Exploring predictors of impactful inter-organizational relationships in community coalition networks using multilevel ego-centric network analysis

Addressing complex and persistent issues such as substance misuse requires sustained collaboration by individuals and organizations. This exploratory study investigates factors that predict coalition members' perceptions of their inter-organizational relationships and the effects those relationships have on the community. Ego-centric network data were collected via online survey from participants in substance misuse prevention coalitions across Tennessee. Each respondent (i.e., ego) was asked to indicate other organizations (i.e., alters) with whom their organization worked to prevent substance misuse in the last six months. The resulting dataset comprised 256 unique ego-alter relationships (representing inter-organizational collaborations) from 66 organizations across 31 coalitions. We used two-level mixed-effects logistic regression models to examine the factors that affect a respondents' perception that each ego-alter relationship is highly impactful to the community. Implications for our understanding of inter-organizational collaboration, as well as the value of ego-centric inter-organizational network analysis for examining collaboration networks across locales, are discussed.