Are Networks Flat or Vertical?: Developing a Multi-Level Multi-Dimension Network Model

Extant public administration network literature tend to conceptualize and measure relationships in networks based on the premise that the nodes and ties in networks lie on a single-level horizontal structure. The purpose of the current study is to suggest that networks are inevitably multi-level and multi-dimension structures and propose a multi-level multi-dimension network model (MLMD). More specifically, network relationships such as within-level, inter-level, and inter-sector are offered to depict the multi-layered and multi-sectoral nature of the network relationships among the government and non-government actors. For empirical analysis, the current study constructs a hypothetical network to describe MLMD. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media New York.