Sample and Research Design
We drew from the population of OSMS networks and local response groups
as a starting point for our sample and research design. Our initial
screening criteria identified cities where self-organized maker
manufacturing networks and established maker spaces actively channeled
the resources of makers toward meeting specific PPE needs. We evaluated
eight potential cities before selecting our final sample of four
exemplars of regionally-focused efforts. We selected our sample based on
their extensive network activities and nodes, differing approaches to
network formation, availability of data throughout the study period, and
location in the U.S. (to control for the regulatory and political
environment).
Our research design enabled two modes of case comparison. First, we
utilized theoretical sampling (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) based on two
differing resource configuration and deployment choices for the
production and provision of PPE at the onset of the pandemic. Regarding
the production of PPE, case screening indicated maker spaces played more
centralized roles in two cases, whereas in the other two cases,
production was coordinated in a more distributed manner across
individuals. Regarding the provision of PPE, cases differed in the
extent to which organizations engaged in donating or selling PPE,
indicating varying approaches to funding, sustainability, “doing the
right thing,” and willingness to navigate issues related to liability
and commercial transactions, such as purchase orders. Figure 1
represents our initial expectations about these categories in each
case.11Names of cities have been changed to provide anonymity to
organizations and informants that participated in this study.
Second, we adopted a racing design that allowed us to compare the
historical evolution of cases during the same era (Eisenhardt et al.,
2016). We began when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a
pandemic on March 11, 2020 and traced the development of each case
throughout 2020. As the networks evolved and our study proceeded, we
found fluidity and complexity across the two dimensions that formed our
research design.
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