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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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Institutional Collective Action (ICA) framework has contributed to understanding collective action problems in fragmented governance and identified mechanisms for overcoming them. Participation in collaboration is risky––even if it has the potential to make all parties better off. This framework has uniquely shown how collaboration risk and other transaction costs can be overcome to create effective collaborations for addressing complex policy issues. However, after over a decade of use, the framework is due for critical evaluation and articulation of its state of the art and science to better inform future scholarship. For this purpose, this article defines key concepts and formulates assumptions, as well as reviews the empirical contributions and longstanding limitations of the ICA framework. A robust agenda for future research is also outlined. To move forward, we believe ICA research should focus on the foundational core of the ICA framework, maintain flexibility in explanatory models, and expand the scope beyond the collective action problems at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperation among fragmented local entities for service delivery is a common problem in Europe that has been understudied from both a theoretical and an empirical point of view. Drawing on the institutional collective action framework, this article advances and tests a contextual explanation of the emergence of interlocal collaborations by following a second-generation rational choice approach to the study of regional governance. Doing so, it systematically addresses: how context matters in specific choice situations; how the establishment of various governance structures with different characteristics depends on specific contextual factors that can simultaneously reduce transaction costs and risks for cooperative actors; and the practical policy implications of these choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine how interorganizational networks evolved after a disaster with an integrated approach that combines both social network perspectives and emergency management perspectives. This research describes changes in organizations that play a bridging role in interorganizational collaboration and examines endogenous and exogenous factors that lead organizations to be isolated during a disaster. Building from the Institutional Collective Action (ICA) framework, we argue that organizations that play the bridging role between two other organizations may fail to sustain their ties after a disaster. Because the bridging strategy involves risks, organizations are more likely to forge direct ties to other organizations that have resources they need rather than rely on bridges that they created before the disaster. We apply a stochastic actor-oriented model to show the dynamics of emergency management networks during the 2013 Seoul floods. This study contributes to understanding how the bridging strategy can be emasculated by endogenous and exogenous factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores self-organized voluntary nonprofit collaboration to investigate why and under which circumstances nonprofit organizations participate in voluntary-based informal collaboration. To answer this question, we extend the institutional collective action (ICA) framework to identify the reasons why nonprofit organizations participate in informal collaborative arrangements. Based on data derived from a national survey of nonprofit organizations, we report evidence that the internal organizational conditions, embedded relationships, service areas, and client population of nonprofits influence their participation in informal collaborations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disaster scholars have investigated the nature of organizational resilience, but extant research has not examined various network strategies within hierarchical and horizontal collaboration structures. The question of how the structural arrangements for collaboration within emergency management networks influence disaster resilience remains unanswered. This study begins to fill this lacuna by analyzing a bonding and bridging strategy for interorganizational collaboration to determine how these patterns of organizational relations might enhance the level of organizational resilience in each hierarchical and horizontal emergency management network. Bonding strategies highlight the importance of trust and information redundancy to emergency preparedness and response. Bridging strategies capture the tendency for local actors to seek partners to obtain crucial information and resources across the region. The results support the study hypothesis that bridging strategies in hierarchical emergency management networks have a positive effect on the level of organizational resilience. Neither type of network strategy influenced resilience in horizontal network structures. The findings confirm that the coordinating role of the national and provincial governments is critical to the building of a resilient community in terms of interorganizational collaboration, and demonstrate the steering role of the national and provincial governments with regard to resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of governments in resolving collective action dilemmas arising in R&D collaboration between university-research institutes (URI) and small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). The paper focusses on R&D collaboration in South Korea in light of its major industrial reforms since the 1980s in strengthening the national science and technology innovation system. Design/methodology/approach -- To examine factors explaining the likelihood of SMEs to collaborate with URIs in R&D activities, the authors used data that were collected in the Seoul Metropolitan Area by the Seoul Institute in 2010. A logistic regression analysis was performed with data from the Open Innovation System survey, which consists of 336 SMEs; and supplemented by firm-level data retrieved from the government official statistics on structural characteristics of SMEs. The Mann-Whitney Test of Difference was employed to test the perceived importance of R&D activities in various stages of product development. Findings -- This research found that SMEs having government certified R&D facilities and higher investments in R&D activities explain their likelihood in engaging in R&D collaboration with URIs. SMEs in the chemical sector also are more likely to establish R&D collaboration with URIs compared to those in the information technology (IT) sector. In terms of the importance of R&D activities, there are marked differences between SMEs collaborating with URIs and those that do not. The differences are found in R&D's needs related to acquisition of information, basic research, pilot testing of products, and product manufacturing. Most SMEs in the sample reported several barriers to R&D activities, particularly in securing human resources and the operation of R&D; and that, they believe the government can assist them in research and development activities and human resource training. Research limitations/implications -- This study provides new insights into the way in which R&D facilities of SMEs may facilitate R&D collaboration with URIs. The results broaden the understanding on the scope of R&D collaboration adopted by SMEs and strategies that can be adopted and implemented by government agencies to attract and retain firms that are innovative. While the findings also provide insights on the scope of management decisions adopted by SMEs, the sample was limited to 336 SMEs in the Seoul Metropolitan area, making generalization to other regions of the country limited. Originality/value -- From the institutional collective action framework, this research provides a critical lens to build R&D collaboration between the URI and SMEs, highlighting the role of government with considerable efforts to facilitate SMEs to enter into arrangements with URIs by focussing on the importance of R&D facility and stages of product development. Paper type Research paper [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak in South Korea, this research aims to examine the structural effect of public health network explaining collaboration effectiveness, which is defined as joint efforts to improve quality of service provision, cost savings, and coordination. We tested the bonding and bridging effects on collaboration effectiveness during the MERS outbreak response by utilizing an institutional collective action framework. The analysis results of 114 organizations responding during the crisis show a significant association between the bonding effect and the effectiveness of collaboration, as well as a positive association between risk communication in disseminating public health information and the effectiveness of collaboration., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.