Analyzing the interorganizational collaborations in crisis management in coping with COVID-19 using social network analysis: Case of Iran.

ABSTRACT

On January 7, a novel coronavirus, originally abbreviated as 2019-nCoV by World Health Organization, was identified from the throat swab sample of a patient. The virus and its related disease (COVID-19) rapidly spread throughout the world and lead to a global pandemic. Iran as a developing country and one of the most populated countries in the area is dealing with the mentioned crisis. The main objective of the present work is to assess the status of interorganizational collaborations between Iranian organizations in fighting with COVID-19. We utilized social network analysis tools and methods to examine the characteristics of interorganizational collaborations network. Data were gathered through content analysis of seven of the most well-known Iranian news websites. So, the interorganizational collaborations networks between Iranian organizations and its subnetworks are identified, and their characteristics are obtained. Some of the network's features like degree distribution and homophily have been found and analyzed. The most important organizations are identified based on different centrality measures. It is necessary to mention that Basij and the National Committee on combatting corona have a fundamental role in fighting coronavirus in Iran. Also, some of the network-based evidences as the cause of Iran's success in fighting COVID-19 have been found.