The Relational Drivers of Collaborative Success between Rural Economic Development Organizations

While much work in the resource dependence theory tradition has explained how levels of interdependence result from differences in the possession of critical organizational resources, less worked has examined how differences in network resources, derived from the social structures in which organizations are embedded, influence interdependence and partnership outcomes. Our analysis of 272 collaborations between 98 not-for-profit economic development organizations operating in an economically distressed rural region demonstrates that social network properties, structural embeddedness and relative centrality, have substantial effects on exchange partners’ collaborative success. We also test hypotheses to examine whether the impact of network structural attributes on collaborative success is mediated by interdependence constructs, mutual dependence and dependence asymmetry. Together our theorizing and results offer insights into the driving factors of successful partnerships in a context in which collaboration is particularly vital.