchange and Power in Social Life, New York: John Wiley.

Brown, W.B. 1966 "Systems, Boundaries and Information Flow" Academy of Management Journal, 9: 318-327.

Deutch, M. and Krauss, R.M. 1962 "Studies in Interpersonal Bargaining," The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 6: 52-76.

Evan, W. 1966 "The Organization Set: Toward a Theory of Interorganizational Relationships," in J.D. Thompson (ed.),Approaches to Organizational Design, Pittsburgh : University of Pittsburgh Press.

Galaskiewicz, Joseph 1979 Exchange Networks and Community Politics. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.

10.

Gallo, P.S. and McClintock, C.G. 1965 "Cooperative and Competitive Behaviour in Mixed Motive Games," Journal of Conflict Resolution , 9: 68-78.

11.

Kahn, R.L. , Wolfe, D.M. , Quinn,R.P. , Snoek, J.D. , and Rosenthal, R.A. 1964 Organizational Stress: Studies m Role Conflict and Ambiguity , New York: Wiley.

12.

Katz, D. and Kahn, R. 1966 The Social Psychology of Organizations, New York: Wiley.

13.

Keller, R. , Szilagyi, A. and Holland, W. 1976 "Boundary-Spanning Activity and Employee Reactions: An Empirical Study," Human Relations, 29: 699-710.

14.

Merton, R.K. 1957 Social Theory and Social Structure, New York: The Free Press of Glencoe.

15.

Metcalfe, J.L. 1976 "Organizational Strategies and Interorganizational Networks ," Human Relations, 4: 327-343.

16.

Molnar, Joseph J. 1973 "Comparative Organizational Properties and Interorganizational Interdependence," Sociology and Social Research, 63. 24-48.

17.

Mott, B.J.F. 1968 Anatomy of a Coordinating Council, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.

18.

Perrow, C. 1972 Complex Organizations: A Critical Essay, Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Co.

19.

Thompson, J.D. 1967 Organizations in Action, New York: McGraw-Hill.

20.

Turk, Herman 1977 Organizations in Modern Life, San Francisco : Jossey-Bass.

21.

Vidmar, N. 1971 "Effects of Representational Roles and Mediators on Negotiation Effectiveness," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 17: 48-58.