Social network dynamics and organizational collaboration: The Carer Café project in Hong Kong

Chan, Wing-sun ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8162-5253 and Fung, Ka-yi ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7004-8753 (2025) Social network dynamics and organizational collaboration: The Carer Café project in Hong Kong. Human Organization. pp. 1-13. ISSN 1938-3525

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Abstract

Social networks are pivotal in social service development. In this article, we consider the Hong Kong Federation of Women’s Centres (HKFWC) and its establishment of twelve Carer Cafés across Hong Kong since 2018. The HKFWC service team facilitated key inter-organizational collaborations for the project. We draw on qualitative data from participatory observation in five Carer Cafés, and individual interviews and focus groups with twenty-four stakeholders, including social workers, project staff, volunteers, and carers. We identified three key processes to foster inter-organizational collaboration: (1) empathy-driven team formation (from antecedents to brokerage structures), (2) building partnerships through shared vision (linking structures to behaviors), and (3) strengthening collaboration with volunteer commitment (moderating network outcomes). We reveal how brokerage behaviors, coupled with emotional reciprocity among stakeholders, shape social network dynamics and inter-organizational collaboration. We provide insights into how social networks drive service development in Hong Kong, with implications for social service contexts globally.