The contested practice of networking in healthcare management

Networks have been celebrated for some time as vital to the operation of fluid, post-bureaucratic and knowledge-based organisations. However, much of the literature on governing networks prioritises research into formal networks and pays rather less attention to issues of informal and emergent networking. This is often accompanied by a structural-functionalist bias in network research, as networks are ascribed with a self-evident purpose which may be measured and evaluated. The consequence is a neglect of the meaning and practice of networking, as membership, position and participation in networks are taken for granted. We seek to address this gap by exploring, ideographically, the meaning ascribed to informal networking among healthcare managers, and various tensions which result. Using qualitative data from a three-year study of UK healthcare organisations, we explore practices of networking across three defined managerial groups—functional, general and clinical. Our findings highlight the challenges facing attempts to govern such networks.