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.
———————————————–
INSERT FIGURE 1 ABOUT HERE
———————————————–