Structural Dynamics of Organizations during the Evolution of Interorganizational Networks in Disaster Response

This study analyzes the evolution of interorganizational response networks over time. The study aims to investigate an organization’s position and role as a result of the dynamic changes that occur through the evolution of interorganizational response networks. Social network analysis measures are applied in order to evaluate not only network structure and specifications but also an organizations focal structure and role changes over time. Using Hurricane Charley’s coordination data of the activities of several organizations involved in the response process over time, the study evaluates networks and the organizations’ network structural changes over a period of time. The results show that analyzing static networks does not reflect how the network evolves and how different organizations change their role as the incident emerges. This study takes these criticisms into consideration and adds time dimension to the analysis of response networks. It is the first step in investigating the emerging structure of interorganizational response dynamics during emerging disasters and its effect on improving coordination output. In addition, the study proposes indicators for identifying real, lead or coordinating organizations in interorganizational networks.