Network Governance Research Articles

Unveiling the dynamic evolution of innovation networks in emerging economies: A complex network approach

AbstractThe innovation network of enterprises in emerging economies is a complex system, comprising numerous interconnected elements. In the context of a dynamic and volatile market, innovation entities evolve the evolution of the local world through collaborative innovation and interactions. To accurately replicate the actual dynamics of the enterprise innovation network, an in‐depth analysis is essential to delineate the growth and reduction mechanisms of diverse nodal entities. This research, based on the classical complex network paradigm, proposes a model that is based on preferential attachment and pruning mechanisms. This model reflects the evolutionary trajectory of enterprise innovation networks and was subjected to simulation analysis using MATLAB. The findings prove that simulation is an effective analytical tool for understanding the evolutionary mechanisms of innovation networks within emerging economies. The model clearly demonstrates the complex evolution of enterprise innovation networks, providing both theoretical foundations and practical guidance for strategic resource allocation and network governance within corporate environments.

Reshaping disaster management: An integrated community‐led approach

AbstractThe management of disasters has traditionally involved public, private, and nongovernmental organisations working together. While scholars have examined the value of collaborations among these entities, less is known about how to successfully engage and empower communities in disaster management. Based on network governance theory, this article contributes to the growing body of public management literature on community engagement by presenting findings from an Australian research initiative conducted after the 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires in New South Wales. Through workshops and semi‐structured interviews with a total of 58 members from local communities and emergency agencies, this paper identifies differing perspectives on power distribution among stakeholders, indicating complexities in achieving an integrated and community‐led disaster management approach. The findings underscore the need to shift from exclusively centralised to more inclusive systems, recognising the unique contributions of nonofficial community‐based groups. To address this, the study suggests: a funded community consultation committee, ensuring government and local community representation; collaborative debriefing sessions, leveraging technology for knowledge capture; and the adoption of different leadership styles able to identify, include, and integrate communities as both steerers and rowers within established hierarchical arrangements.Points for practitioners The current centralised emergency management system, which relies on recognised experts and state‐controlled facilities, limits the integration of nonofficial resources and community‐based knowledge. A shift towards a more community‐centric and integrated approach (collaborative polycentric governance) is needed to enhance disaster resilience and response in Australia. Different stages of disaster reduction could and should have different leadership styles: a transformational, collaborative community‐based style should be implemented before and after the disaster, while a transactional leadership style, more focused on restructuring the system or how it is applied, should be adopted during the disaster.

EVALUATION IT GOVERNANCE COMPUTER NETWORK AT CENTRAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS (BPS) MALUKU PROVINCE USING COBIT 2019 DSS01 AND DSS05 DOMAINS

This research aims to evaluate IT governance on the capability maturity level of computer networks at BPS Maluku Province using the COBIT 2019 Framework focusing on the DSS domain, namely DSS01 and DSS05. The research method uses qualitative and quantitative approaches by observing research objects, conducting interviews, and collecting data using a questionnaire distributed to the Maluku Province BPS office environment using saturation sampling techniques. The stages of this research were adapted to the COBIT 2019 framework. This research was measured using a Likert scale and utilized script apps, Google Cloud Platform, which was integrated with a web-based programming language. The results of this research show that the maturity level or capability maturity level in the DSS domain, namely the DSS01 subdomain, is 3.48 with a percentage of 69.70%. DSS05 is 3.47, with a rate of 69.47%. These two subdomains are still in the established process, level 3 with a GAP value of 2 for capability maturity level and the DSS01 domain GAP percentage of 30.30%. The DSS05 percentage is 30.53%, with a primarily achieved scale. Hopefully, this research will become a reference for improvements to several aspects that have been assessed and recommended so that computer network governance for services and activities at BPS Maluku Province becomes better.

A Guideline for Local Elderly Policy Development in Thailand

In previous local elder policy research, most studies were fragmented with only some subjects or some steps in the policy process and attention to the local policy process not included explicitly. This article aims to analyze Thai local elderly policy formulation, implementation and evaluation and to propose guidelines for Thai local elderly policy development. This was a qualitative study. Data were collected using in-depth interviews with 40 key informants from 5 local case studies and 8 national organizations, as well as observations and documentary studies. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and analytic induction. For the policy content dimensions, the guidelines of policy content development of the case studies aim to make senior citizens happy, self-sufficient, and physically and mentally healthy. The means to achieve this are comprised of the following:1) an economic, career, and income stability dimension; 2) a health dimension; and 3) a social dimension. For the policy process dimensions, the guideline of policy formulation comprises of the following: the related national policy dimension, including developing the mindset of policy actors, developing the content of policies with clarity that is up-to-date and congruent with key agreements or related principles, and developing a participation process and communication of the policy. The local policy dimension is locally aged society strategic planning based on strategic management and objectives and key results (OKRs) derived from the results of data analysis, integration of public policy theory, resource-based view in strategic management theory, and objective and key results to reduce the limitations of the public policy theory and model. This comprises developing policy actors’ mindsets, competencies, and motivations, collecting information, creating participation for analyzing and formulating direction, and making local elderly society strategic plans. The guidelines of policy implementation comprise the following: creating knowledge and understanding, organizing a central organization, implementing a strategic plan, formulating strategies for implementing and integrating amicable coordination of networks, seeking and allocating tangible and intangible resources, developing competencies of local government personnel, network partners, and target groups, creating and developing a culture supporting the aged society, and creating internal and external motivation. The guidelines of policy evaluation comprise the following: the development of the evaluation competency, the growth and ethical mindset, and the development of a participatory local policy evaluation system. Based on the results of this study, the guidelines focus on the intangible resources, the internal motivation, the mindset of policy actors, the coordination and strength of networks, and the upper-level policy factors.

Vertical-horizontal Actor Collaboration in Governance Network: A Systematic Review

Vertical-horizontal Actor Collaboration in Governance Network: A Systematic Review

Unraveling the dynamics of information exchange in governance networks: Opportunity structures in anti‐corruption multi‐stakeholder partnerships

AbstractInformation exchange is critical to the functionality of governance networks. Traditionally, it has been argued that actors within governance networks tend to engage in information exchange with others who share similar beliefs and motivations, as these are deemed catalysts for achieving collective objectives. An alternative viewpoint posits that actors may prioritize strategies aimed at minimizing transaction costs and maximizing returns when selecting their partners. This paper proposes that information exchange predominantly occurs with partners who are easily accessible (i.e., where transaction costs are low) and with partners who are perceived as influential (i.e., where benefits are high). To investigate these alternative propositions, we examine three distinct opportunity structures that actors may utilize, which are based on their preferences for (1) partners with similar participatory motivations, (2) partners who co‐participate in institutional committees, and (3) those perceived as influential. We empirically test these opportunity structures using unique survey data gathered from 10 anti‐corruption multi‐stakeholder partnerships within the public infrastructure domain in countries of Latin America, Africa, and Eurasia. Results from Exponential Random Graph Models suggest that shared participatory motivations do not significantly impact information exchange within our context, whereas the perceived influence of a partner emerges as a critical predictor. In addition, co‐participation in institutional committees significantly facilitates information dissemination, particularly when those committees involve discussions on deliberating about strategies to communicate findings on public‐sector infrastructure discrepancies and formulating recommendations to governments on transparency and accountability. These findings prompt discussions on four network management strategies aimed at restructuring networks and fostering stakeholder involvement and inclusivity.

The Governance of Territorial Networks of Organisations: Case of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Region

This work focuses on the governance of territorial networks of organizations in the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region in Morocco. By examining this specific case, we seek to understand how regional governance structures influence collaboration and coordination between organizations operating in this territory. To understand this subject in depth, it is crucial to look at the governance of territorial networks of organizations, drawing inspiration from both international experiences and the specificities of the Moroccan context. Our research is based on a descriptive literature review beginning by defining the foundations of the governance of territorial networks, including the conceptualization of the term, their typological diversity, and their different forms. Then, by examining international experiences in governance, through the study of cases such as that of France, Italy, the Basque Countries, and the German model. Finally, by tracing the history of the development of territorial networks of organizations in Morocco, while highlighting the needs, trends, and potential of each of the entities making up the clusters.

Multilateral collaborative governance of Arctic shipping safety: Examining the impact of the Arctic Council via collaborative network analysis

Global climate change has dramatically reduced Arctic sea ice, opening new potential shipping routes, which has garnered international attention. This study explores the role of the Arctic Council in the collaborative governance network focused on Arctic shipping safety. For this purpose, a collection of 49 collaborative events initiated by international organisations and the Arctic Council was used as the data sample. These events are divided into two groups, one containing all the events and the other excluding those initiated by the Arctic Council. As a result, two collaborative networks are developed and evaluated based on network density, average path length, network transitivity, centrality indices (degree, closeness, betweenness), and clustering analysis. The results demonstrate that the Arctic Council significantly enhances the network density and transitivity of the international collaboration network, and reshapes core-periphery dynamics and cohesive subgroup structures. For instance, under the influence of the Arctic Council, Canada, France, and Japan surpass the United Kingdom in centrality (degree, closeness, betweenness). Results of the clustering coefficients reveal the Arctic Council's impact on connections among states, leading to shifts in collaboration patterns. Additionally, subgroup cohesion and density coefficients confirm the Arctic Council's role in promoting collaboration among states and restructuring governance networks.

A Network Governance Model for Enhancing Socially Responsible Collective Action in Mega Water Transfer Projects

A Network Governance Model for Enhancing Socially Responsible Collective Action in Mega Water Transfer Projects

Accountability as a function of power relationships in public governance networks

AbstractIn public governance, power and accountability are inextricably linked. However, although an integrated exploration of these concepts could enhance our understanding of how governance operates, few studies have examined them together. Drawing on resource dependency theory, we suggest that power relationships within networks shape accountability and have a concomitant impact on the prevailing governance paradigm. Specifically, where principals possess important resources that enable them to exercise power over agents and hold them to account through hierarchical mechanisms, Traditional Public Administration approaches predominate. Where resources are diffused within elite networks in New Public Management contexts, individual actors can exercise greater power to achieve their objectives, and accountability arrangements become increasingly multidirectional and complex. Finally, if resources are shared across society as in the New Public Governance paradigm, actors generate power with each other to achieve shared goals, and accountability relationships are more horizontal with a focus on learning.

Politics matter: Public leadership and taking charge behavior in the public sector

Learning how to motivate employees to engage in proactive taking-charge behavior (TCB) has become an essential topic for building change capabilities into public organizations. However, despite limited research investigating triggers of TCB in the public sector, even less attention has been paid to leadership-related drivers. With a three-wave survey on a Chinese public employee sample, we test how public leaders can motivate TCB using accountability, rule-following, political loyalty, and network governance leadership approaches, and whether these employees’ organizational identification mediates this relationship. Results show that only employees under supervisors who practice rule-following and political loyalty leaderships will own greater identification with their organizations and will subsequently exhibit TCB——these two public leadership approaches work because they paint a realistic picture of China’s political context to public employees, boosting their organization identification, which then enhances their TCB. Such results enrich our understanding of public sector change management in authoritarian political conditions.

Exploring the Innovative Path of Comprehensive Management of Dynamic Online Public Opinion in China Under the Threshold of New Media

Internet public opinion is a dynamic process of change, which is characterised by hiddenness, suddenness, complexity and volatility. The governance of online public opinion is a systematic project that involves network communication, government governance, social organisations, public will and other subjects. Strengthening the comprehensive governance of online public opinion requires innovating governance concepts and mechanisms to solve the problem of online public opinion at source; strengthening institutional construction and collaborative governance to improve the mechanism for managing online public opinion; enhancing professional skills and media literacy to improve the ability to govern online public opinion; and innovating information dissemination means and methods to enhance the dissemination efficacy of online public opinion. By innovating governance concepts and mechanisms, integrating social resources, improving the construction of the network communication system, and enhancing the media literacy and professional skills of netizens, the capacity and level of network public opinion governance will be enhanced.

Network governance and reflexivity in fisheries management: a case study of Northern Ireland

ABSTRACT Network governance arrangements, wherein resource users are empowered, are vital for ocean sustainability. These arrangements are critical to implementing innovative practices, particularly those developed to address the negative impacts of top-down management. The adoption of networked governance can foster resource management capacity and equitable decision-making. Research has focused on social ties within networks but has provided a somewhat limited account of how networks evolve to instil novel practices. To implement new practices, networks must engage in reflexive governance. Reflexivity is underpinned by actors’ receptivity to change and network learning. Actors’ receptivity to change relates to whether they acknowledge past failures and how novel management ideas become accepted. Network learning is the degree of change instigated by actors’ reflexive processes. Drawing on the receptivity and network learning theories, and informed by semi-structured interviews, an assessment was conducted on how a fisheries management network in Northern Ireland has reflexively evolved to implement new practices. Findings illustrate that the network has reflexively redesigned how they collaborate, share knowledge, and contribute to policymaking. Demonstrating single– and double-loop learning, these developments have been derived from reflections on the failure of past processes and the instigation of more co-creative processes that benefit all network actors.

An evolutionary dynamical analysis of low-carbon technology diffusion among enterprises in the complex network

The diffusion of low-carbon technologies (LCTs) is a critical channel to mitigate carbon emissions. The government plays an important role in guiding the proliferation of LCTs among enterprises, but due to issues such as regulatory costs, unequal resource distribution, and inefficient regulation it is inevitable that there will be inadequate supervision. Therefore, this study incorporates the government’s probabilistic regulation into the research framework and constructs a networked evolutionary game model in which the government, enterprises, and consumers play a role together. Based on the constructed game model, we explore the impact of carbon taxes, subsidies, probabilistic government supervision, market demand, initial fixed investment cost, network size, and firm heterogeneity on the diffusion of LCTs. In addition, we extend the model to consider scenarios involving dynamic market demands and government policies The results demonstrate that factors such as subsidies, probabilistic government supervision, market demand, network size, and firm heterogeneity promote the diffusion of LCTs, while carbon taxes and initial fixed investment cost under a small total demand inhibit the spread of LCTs. Our exploration sheds some light on the diffusion of LCTs from the perspective of demand and supply sides, which provides an effective reference for the formulation of relevant policies.

Contract, network or hierarchy? Selecting governance mechanisms in megaprojects from the perspective of contractor alliances

Understanding the evolving governance mechanisms in megaprojects is crucial for reducing transaction costs and ensuring project success. However, previous literature primarily discusses the results of selecting governance mechanisms at different phases, with little research exploring the reasons behind these choices. To fill this gap, this article addresses the question of how to select effective governance mechanisms at different phases from the perspective of contractor alliances, based on transaction cost economics (TCE). We employ a longitudinal exploratory case study method to analyse the governance mechanism selection process across three phases (i.e. contractor alliance formation phase, shield construction phase and crisis response phase) of a large infrastructure project in China. The results indicate that the likelihood of opportunistic behaviour, uncertainty and the duration of the phase jointly explain the reasons for selecting specific governance mechanisms. Additionally, we also find that contractual governance, network governance and hierarchical governance are typically complementary in multiple phases of megaprojects. This article provides valuable managerial insights for future governance practices in megaprojects.

Where you are matters: Network position, designed network, and central government agency termination

Where you are matters: Network position, designed network, and central government agency termination

Qualitative Comparative Policy Studies: An Introduction from the Special Section Editors

This inaugural article delineates the vision and scope of the new section “Qualitative Comparative Policy Studies” of the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis. The co-editors present the five key features of the section: the comparative, the transnational, the relational, the global, and the self-reflective. Concretely, they invite contributions on qualitative empirical research that (i) is comparative in its methods and interpretive framework, (ii) draws on the transnational dimension, (iii) considers the relational dimension of network governance, (iv) recognizes an unequal global setting, and (v) is self-reflective and interrogates international comparison as a governance tool. By definition, qualitative comparison is contextual comparison that differentiates between place and space and the temporalities of comparative policy analysis (period, timing, tempo, sequence, lifespan, and age).

Collaboration in action: How micro-level relational dynamics are connected with issue frame convergence in collaborative governance networks

ABSTRACT In this article, we investigate stakeholders’ micro-level relational dynamics and their connection to issue frame convergence in collaborative governance. We longitudinally studied the collaborative network around area regeneration in an urban area in the Netherlands. Three different relational dynamics emerged over time: an adversarial, a transactional and a care-based dynamic. A care-based dynamic fostered ’deeper level’ issue frame convergence through reflexive integration of differences. Reflexive learning about relational dynamics within collaborative networks is required to nurture this fruitful and productive connection. Participatory action research can offer action perspectives on how to do so.

Navigating the city: Role of property-market intelligence channels in urban governance networks

This study presents a novel perspective on the impact of market-intelligence channels on property markets and the subsequent effects on the formation of alliances among public- and private-sector actors in urban governance. I argue and demonstrate that property actors, especially investors, collaborate through knowledge coalitions by utilizing the market-intelligence channels they created, not only to navigate property markets but also to establish the mode of regulation in urban development. By using a strategic-relational perspective, it is possible to analyze the underlying institutional infrastructure of the property market as a dynamic system shaped by the relationships and interactions among various social and economic actors. In addition to forming various marketing or lobbying coalitions, property actors forge alliances by converting pertinent information—such as locational analysis, socioeconomic data, policy and land-use forecasts, permit conditions, and planning strategies—into advanced market intelligence. This process allows them to define the norms, rules, and principles to be negotiated with public policymakers and enhance their positions in knowledge-based governance networks. To obtain empirical evidence about Amsterdam’s property market, a comprehensive data set was created to identify the influential actors. Extensive deskwork was conducted to map the diverse channels and connections of market intelligence. Key players in the property market were also interviewed to provide a comprehensive view of the active market-intelligence channels in governance networks.

Unpacking Polycentric Climate Governance: Tracing the Evolution of Transnational Municipal Networks over Time

Abstract All governance systems are polycentric to some extent in that they comprise multiple actors with varying degrees of autonomy. However, there has been limited theorization as to how we might measure polycentricity, even though this could help us unpack networks and understand governance arrangements better. We present three dimensions of governance to conceptualize degrees of polycentricity—governance of networks (internal organization and management at the network level), governance by networks (their impacts at the membership level), and governance with networks (collaboration with other actors at the system level). We then trace the evolution of three transnational municipal networks (the Climate Alliance, Covenant of Mayors, and 100 Resilient Cities/Resilient Cities Network), which are located at different positions along the polycentric–monocentric spectrum. We examine how these networks have become more or less polycentric over time and highlight trade-offs between different dimensions of polycentric governance, most notably governance of and governance by.