Network Rent as a Determinant of Collaborative Advantage for Public Organizations: A Case Study

Purpose: This article's main scientific purpose is to identify the types of network rent that constitute determinants of collaborative advantage for public organizations, including the dynamic perspective of achieving another level of network collaboration maturity. Design/Methodology/Approach: Conceptual development and positioning of the research aim to provide a generalizable contribution to management science and be accessible to practitioners. The research was carried out using a multiple case study's interpretative methods, following its methodological rigor. It was divided into two stages: within-case analysis and cross-case analysis. According to the replication logic, case studies constitute series of independent research that provides data corresponding with set research questions. Findings: The conducted research shows that as a part of the network, public organizations gain various types of network rent, and its character evolves as the network achieves another level of network collaboration maturity. Moreover, a considerable number of gained rent types is the benefit, which is characteristic only for public organizations, since their status, role, and objectives are very much different from organizations representing other sectors. Practical Implications: The research allows presenting a pattern of gaining (by a local office) advantage from network collaboration as it achieves another level of maturity. The identified template serves as a tool for practitioners (public managers) who exploit network relations and build a commune's collaborative advantage. Conscious creation of collaborative advantage within public network supports more effective integration of regions. Originality/Value: The author adopts a new perspective to the problem of intentional creation of network relations to gain set benefits. In the literature, still, very little attention is put on network relations' influence on the collaborative advantage of public organizations. Therefore, the author concentrates on filling this gap by deepening the network trend analysis and increasing the efficiency of realized tasks from the perspective of the public sector units.