Thurmaier, Kurt creator Wood, Curtis text xu| 2002 continuing ng p.585-98. Public policies addressing complex issues require transjurisdictional solutions, challenging hierarchical modes of public-service delivery. Interlocal agreements (ILAs) are long-established service-delivery instruments for local governments, and research suggests they are plentiful, with a major local government operations, previous research is atheoretical, largely descriptive, and unsystematic. This article explores ILAs as social network phenomena, identifying the rationales and underlying values for various ILAs, central and peripheral actors, and brokering roles. In particular, we explore the utility of incorporating network exchange theory into public management network models to identify the relative power of actors in network exchange relationships. We find that a "norm of reciprocity" culture predominates an economizing value as the rationale for an abundance of service-oriented policy networks that produce a picket-fence regionalism of ILA participation in the Kansas City metropolitan area. - Reproduced. Local government Public Administration Review 180718