Governance Mechanisms in Networked Social Innovation: A Stage-Based Analysis of Jeonju’s Community Care Project for the Elderly

This study examines how network governance enables social innovation through a stage-based analysis of Jeonju’s Community Care Project for the Elderly in South Korea. Drawing on qualitative data, it shows that a lead organization–governed network functions through three key mechanisms that operate differently across stages: trust-building, continuous communication, and coordination. These mechanisms facilitate joint problem-solving, resource mobilization, and legitimacy-building, enabling the scaling and institutionalization of social innovation. The study contributes to network governance theory by linking governance mechanisms to the dynamic process of social innovation and offers practical insights for sustaining network governance arrangements in community-based care systems.