EFFECTS OF POPULATION DYNAMICS AND NETWORK CONFIGURATION ON SERVICE PROVISION IN A SOCIAL SERVICE DELIVERY NETWORK

摘要

Currently, the effects of population dynamics (i.e. races, migration, etc.) on social service performance are recognized. However, the available literature does not provide enough explanations about how social service provision is affected by not only population dynamics, but also by the configuration of service networks. That is, if social organizations are focused on small, middle size or big areas (towns or cities). This paper presents an agent-based simulation model that helps us to understand how population dynamics and initial network configuration affect service provision. In order to contribute to service theory insights, especially those devoted to nonprofit organizations, the main objective is to establish value propositions about what kind of network configurations allow delivering more services over time. Classification tree methods are used to identify 13 significant predictors from organizational databases that are then used in the construction of behavior rules for agents. Experimental results confirm the effects of factors such as network configuration, market characteristics (i.e. migration, racial concentrations and median income) over responses such as total services provided and service penetration.