Determinants of Alliance Formation and Dissolution Among International Health Organizations: The Influence of Homophily and Institutional Power in Affinity Communication Networks

Abstract

Guided by institutional theory, this study examines how homophily and institutional power influence the tie formation and dissolution of interorganizational collaboration networks. The analysis focuses on longitudinal network data collected from 174 international non-governmental organizations and inter-governmental organizations (IGOs) whose mission and main activities revolved around HIV/AIDS and other related health topics such as substance use, alcohol use, and smoking. This study conceptualizes collaboration as an affinity communication network and uses Separable Temporal Exponential Random Graph Modeling to investigate the effects of organizational and sector level attributes. The results reveal the important role that homophily plays in terms of geolocation and topic alignment. Furthermore, the results show IGOs’ role in driving these global partnerships. Implications on how to sustain global health alliances are discussed.