Network Governance Structure Research Articles

Theoretical Logic and Implementation Path of Comprehensive Land Consolidation for Promoting Common Prosperity: A Case Study of Ningbo City

Eliminating poverty and achieving social justice are global concerns. China has focused on common prosperity. Comprehensive land consolidation is a potential policy tool that can contribute to common prosperity, but its effectiveness and implementation methods are yet to be verified and discussed. Therefore, we construct an analytical framework to understand how comprehensive land consolidation promotes common prosperity. The pilot area for comprehensive land consolidation in Ningbo City is used as a qualitative case study. The research results indicate that comprehensive land consolidation focuses on development and sharing to promote high-quality socio-economic development, social fairness, and justice. The paths for achieving development included the following: (1) a network governance structure consisting of multiple entities to enhance land governance; (2) various consolidation activities were conducted at the town scale to optimize the functionality and spatial pattern of public spaces; and (3) enabling the flow of urban and rural factors for improved resource allocation efficiency and providing an impetus for industrial development. The paths for achieving sharing included clarifying collective land ownership and promoting land transactions to provide diverse land values and ensure a shared distribution. This research provides new insights applicable to other Chinese cities and numerous developing countries engaged in land consolidation to address social distribution issues.

Red Como Estrategia Para Romper Silos y Fomentar la Innovación Abierta

ABSTRACT Objectives: The central objective of this paper is to propose and test a model for the development of network governance structures to respond to the silo effect in the innovation management process in a large research organization. Method: A case study was used with the objective of building a governance model that could address the problems derived from the silo effect. To achieve the objective, validation workshops were held, with teams being challenged to reflect on the mechanisms and basic rules used to assemble the model. Results: The efforts made to inhibit the silo effect in the organization investigated were successful. Internal events were held to exchange knowledge between research centers, which resulted in greater stimulation of connections between these and other actors throughout the innovation ecosystem. Conclusions: The governance model adopted to mitigate the problems derived from the silo effect proved to be effective in promoting interaction between research centers on issues related to open innovation. The model, supported by mechanisms and basic rules inserted in the key actions, proved to be efficient in promoting a more intense relationship between the research units of the institution studied, resulting in new network actions.

Reforms and Responses to the Internal Governance Structure of Primary and Secondary School in the Context of High-Quality Development in Mainland China

In the wake of the focus on improving the quality of education in the international community, the development of the cause of education in mainland China has entered the stage of high-quality development. Currently, the construction of internal governance structures for primary and secondary schools in mainland China exhibits three areas of difficulties and problems: In vertical governance structures, the configurations are overly hierarchical, and there is a high cost of communication and coordination, and difficulty forwarding reforms and innovations; in horizontal governance structures, professional organizations do not have high status, there is a low degree of coordination, and efforts for oversight and assurance are inadequate; in integrated network governance structures, there is a weak basis for consensus and low responsiveness, and the degree of coupling needs improvement. In order to adapt to the needs of high-quality development, primary and secondary schools in mainland China must make reforms to and tackle several aspects of their internal governance structures, vertically adhering to the logic of management reform, to improve the rationality of decision-making and promote flattening of vertical structures; horizontally adhering to the logic of intrinsic development, to improve the status, authority and influence of a school’s professional organizations; and integratively abiding by the logic of systems integration, to build deliberative democratic network governance structures on the foundation of a consensus of ideas.

재난관리 네트워크 거버넌스 구조와 관계 전략에관한 탐색적 연구: COVID-19 방역 마스크 공급 대란 사례

재난관리 네트워크 거버넌스 구조와 관계 전략에관한 탐색적 연구: COVID-19 방역 마스크 공급 대란 사례

Research on the Problems and Countermeasures of Vocational Education School Enterprise Cooperation from the Perspective of Network Governance

Currently, vocational education in China is in an important turning point of improving quality and excellence, and building a modern vocational education system is an urgent task facing vocational education. At present, there are still problems in vocational education in terms of school enterprise cooperation, such as insufficient embedding and sustainability of cooperation, insufficient motivation for cooperation entities to participate, lack of government governance mechanisms, and lack of industry supervision and quality evaluation. The cooperative entities between schools and enterprises usually have the characteristics of diversity and heterogeneity, and also involve relevant cooperative entities in interest distribution, gaming, coordination, and balance. This provides the following reference for the network governance of vocational education school enterprise cooperation: firstly, play the leading and governance functions of the government, optimize the network governance structure, and establish a long-term operating mechanism; The second is to strengthen goal orientation, pay attention to the development needs of all parties, and stimulate the motivation of subject participation; The third is to improve the quality supervision and performance evaluation system, establish and improve a diversified organizational structure, and ensure the quality of school enterprise cooperation.

The role of networks in policy processes in developing countries: The case of harmonized seed regulations in Malawi

AbstractNetworks have increasingly played an essential role in the economic reform policy process in developing countries. However, their policy influence and impact on agriculture and the seed sector are unknown. Therefore, this study used social network analysis to understand the role of the policy networks in Malawi's harmonized seed regulation policy process. Key informant interviews were used for primary data collection for the SNA questionnaires (N = 27). The primary data was complemented by secondary information. Data analysis used network graphs, centrality measures, and descriptive methods to understand the network's governance structure and social interaction. Three centralized networks with external affiliations were identified: seed trade and corporate citizenship representing core‐peripheral networks and the policy advocacy network as a hub‐and‐spoke. The governance structure and type of administration determined the policy networks' influence in advocating for specific policy interests. Strong technical and financial support from international organizations and the government to a network proved critical in Malawi's seed sector policy reform direction. These ensured network trust that was important in bringing cohesion and stability toward a common policy goal. This call for support for those networks representing the underprivileged in developing countries, including civil society.

Teamwork makes the net-work: participant-governed networks and athletics sustainability collaboration

PurposeAthletic departments play an important role in sustainability-based collaborative processes due to their boundary spanning connections with both internal and external university stakeholders. As a result, athletic department representatives have become prominent members of university participant-governed network structures. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of dedicated “athletics green teams” as a unique form of control and coordination by considering how green team interactions support and augment the collaborative network of actors who are responsible for executing athletics sustainability practices on university campuses.Design/methodology/approachA sociocentric analysis is used to explore the network of a green team at a large American university. The analysis focuses on examining the size, composition and structure of relations involving green team members that facilitated various forms of information transmission and strategic action(s).FindingsThe results highlight how the presence of the athletic department in the green team provides heterophilous and multiplex relations across the collaborative network and how the green team itself provides a unique forum for planning and coordination, which is critical for providing more sophisticated, advanced structures for sustainability.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study should reassure practitioners involved in convening green teams that such shared governance structures add value to athletics sustainability collaborative processes. In addition, subtle changes to the network governance structures has the potential to streamline the contribution of athletic departments to university sustainability initiatives and help project a more cohesive “Athletics” sustainability message that transmits across the collaborative network.Originality/valueThe outcomes of dedicated athletics green teams have been explored from a largely qualitative perspective. However, this study applies a novel relational approach to understand the shared governance value-added within a largely intra-organizational collaborative network.

Network embeddedness in illegal online markets: endogenous sources of prices and profit in anonymous criminal drug trade

AbstractAlthough economic sociology emphasizes the role of social networks for shaping economic action, little research has examined how network governance structures affect prices in the unregulated and high-risk social context of online criminal trade. We consider how overembeddedness—a state of excessive interconnectedness among market actors—arises from endogenous trade relations to shape prices in illegal online markets with aggregate consequences for short-term gross illegal revenue. Drawing on transaction-level data on 16 847 illegal drug transactions over 14 months of trade in a ‘darknet’ drug market, we assess how repeated exchanges and closure in buyer–vendor trade networks nonlinearly influence prices and short-term gross revenue from illegal drug trade. Using a series of panel models, we find that increases in closure and repeated exchange raise prices until a threshold is reached upon which prices and gross monthly revenue begin to decline as networks become overembedded. Findings provide insight into the network determinants of prices and gross monthly revenue in illegal online drug trade and illustrate how network structure shapes prices in criminal markets, even in anonymous trade environments.

Business Networking and Performance of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Benue State, Nigeria

The impact of business networking on the performance of SMEs in Benue State, Nigeria is investigated in this study. The study focuses on the impact of network governance, network content, and network structure on SMEs in Benue State, Nigeria. The study employs a survey design, with a questionnaire serving as the data gathering tool. The study's population consists of 650 licenced SMEs in Benue State, with a sample size of 242 obtained via stratified sampling. The KMO and Bartlett's tests show that variables are highly significant, and principal component analysis was appropriate at 0.631. The reliability test-retest result revealed a reliability index of (0.702). Regression analysis was used to examine and present the data received from the businesses surveyed. Network governance (42.2 percent), network content (30.2 percent), and network structure (46.2 percent) all have a positive and significant effect on the performance of SMEs in Benue State, Nigeria, according to the results of tested hypotheses. According to the study's findings, business networking in a business environment is concerned with characteristics such as network governance, network content, and network structure, which create the foundation upon which SMEs connect with their surroundings. The research also revealed that business networking has a significant impact on SMEs' performance. SMEs working in any business environment should build up a formation structure that allows them to engage freely within the environment, according to the report.

Service Providers’ Influence in Collaborative Governance Networks: Effectiveness in Reducing Chronic Homelessness

Abstract In fragmented policy areas, collaboration between government entities and nonprofit providers is thought to promote knowledge sharing and reinforce mutual accountability, hopefully improving performance. The popularity of this trend is matched only by the difficulties in actually meeting these multiplex goals. This is partly because there are both process (e.g., engagement and mutual learning) and outcome (e.g., effectiveness) goals that can work at cross-purposes. In this article, we use longitudinal data from a specific collaborative governance model—Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Homeless Continuums of Care (CoCs)—to investigate the relationship between meaningful inclusion of nonprofit service providers in the network and a valued outcome: reducing regional chronic homelessness. Specifically, we use structural equation modeling to assess the degree to which provider influence and local government support play mediating roles between network governance structure, growth in federal resource munificence, and reductions in chronic homeless. Combining HUD administrative data and data from a national survey of the population of CoCs (N = 313, 75% response rate), we find that while both (1) provider influence in decision-making and (2) federal funding growth are directly associated with reductions in chronic homelessness, provider influence also serves as an important mediator in the relationships between network governance structure, federal funding growth, and reductions in chronic homelessness. Qualitative case examples are then used to demonstrate how these trends are experienced in practice. Overall, we argue that collaborative governance can best improve client outcomes when it is truly collaborative and providers are given meaningful ways to engage with and influence the process.

Practicing Fair and Sustainable Local Food Systems: Elements of Food Citizenship in the Simeto River Valley

This paper examines a community-based food system which emerged recently around the Simeto River Valley Agreement (SRA) in Sicily (Italy) through the lens of food citizenship. The concept of food citizenship develops an understanding of how food systems function to ensure that individuals and communities have agency, access, and engagement with their food. It allows for comparative analysis between global/industrial and community/alternative systems. This paper follows a methodological integration between action research and a case study approach. The action research process produced a networked governance structure derived from multiple initiatives which are currently initiating many thematic projects—amongst them, a local food system. Results indicate that formalizing governance structures derived from self-organizing behavior have led to an inclusive platform with a shared vision and goals. The governing structures, however, require continued efforts and capacity to engage collaboratively in implementing their strategic plans. Findings suggest that actors developing a food citizenship-focused system should (1) consider how the governance organizational structure enables fluid communication among members and leads to building trust, (2) seek alternatives to engage youth (especially in rural areas) and promote citizen engagement, and (3) develop strategies to seek technical and programmatic support for initiatives. These three aspects are key features which may be adapted to other such efforts in sustainable and local food systems. The complex networked approach to governance presented here and the shared vision for sustainability are considered key elements in fostering a successful alternative food system with the fundamentals of food citizenship at its core.

Business Networking and Performance of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Benue State, Nigeria

The impact of business networking on the performance of SMEs in Benue State, Nigeria is investigated in this study. The study focuses on the impact of network governance, network content, and network structure on SMEs in Benue State, Nigeria. The study employs a survey design, with a questionnaire serving as the data gathering tool. The study's population consists of 650 licenced SMEs in Benue State, with a sample size of 242 obtained via stratified sampling. The KMO and Bartlett's tests show that variables are highly significant, and principal component analysis was appropriate at 0.631. The reliability test-retest result revealed a reliability index of (0.702). Regression analysis was used to examine and present the data received from the businesses surveyed. Network governance (42.2 percent), network content (30.2 percent), and network structure (46.2 percent) all have a positive and significant effect on the performance of SMEs in Benue State, Nigeria, according to the results of tested hypotheses. According to the study's findings, business networking in a business environment is concerned with characteristics such as network governance, network content, and network structure, which create the foundation upon which SMEs connect with their surroundings. The research also revealed that business networking has a significant impact on SMEs' performance. SMEs working in any business environment should build up a formation structure that allows them to engage freely within the environment, according to the report.

Governance and Social Network: Analysis in Cooperatives of Small Citrus Producers in the São Paulo State, Brazil

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if the network governance structure adopted by small producers’ citrus cooperatives has allowed the reduction of risks in transactions, ex-ante (adverse selection) and ex-post (moral hazard), and the problems of opportunism downstream and upstream of the production chain. The planned methodological procedure included the structuring and research of two case studies in cooperatives of small orange producers in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, comprising a sample of 35 cooperative members surveyed between the two cooperatives analyzed. The analyzes were supported by the Transaction Cost Economics and Social Network approaches. Results indicate the importance of the cooperatives and their network format, as economic agents, in maintaining small producers in the citrus industry activity, allowing the reduction of risks in transactions and the problems of opportunism, downstream and upstream of the chain. It was verified the academic contribution and theoretical reinforcement brought by this study - through the empirical surveys and results produced - to the theory of hybrid governance formats, which lacks empirical support and greater analytical strengthening on the part of the academy, according to its own authors. It is suggested, for future analysis, the use of the network governance approach aimed at strengthening the class of small producers of other agribusiness cultures, also using the theoretical basis belonging to NIE, TCE and Networks. The continuity of analyzes based on relational governance, with institutional and transactional economics as a basis, represents not only academic documentation and support for small rural producers of different cultures, but also the guarantee of theoretical robustness to a structure that is still incipient in historical terms, which finds in Brazilian agribusiness a fertile ground for its development and materialization.

Network governance forms in healthcare: empirical evidence from two Italian cancer networks

BackgroundThis study focuses on the application of Provan and Kenis’ modes of network governance to the specific field of public healthcare networks, extending the framework to an analysis of systems in which networks are involved. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze and compare the governance of two cancer networks in two Italian regions that underwent system reconfiguration processes due to reforms in the healthcare system.MethodsA qualitative study of two clinical networks in the Italian healthcare system was conducted. The sample for interviews included representatives of the regional administration (n = 4), network coordinators (n = 6), and general and clinical directors of health organizations involved in the two networks (n = 25). Data were collected using semi-structured interviews.ResultsOur study shows that healthcare system reforms have a limited impact on network governance structures. In fact, strong inertial tendencies characterize networks, especially network administrative organization models (NAO). Networks tend to find their own balance with respect to the trade-offs analyzed using a mix of formal and informal ties. Our study confirms the general validity of Provan and Kenis’ framework and shows how other specific factors and contingencies may affect the possibility that cancer networks find positive equilibria between competing needs of inclusivity and efficiency, internal and external legitimacy, and stability and flexibility. It also shows how networks react to external changes.ConclusionsOur study shows the importance of considering three factors and contingencies that may affect network effectiveness: a) the importance of looking at network governance modes not in isolation, but in relationship to the governance of regional systems; b) the influence of a specific network’s governance structure on the network’s ability to respond to tensions and to achieve its goals; and c) the need to take into account the role of professionals in network governance.

Field-Configuring Events: An Important Mechanism Shaping the Institutionalization of Chinese Volunteering

Major events can and do play an important role in the development of volunteering in China. This article employs organizational neo-institutionalism as a lens to examine and interpret the meanings of major events for the development of Chinese volunteerism. We consider the Wenchuan earthquake and the Beijing Olympics as “Field-Configuring Events” that influenced the process of institutionalizing volunteering. The article’s findings highlight that these major events shaped the public’s culture and cognition of volunteering and the network-governance structure of volunteering, thereby opening a window of opportunity for volunteerism policy decision-making.

The evolution of safety legislation in Hong Kong: Actors, structures and institutions

Safety regulations are one part of an organisation’s institutional environment. An effective and robust institutional framework is likely to involve an admixture of regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive elements of institutions. This study aimed to understand how safety regulations become interconnected (or not) with other forms of institutions in the course of history. Taking Hong Kong as a case, this study illustrated the coevolution of safety legislation and a safety-defined organisational field, drawing on archival documents, books, research articles and interviews. It was identified that the organisational field was evolved from the government as the single actor to a network governance structure, over four stages in a century: early days, the embryonic stage, golden time and the transition stage. Until the transition stage, regulative institutions were the major form of regulating mechanisms. This study identified that the late emergence of normative and cultural-cognitive institutions, e.g., commonly accepted safety standards, procedures, norms and values, might be attributed to the inherent deficiencies of the formal regulatory system, and most importantly, the lack of institutional infrastructure during the first three evolution stages. This research also demonstrated that the emergence of normative and cultural-cognitive institutions at the transition stage relied on a combination of three conditions: material resources, rationales for a cognitive change, and inter-organisational structures bringing about collective actions. Policy makers are suggested to pay attention to the conditions supporting and inhibiting the construction of normative and cultural-cognitive institutions among field actors.

Education for Sustainable Development and Climate Change Education: The Potential of Social Network Analysis Based on Twitter Data

Education is considered an essential tool for achieving sustainability-related goals. In this regard, education for sustainable development (ESD) and climate change education (CCE) have become prominent concepts. The central characteristics of both concepts influence the non-hierarchical network governance structure that has formed around them: (1) their international origin, (2) the conceptual ambiguity that surrounds them, and (3) the limited implementing power of international organizations who developed these concepts. Hence, networks are essential to ESD and CCE, however, only few studies have used social network analysis (SNA) techniques to analyze their governance structure. The aim of this article is to illustrate how to use SNA, based on Twitter data, as an approach to examine the governance structure that has developed around ESD and CCE. We conduct an illustrative SNA, using Twitter data during three global climate change summits (2015-2017) to examine CCE-specific debates and identify actors exerting the most influence. We find that international organizations and international treaty secretariats are most influential across all years of the analysis and, moreover, are represented most often. These findings show that using SNA based on Twitter data offers promising possibilities to better understand the governance structure and processes around both concepts.

How Structural Variations in Collaborative Governance Networks Influence Advocacy Involvement and Outcomes

AbstractCollaborative governance is intended to solve complex problems and promote democratic outcomes by connecting ground‐level stakeholders with government. In order for these goals to be met, however, participants must have meaningful influence and opportunities for voice. Using national survey data from Continuums of Care (CoCs) mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, this article investigates what structural characteristics of collaborative governance networks are related to promoting stakeholder inclusion and voice through policy advocacy involvement. Specifically, it investigates which network characteristics are associated with (1) the frequency of advocacy involvement by the network, (2) providers' engagement in and influence over that advocacy, and (3) the CoC having stronger relationships with policy makers. Findings show significant relationships between greater network capacity and network advocacy, and between network governance structure and provider engagement and influence in that advocacy. Networks have stronger relationships with policy makers when providers are more engaged, providers have more influence, network capacity is higher, and direct advocacy tactics are used.

생태하천복원사업 네트워크 거버넌스 구조의 동태적 변화 비교

생태하천복원사업 네트워크 거버넌스 구조의 동태적 변화 비교

India\u2019s NCD strategy in the SDG era: are there early signs of a paradigm shift?

BackgroundThe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are seen in most corners as the embodiment of a more inclusive and holistic development approach, key to addressing the numerous and urgent challenges the world faces. In the health realm, a true SDG approach will require a five-fold paradigm shift according to Buse and Hawkes. This article explores whether early traces of this paradigm shift can already be witnessed in the Indian context, focusing on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) more in particular.DiscussionBy now, NCDs make up a large health burden in India, both individually and on the health system. Inspired by an SDG vision, tackling NCDs will require a comprehensive approach rooted in preventive, curative and rehabilitative services. In India, some early momentum in this respect can already be witnessed, certainly in addressing the first two challenges identified by Buse and Hawkes, leadership and intersectoral coherence, and a shift from treatment to prevention. A central plan addressing health through an inter-sectoral approach has shaped the trajectory so far, moving away from silos to engagement with sectors beyond health. New guidelines addressing comprehensive primary healthcare propose a community outreach and preventive approach for NCDs. At a broader level, NCD prevention is also closely linked to tackling the so called “commercial determinants of health” and will require among others strong (central and state level) regulation, teaming up with global advocacy networks and capitalizing on global frameworks, where they exist. Strong political leadership will be indispensable for this, and is according to Buse and Hawkes closely linked to seeing health as a right and the government as accountable when it comes to providing for the right to health through its policies and actions.ConclusionNational stewardship will thus be key, via a more adaptive network governance structure with the central level coordinating with the state level to ensure implementation, while also engaging with other stakeholders, sectors, the private sector and civil society. As one can expect, networked governance, necessary for the battle against NCDs, is a work in progress in India. In sum, some of the early (paradigm shift) signs are encouraging, but by and large it is still too early to assess whether a real paradigm shift has taken place.