How the qualities of actor-issue interdependencies influence collaboration patterns

Ecology and Society: a journal of integrative science for resilience and sustainability

article

Martin Nicola Huber¹ 

[1] Department of Environment and Social Sciences;Institute of Political Science, University of Bern

关键词: collaboration;    exponential random graph model (ERGM);    natural resource governance;    social-ecological networks (SEN);    social-ecological systems (SES);   

DOI  :  10.5751/ES-13536-270406

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Resilience Alliance Publications

【 摘 要 】

Environmental governance is complex because it addresses challenges anchored in different sectors and concerns multipleinterdependent issues. Managing those complex interdependencies through collaboration is vital for efficient long-term environmentalgovernance. However, because interdependencies between environmental issues are challenging to unravel and vastly complex, it ischallenging for actors to account for them when deciding with whom to collaborate. I use the concept of social-ecological networks tostudy interdependencies among actors and environmental issues and ask how the quality of actor-issue interdependencies influencescollaboration patterns. Based on the actor-issue network, I account for interdependencies based on three distinct qualities of actorissue paths, i.e., (i) length of actor-issue paths: how closely actors are connected by environmental issues, (ii) multiplexity of actor-issuepaths: if actors have multiple parallel paths connecting them through environmental issues, and (iii) similarity of actor-issue paths:whether actors’ environmental impact is similar to one of their potential collaboration partners. Using exponential random graphmodels and data on eight Swiss wetlands, a qualitative meta-regression analysis of the results reveals that the three qualities of actorissue interdependencies influence collaboration patterns between actors. Whether the impact of actor-issue interdependencies on theprobability of collaboration ties is positive or negative largely depends on the complexity of the governance situations. Only in situationswith homogeneous case areas and under the absence of borders (low network exogenous governance complexity) as well as in thepresence of many actors do the length, multiplexity, and similarity of actor-issue interdependencies have a clear, positive impact onthe formation of collaboration ties. Although the comparative setting helps identify specific governance settings where the hypothesesare supported, it also reveals the importance of multi-case studies to compare contextual differences between cases.

【 授权许可】

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