Regional Integration through Agreements: Does Multiplexity in Urban Service Deliveries Matter?

"While most scholars in urban studies and public management tend to conceptualize networks as having interdependent properties---with multiple sets of organizations working together (directly or indirectly) on common problems---few explore the importance of multiplexity in these relations. Multiplexity refers to the tendency of network members to develop interorganizational ties across different sets of activities, deepening or fortifying the relationship between actors. We test the multiplexity hypothesis among 66 agencies in the area of law enforcement activities in the Orlando-Kissimmee MSA. We analyze this across five time-periods using a specialized network software called 'SIENA.' Our results support the claim that a network of contractual ties, captured through interlocal agreements (ILAs), reveals how localities relate to each other through more than one service area. We also found, in a service area with high asset-specificity transactions, that there is a tendency for local agencies to establish contractual ties through central actors. While we did not find evidence that agencies within municipal governments would establish ties among themselves, there is evidence that those agencies having external accreditation tend to work jointly through ILAs. This research contributes to the literature by identifying the conditions that explain movement toward regional integration through ILAs."