This dissertation analyzes the relationship between network structure, collaboration, and geography among food security organizations in the New River Valley of Virginia. As a way to better understand how purpose-oriented, service-delivery networks, this case study of the Thrive network examines the relationship between geography and collaboration. The food security organizations within the region were mapped to determine the structure of the network and data was compared to the geography of the region. The findings suggest that food security organizations do find geography as a barrier to collaboration in three ways. First, these organizations see geography as a cost to collaboration due to the increased need for logistics and resources. Second, geography creates interorganizational political and cultural boundaries. Third, many food security organizations view geography as a barrier to collaboration in terms of its relationship between the organization and its clients. Organizations that saw value in collaboration between organizations within the network found ways to overcome the barriers of geography. / Doctor of Philosophy / Networks enable organizations to work together in a way that helps solve social issues too large to be handled by single groups. This dissertation explores the way in which food security organizations collaborate in the New River Valley of Virginia and the ways in which this collaboration is impacted by geography. The findings suggest that geography is often an unclear concept that is conflated with multiple concepts such as organizational politics, client issues, and cultural boundaries, and that overcoming these barriers can be accomplished when goal congruence occurs.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/98752 |
| Date | 04 June 2020 |
| Creators | Edwards, Jaimie Elizabeth |
| Contributors | Government and International Affairs, Lemaire, Robin Hargroder, Eckerd, Adam M., Hult, Karen M., Jensen, Laura Smietanka |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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