Institutional Collective Action Framework Research Articles

Collaboration as organizational empowerment: a network perspective

ABSTRACT Inter-organizational collaboration is central to Organizational Empowerment theory. It enables organizations to strengthen their capacity and to take collective action to achieve empowerment at multiple levels. Despite the growing significance of inter-organizational collaboration in addressing complex issues in our society, little is known about what facilitates or hinders collaboration between local organizations involved with community development in a neighborhood. By applying theories of organizational networks and Institutional Collective Action Framework (ICA), and Exponential Random Graph Modeling, this study analyzes the collaboration networks between 167 local organizations in Chicago in 2016. The results suggest that these local organizations are more likely to collaborate when they are the same type of organization and have a more diverse board of directors. It was also found that organizations built a bonding structure to cope with a challenging period for neighborhood organizations in Chicago. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of empowerment literature by extending ICA and organizational network theories and a statistical approach to network analysis to describe mechanisms of organizational empowerment.

Making multisectoral committees work: Lessons from tobacco control in two Pacific small island developing states

AbstractThe consumption of harmful commodities drives the noncommunicable disease (NCD) epidemic globally and in Pacific small island developing states. Multisectoral committees are commonly chosen avenues to facilitate policy coherence across government sectors in regulating the commercial determinants of health (CDoH), but these committees often fail to function as intended. This paper aims to explore the institutional conditions that enable or constrain multisectoral committees in facilitating policy coherence for tobacco control in Fiji and Vanuatu. An exploratory, qualitative research design was applied, incorporating a two‐case study design with within‐case analysis and cross‐case synthesis. Data collection consisted of 70 in‐depth interviews in 2018 and 2019. Data collection and analysis were informed by an analytical framework drawn from the institutional collective action framework. The results show that the current amount of authority behind the investigated multisectoral committees in Fiji and Vanuatu is inadequate to meaningfully bring stakeholders together for an issue with high complexity. Moreover, multisectoral discussions on tobacco control have a high risk to break down, as the collaboration may generate unwanted impacts to one or more actors and the net benefits are perceived to be low. The authority behind multisectoral committees might be strengthened by the chairmanship of a cross‐sectoral, high‐level government official and the allocation of more resources for managing intersectoral engagement. Divergent preferences might be brought closer together by showcasing the socioeconomic costs of NCDs and policies affecting the availability, affordability, accessibility, and desirability of tobacco and raising awareness about CDoH in nonhealth sectors.

Information asymmetry and vertical collective action dilemma: The case of targeted poverty alleviation in China

AbstractInformation asymmetry is prevalent in the vertical bureaucratic structures of unitary systems. Drawing upon the institutional collective action (ICA) framework and the literature on information politics, this paper investigates the formation of the vertical ICA dilemma and the motivations underlying the collaborative mechanisms to address information asymmetry within the hierarchical bureaucratic structures of the Chinese government. Taking the Targeted Poverty Alleviation campaign as a case, we find a mixture of collective solutions, including informal networks, intergovernmental contracts, delegation, and imposed authority, as alternatives to alleviate the information asymmetry between vertical governments. Our case studies contribute to the literature on central–local relations, information politics, and the development of the vertical ICA framework, which notably incorporates the extent of lower level government autonomy into the determinants of integration mechanisms. In the conclusion, we connect this research to the broader ICA research agenda and studies of the cross‐level policy process, with implications for multi‐level governance in unitary systems like China.

Policy advocacy, network formation and network governance

This article examines the mechanisms underlying the formation of U.S. national clean energy policy network. Informed by the Institutional Collective Action (ICA) framework, this article develops and tests hypotheses regarding cooperation versus coordination hypotheses regarding the reasons underlying clean energy policy actors’ networking activities. Using a webcrawler data collection strategy and measuring policy network with hyperlink network, a data set of network relationships among the clean energy policy actors is collected. Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs) are applied to test the proposed hypotheses, and results show strong empirical evidence supporting cooperation hypotheses, with partial support for coordination hypotheses.

Planejamento e Governança para Metrópoles Resilientes no Brasil e na Alemanha - Arranjos para Ação Coletiva Institucional

Abstract Metropolises are a fundamental characteristic of the 21st century due to the unprecedented urbanization that has seen cities transcend their traditional boundaries. At the heart of the metropolitan question, there is the need for collective decisions and coordinated joint action in a territory characterized by the existence of multiple governments and social actors with different interests, preferences, and resources. Consequently, new institutional arrangements for metropolitan management have continued to evolve aiming to overcome the dilemma of collective action. In this article, we present some principal findings of a study that examines the institutional arrangements of metropolitan governance in the metropolises of Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte (Brazil), as well as Stuttgart and Hannover (Germany), based on the institutional collective action framework. The research is based on the analysis of the relevant literature, reports, secondary studies, and the conduction of a semi-structured panel interview researchers, revealing varied vertical and horizontal cooperation arrangements, the strengths and weaknesses of their institutional design, and contextual factors that have shaped the governance and planning structures and the possibilities of resilient metropolitan development. The article concludes with some recommendations for the implementation of institutional arrangements at the metropolitan scale for emerging metropolises, particularly in the Global South.

Redes de governança intermunicipal: aplicação de modelos de gráficos aleatórios exponenciais em Los Lagos, Chile

Abstract The idea of governance has permeated the debates on the state’s transformation at the regional level since the 1990s. However, operationalization difficulties have limited our knowledge of the phenomenon. This article contributes to filling this gap by examining the inter-jurisdictional dimension of regional governance. From a network perspective, the article studies the emergence of inter-municipal networks from different local collaborative mechanisms. Based on the institutional collective action framework, the study analyzes the prevalence of network structures associated with different types of social capital (bonding/bridging) in three inter-municipal networks in the Los Lagos Region in Chile. The application of exponential random graph models (ERGM) revealed evidence supporting the consistent prevalence of bonding in the three networks studied. The findings also showed the networks’ coexistence with structures decentralized in more complex regional networks.

Blood is thicker than water: local favouritism and inter-local collaborative governance

ABSTRACT Exploring the micro-mechanisms of collaborative governance regarding decision-makers’ behavioural and psychological motivations can advance an understanding of governance in fragmented systems. Among these motivations, local favouritism is a common behaviour that has received little attention in inter-local collaboration. Whether and why local government decision-makers engage in local favouritism in inter-local collaboration remains unanswered. This study incorporates social identity theory into the institutional collective action framework to answer these questions and tests our hypotheses using an empirical case of the impact of provincial leadership turnover on inter-provincial watershed environmental collaboration in China. The results show that decision-makers engage in local favouritism in inter-local collaboration and that the reasons for such behaviour are related to decision-makers’ social identity with their hometowns. The social identity of local decision-makers with their hometowns enhances the utility they obtain when engaging in collaboration. This increased individual utility raises the perceived benefits of collaboration and makes decision-makers more likely to collaborate with their hometown jurisdictions.

The prevalence of a bonding strategy in COVID-19 response networks: explaining intermunicipal partnering in the Santiago metropolitan region, Chile

ABSTRACT COVID-19, with its spatial particularities, has challenged the governance of institutionally fragmented regions, obliging local governments to respond collaboratively. While intermunicipal collaboration is expected, little is known about partnering strategies. Based on the institutional collective action framework, this article explains which partnering strategies (bonding or bridging) have prevailed in the city of Santiago. Using exponential random graph models, it reveals a tendency to transitive clustering, socio-territorial homophily and the importance of planned emergency intermunicipal networks. The findings demonstrate the prevalence of bonding and an absence of bridging, measured by both endogenous and exogenous factors, with implications for effective regional response.

Emergency Cooperation Mechanism under Institutional Collective Action — A Review on Inter Organizational Collaboration

In recent years, due to the high-frequency growth and increasing cross-border nature of all kinds of emergency events, which has made the emergency management ability of a single organization in the face of all kinds of emergencies is not so prominent. How to strengthen the cooperation of different organizations in emergency management has become a major problem to be solved by the governments at all levels. Many scholars in various fields have also carried out a variety of theoretical research and management practice. This paper introduces the role of cooperation mechanism under the institutional collective action framework in the emergency management in the face of different types of emergencies. The emergencies are divided into natural disasters, social security events, disaster accidents and public health emergencies. This study found that cooperation mechanism with different degree of autonomy and complexity can effectively help organizations strengthen their willingness to cooperate, promote formal and informal exchanges, promote the rational flow and effective allocation of resources and promote effective collective action. And the binding and bridging mechanism is more popular with the organization participants in all levels of government when dealing with all kinds of emergencies, while other types of cooperation mechanisms focus on different types of emergencies according to their own characteristics. Through the in-depth study of cooperation mechanism under the institutional collective action framework, it also provides a new idea for the domestic emergency management.

Does voluntary cooperation in member state implementation require top‐down steering? The case of regional policy in Switzerland

AbstractThis article studies the institutional conditions that facilitate voluntary member state cooperation in the implementation of regional development policy in Switzerland. Cooperation is crucial for the implementation of regional development policies given that functional perimeters do generally not coincide with institutional borders. Research on the governance of horizontal interorganizational cooperation often focuses on local entities and institutionalized networks, we examine the voluntary cooperation of higher‐tier subnational entities. We apply the institutional collective action framework to the implementation of a regional policy in highly federalist Switzerland where subnational entities have considerable discretionary power. The empirical analysis of comprehensive data on implemented development projects and a survey of all responsible subnational actors show that cooperation between higher‐tier subnational entities faces strong institutional constraints. We conclude that more top‐down guidance is necessary when horizontal cooperation is a condition for policy success.

Editorial Introduction: Multidimensional policy spaces, policy actors and the policy process, and an update to the institutional collective action framework

Editorial Introduction: Multidimensional policy spaces, policy actors and the policy process, and an update to the institutional collective action framework

Collaborating with the competition? A study of interlocal partnership choices

AbstractIn the US system of decentralized federalism, competitive dynamics among local governments are not incompatible with successful interlocal collaboration. Municipalities often collaborate with competing jurisdictions in the same region to provide services and solve problems. Yet, competitive relations among municipalities are expected to complicate collaboration, escalating transaction costs due to divergent goals and lack of trust. This article uses the Institutional Collective Action framework to examine the conditions under which local governments are best able to surmount competition‐related hurdles and successfully partner with their chief municipal competitors. An original survey of mayors and councilors is used to test potential predictors of collaboration among top competitors. Results show that municipalities often collaborate with their chief competitors but are less likely to do so when they are situated in municipally‐fragmented regions, when they are located in a different county from their top competitors, and when they are fiscally strong.

Which works better? Comparing the environmental outcomes of different forms of intergovernmental collaboration in China's air pollution control

ABSTRACT While collaborative governance has been widely applied to address environmental problems, little is known about the environmental outcomes of collaborations. Drawing on the institutional collective action (ICA) framework, this study constructs a framework that links different forms of collaboration, defined by different levels of central intervention, to environmental outcomes. We argue that the outcome of a particular form of collaboration is a function of its effectiveness and the level of complexity the collaboration faces. When the effectiveness of a collaboration form matches the complexity faced by the collaboration, it is more likely to achieve better environmental outcomes. Using city-level air quality data and the weighted fixed effect difference-in-difference approach, we find results that strongly support our arguments. This research contributes to the understanding of the environmental outcomes of collaborations and provides practical insights for public managers to design intergovernmental collaborations.

Integration of Policy Decision Making for Sustainable Land Use within Cities

Local land use policies can shape the sustainability of urban systems, but integrated land use at the local level is challenging since it requires the coordination of multiple semi-independent agencies within cities to effectively address collective actions problems and overcome functional divisions. Although this problem is widely acknowledged, systematic examination of what factors are related to internal coordination of land use functions is lacking. This research investigates what influences the extent to which cities coordinate across functional areas to promote integrative land use decision making. I address this question by first describing a conceptual framework drawing from institutional collective action (ICA) perspectives to understand internal city collaboration across policy functions. I then advance explanations linking institutions and community characteristics to the degree of coordination in municipal land use. Using a 2015 survey of 1124 U.S. cities, I test the hypothesized relationships based on the functional institutional collective action framework. The findings reveal that political institutions, city operation of utilities, elected officials support, and fiscal capacity increase coordination. In conclusion the implications of the findings for theory and land use planning research are discussed.

An Item Response Theory Model of Inter-Regional Collaboration for Transportation Planning in the United States

Regional governments and regional intergovernmental organizations play an increasingly important role in land use and transportation planning in many countries. In the U.S., regional organizations such as metropolitan planning organizations provide regional forums and institutions to coordinate actions of local government necessary to overcome collective action problems that result from the fragmentation of local authority. Their regional scope allows them to directly address collaboration problems or broker collaborative arrangements among local governments within their boundaries. Nevertheless, the scale of regional problems often extends beyond the boundaries of these regional entities. Thus, collaboration across regional governance organizations is necessary to address problems that have multi-regional impacts, such as large transportation projects. Extant research generally measures regional collaboration based on counts of collaboration actions undertaken, but this does not account for the fact that some are symbolic, while others require resources and commitment. Drawing insights from the institutional collective action framework, we advance an explanation for how regional organizations overcome collaboration risks to participate in collaborative solutions to regional and multi-regional problems. The analysis employs a unique national survey of metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and adds a novel application of item response theory (IRT) to capture differences in risk or difficulty among collaborative actions. The IRT results offer support for our ICA-based explanation of collaboration commitments. The implications of the findings for theory development and empirical study of RIGOs are discussed in conclusion.

Assessing the Multi-level Government Response to the COVID-19 Crisis: Italy and Spain Compared

ABSTRACT This article compares the functioning of the intergovernmental systems in Italy and Spain facing the COVID-19 crisis. Combining the public administration literature on policy learning and multi-level governance with that on the institutional collective action framework, this article analyses if and how Italy and Spain have reacted and learned from the external pressures of the pandemic, leading to institutional adjustments to the respective multi-level governance systems in the de-escalation of the first emergency phase. In doing so, the article tests the general hypothesis that the existing political structures and dynamics are a crucial variable to explain the different performance in the pandemic response management. The framework presented in this article could be extended to other countries that follow a federal logic in healthcare provision by public administration scholars who are interested in crisis management studies.

The Impact of Collaboration Network on Water Resource Governance Performance: Evidence from China's Yangtze River Delta Region.

Existing studies rarely examine the relationship between network structure and network performance. To fill this research gap, this article collects inter-local collaboration network data from 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region of China from 2009 to 2015. Based on the institutional collective action framework and social capital theory, we propose bridging and bonding hypotheses regarding the impact of network structures on governance performance. We employ social network analysis and panel data regression models to test the hypotheses. The results show that the coefficients for closeness centrality and clustering coefficient are statistically significant in this analysis, Wuxi played a central role in the collaboration network and the region had formed a close partner network, confirming the positive effect of bridging and bonding network social capital structures on network performance.

Coordination Effectiveness During Public Health Emergencies: An Institutional Collective Action Framework

This article draws on the institutional collective action (ICA) framework and data from a survey of senior public health and emergency management professionals in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex following the Ebola outbreak to investigate coordination effectiveness during public health emergencies. Based on the study findings, the article recommends that having an identifiable lead agency, official statements from local authorities, a conducive environment for informal conversations, and communication activities that inform, connect, and involve professionals is essential for an effective coordination. Practical implications of the study extend to how to mitigate collective action dilemmas with regard to coordinating COVID-19 pandemic responses.

Institutional Collective Action on Drugs: Functional and Vertical Dilemmas of Unused Pharmaceuticals

The authors use the Institutional Collective Action Framework to analyze the barriers, opposition, and opportunities for residential pharmaceutical disposal programs in the United States via a case study on a series of take‐back programs pioneered in the state of Washington by local and state governments, as well as the corresponding backlash from federal agencies. While successful in some ways, these innovative solutions directly challenged the competing federal policy regimes controlled by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and, to a lesser extent, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Findings from case studies suggest that functional dilemmas created by existing institutions with entrenched regulatory regimes are a key challenge to finding efficient solutions to vertical ICA dilemmas. Conclusions, then, connect to the broader ICA research agenda, and implications for multi‐level governance issues.

From Neighbors to Partners: The Adoption of Interlocal Government Collaboration in the United States, 1977–2007

Local governments in the United States frequently collaborate with neighboring localities for service provision despite the high costs of this strategy. Using the Institutional Collective Action (ICA) framework, this article argues that a key explanation of interlocal collaboration lies in the way local leaders learn from the behavior of neighboring jurisdictions that collaborate, which alters the transaction costs of their own potential collaborations. Using a data set of financial transfers for 35,000 jurisdictions over a 30-year span, the article shows that localities are more likely to collaborate when a larger share of their neighbors collaborated in the past.