The Role of a Conference in Integrating a Contractual Network of Health Services Organizations

The conference can be seen as a key strategic tool to be used in linking a diverse array of participants, through communicative processes, to achieve the level of integration required by new organizational forms, such as a contractual net work. The present research models the necessary prior conditions for conference success, conference process variables, conference outcomes, and long-term consequences of effective integration for an organization that ultimately deter mine the effectiveness of a conference as an integrating mechanism. In general, the most important elements of the model in this empirical test were those associated with planning. Individuals get out of conferences what they put into them; old-timers who were active in the planning of the conference had very positive reactions. Thus, one way of enhancing conferences for all participants would be involving more people in their planning and execution.

Conferences are, however, exceedingly expensive and only in special circum stances will their use as integrating mechanisms be justified. There are also circumstances where too much integration becomes a bad thing for an organiza tion and not all conferences will be effective integrating mechanisms. Generally, organizations which could successfully utilize a conference will be faced with one or another of the following circumstances: a high level of differentiation with many functional subunits, a high need to maintain an organizational culture, or a highly dynamic environment.