Self-Governed Interorganizational Networks for Social Change: A Case Study of the Criminalization of Online Sexual Grooming in Malaysia

Abstract: Cross-sector collaborations in the form of self-organized interorganizational networks are key mechanisms to address complex social sustainability problems in a systematic manner with accelerated and effective results. Self-organized interorganizational networks allow for collaborations through low degrees of hierarchy and bureaucracy while achieving high levels of ownership and commitment among member organizations. These type of networks have proven useful to achieve policy reforms to tackle societal problems related to rapid evolving and internet related crimes affecting children. This study analyses the initial conditions and emergence of self-organized interorganizational networks, as well as the structuralarrangements and governance structures that facilitate the network organization. To do so, the authors used as case study the criminalization of online sexual grooming in Malaysia that resulted in the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017. The analysis of the case was conducted through a qualitative thematic analysis based on semi-structured interviews to 11 leaders of some of the organizations that collaborated by producing public awareness, educating about the implications of this type of crime, and simultaneously, drafting and passing the new law. The results of the study showed that the network in Malaysia was formed and organized organically through a combination of informal and formal methods and structures guided by a high sense of shared purpose and shared leadership.