4 • Le caratteristiche della leadership nei contratti di rete italiani: verso attrattività e stabilità
Abstract
This chapter examines how network leadership shapes the attractiveness and stability of Italian inter-organizational networks established through network contracts. Drawing on survey data from the 2025 National Observatory of Network Contracts, it analyzes four leadership orientations – goal-directedness, efficiency, participation, and cohesion – and their effects on member entry and exit. The findings show that goal-oriented and efficient leadership enhance attractiveness, while cohesion strengthens stability but may limit openness. Overall, effective network leadership emerges as a combination of complementary leadership orientations.
open access
Submitted: Feb. 2, 2026 | Published April 20, 2026 | Language: it
Keywords Network leadership • Attractiveness • Network contracts • Stability • Inter-organizational networks
Copyright © 2026 Anna Cabigiosu, Patrick Kenis, Anna Moretti. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/979-12-5742-026-0/004