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- Nohrstedt, Daniel, 1974-, et al.
(author)
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Evolutionary Dynamics of Crisis Preparedness Collaboration : Resources, Turbulence and Network Change in Swedish Municipalities
- 2014
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In: Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy. - Oxford : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1944-4079. ; 5:2, s. 134-155
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Societal responses to climate change risks and hazards increasingly involve interorganizational collaboration across policy areas, sectors, and levels of government. Different views exist in the literature regarding changes in such collaborative arrangements; whereas some argue that maintaining stability of collaborative networks is a precursor for effective crisis management, others maintain that network adaptation is necessary to cope with complex risks and rude surprises. This controversy turns the spotlight on the more fundamental question of what influences changes in collaborative networks in this area. Using survey data on municipality managers in Sweden, this study presents evidence of a dramatic increase in annual change of interorganizational ties while the total magnitude of ties to different types of actors has essentially remained constant over time. To explain these developments, the study builds from resource dependency theory (RDT) and explores the relationship between resources, environmental turbulence, and network change. The findings suggest that RDT has limited explanatory value in this case; no association was found between resources, turbulence, and network change. An alternative hypothesis is introduced suggesting that changes in networking strategies are a function of outside pressure to collaborate and uncertainty about collaborative practices and the benefits of collaboration, which feed an experimental approach to networking.
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