The Dynamics of Interorganizational Collaboration in Disaster Management: A Network Study Based on Flood Disasters in China

Zhichao Li; Long Liu; Shaodan Liu

doi:10.1007/s13753-023-00525-7

Volume 14 Issue 6

Dec. 2023

Turn off MathJax

Article Contents

Article Navigation > International Journal of Disaster Risk Science > 2023 > 14(6): 979-994

Zhichao Li, Long Liu, Shaodan Liu. The Dynamics of Interorganizational Collaboration in Disaster Management: A Network Study Based on Flood Disasters in China[J]. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2023, 14(6): 979-994. doi: 10.1007/s13753-023-00525-7

Citation:

Zhichao Li, Long Liu, Shaodan Liu. The Dynamics of Interorganizational Collaboration in Disaster Management: A Network Study Based on Flood Disasters in China[J]. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2023, 14(6): 979-994. doi: 10.1007/s13753-023-00525-7

Citation:

PDF

The Dynamics of Interorganizational Collaboration in Disaster Management: A Network Study Based on Flood Disasters in China

doi: 10.1007/s13753-023-00525-7

1. School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China;
2. School of Government, East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai, 201620, China

Funds:

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71974057, 72374132), the Shu Guang Project (Grant No. 21SG49), the Ministry of Education through the Humanities and Social Science Project (Grant No. 19YJC630104), the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, and the Shanghai Education Development Foundation. The authors are deeply grateful for these supports.

Accepted Date: 2023-12-08
Publish Date: 2023-12-27

Abstract

Abstract

Interorganizational collaboration networks have become an important tool for disaster management. However, research on how different organizations can effectively collaborate throughout the entire disaster management process in centralized states such as China is scarce. This study begins to fill this lacuna by investigating interorganizational collaboration in different phases of disaster management and analyzing changes in the structure of the networks constructed during the preparedness and response phases of the 2020 flood disaster in Hubei Province, China. Building on the complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory, we argue that interorganizational collaboration changes dynamically according to its tasks and requirements. In the preparedness phase, interorganizational collaborations primarily follow established plans and choose horizontal self-organized collaboration mechanisms. However, when the urgent information and resource requirements increase in the response phase, many organizations choose vertical mandatory collaboration mechanisms. We found that organizations at the central and provincial levels in China were well positioned to coordinate information and resources and strengthen the interorganizational collaboration and communication that is crucial in disaster management. These findings contribute to the study of interorganizational collaboration networks in disaster management.
- China,
- Complex adaptive system,
- Disaster management,
- Flood disasters,
- Interorganizational collaboration,
- Social network analysis

FullText(HTML)

References(44)

References

[1]	Abbasi, A., and N. Kapucu. 2012. Structural dynamics of organizations during the evolution of interorganizational networks in disaster response. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management 9(1): Article 23.
[2]	Agranoff, R., and M. McGuire. 2001. Big questions in public network management research. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 11(3): 295–326.
[3]	Aung, T.M., and S. Lim. 2021. Evolution of collaborative governance in the 2015, 2016, and 2018 Myanmar flood disaster responses: A longitudinal approach to a network analysis. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science 12(2): 267–280.
[4]	Boersma, K., L. Comfort, J. Groenendaal, and J. Wolbers. 2014. Editorial: Incident command systems: A dynamic tension among goals, rules and practice. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 22(1): 1–4.
[5]	Boin, A., and P. Hart. 2003. Public leadership in times of crisis: Mission impossible?. Public Administration Review 63(5): 544–553.
[6]	Borgatti, S.P., M.G. Everett, and L.C. Freeman. 2002. Ucinet for Windows: Software for social network analysis. Analytic Technologies.
[7]	Bryson, J.M., B.C. Crosby, and M.M. Stone. 2006. The design and implementation of cross-sector collaborations: Propositions from the literature. Public Administration Review 66(s1): 44–55.
[8]	Burkle, F.M., E.B. Hsu, M. Loehr, M.D. Christian, D. Markenson, L. Rubinson, and F.L. Archer. 2007. Definition and functions of health unified command and emergency operations centers for large-scale bioevent disasters within the existing ICS. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 1(2): 135–141.
[9]	Butts, C.T., M. Petrescu-Prahova, and B.R. Remy Cross. 2007. Responder communication networks in the World Trade Center disaster: Implications for modeling of communication within emergency settings. Journal of Mathematical Sociology 31(2): 121–147.
[10]	Comfort, L.K., and H.B. Zhang. 2020. Operational networks: Adaptation to extreme events in China. Risk Analysis 40(5): 981–1000.
[11]	Comfort, L.K., and T.W. Haase. 2006. Communication, coherence, and collective action: The impact of Hurricane Katrina on communications infrastructure. Public Works Management and Policy 10(4): 328–343.
[12]	Comfort, L.K., W.L. Waugh, and B.A. Cigler. 2012. Emergency management research and practice in public administration: Emergence, evolution, expansion, and future directions. Public Administration Review 72(4): 539–547.
[13]	Comfort, L.K.K., T.W. Haase, G. Ertan, and S.R. Scheinert. 2020. The dynamics of change following extreme events: Transition, scale, and adaptation in systems under stress. Administration and Society 52(6): 827–861.
[14]	Cooper, T. 2015. Empirical research on inter-organizational relations within a national disaster management network in the Caribbean. Public Organization Review 15(1): 1–16.
[15]	Du, L., Y.B. Feng, L.Y.N. Tang, W. Kang, and W. Lu. 2020. Networks in disaster emergency management: A systematic review. Natural Hazards 103(1): 1–27.
[16]	Guo, X.S., and N. Kapucu. 2015. Network performance assessment for collaborative disaster response. Disaster Prevention and Management 24(2): 201–220.
[17]	Guo, X.S., and N. Kapucu. 2015. Examining collaborative disaster response in China: Network perspectives. Natural Hazards 79(3): 1773–1789.
[18]	Guo, X.S., N. Kapucu, and J.X. Huang. 2021. Examining resilience of disaster response system in response to COVID-19. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 59: Article 102239.
[19]	Htein, M.K., S. Lim, and T.N. Zaw. 2018. The evolution of collaborative networks towards more polycentric disaster responses between the 2015 and 2016 Myanmar floods. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 31: 964–982.
[20]	Hu, Q., and N. Kapucu. 2016. Information communication technology utilization for effective emergency management networks. Public Management Review 18(3): 323–348.
[21]	Hu, Q., C.C. Knox, and N. Kapucu. 2014. What have we learned since September 11, 2001? A network study of the Boston Marathon bombings response. Public Administration Review 74(6): 698–712.
[22]	Hunt, S., K. Smith, H. Hamerton, and R.J. Sargisson. 2014. An incident control centre in action: Response to the Rena oil spill in New Zealand. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 22(1): 63–66.
[23]	Jung, K., and H.W. Park. 2016. Tracing interorganizational information networks during emergency response period: A webometric approach to the 2012 Gumi chemical spill in South Korea. Government Information Quarterly 33(1): 133–141.
[24]	Jung, K.J., and M.S. Song. 2015. Linking emergency management networks to disaster resilience: Bonding and bridging strategy in hierarchical or horizontal collaboration networks. Quality and Quantity 49(4): 1465–1483.
[25]	Kapucu, N. 2006. Interagency communication networks during emergencies – Boundary spanners in multiagency coordination. American Review of Public Administration 36(2): 207–225.
[26]	Kapucu, N. 2009. Interorganizational coordination in complex environments of disasters: The evolution of intergovernmental disaster response systems. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management 6(1): Article 47.
[27]	Kapucu, N., and Q. Hu. 2016. Understanding multiplexity of collaborative emergency management networks. American Review of Public Administration 46(4): 399–417.
[28]	Kapucu, N., T. Arslan, and M.L. Collins. 2010. Examining intergovernmental and interorganizational response to catastrophic disasters: Toward a network-centered approach. Administration and Society 42(2): 222–247.
[29]	Kapucu, N., and V. Garayev. 2016. Structure and network performance: Horizontal and vertical networks in emergency management. Administration and Society 48(8): 931–961.
[30]	Kim, J., and K. Ashihara. 2020. National disaster management system: COVID-19 case in Korea. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17(18): Article 6691.
[31]	Ku, M.Y., A.H. Han, and K.H. Lee. 2021. The dynamics of cross-sector collaboration in centralized disaster governance: A network study of interorganizational collaborations during the MERS epidemic in South Korea. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19(1): Article 18.
[32]	Lazer, D., and A. Friedman. 2007. The network structure of exploration and exploitation. Administrative Science Quarterly 52(4): 667–694.
[33]	Liu, Y., J.N. Wu, H.T. Yi, and J. Wen. 2021. Under what conditions do governments collaborate? A qualitative comparative analysis of air pollution control in China. Public Management Review 23(11): 1664–1682.
[34]	Malone, E.L., and S. Kinnear. 2015. How and why: Complementary analyses of social network structures and cultural values: Improving flood response networks in Queensland. Australia. Quality and Quantity 49(1): 203–220.
[35]	Ministry of Emergency Management of China. 2021. The Ministry of Emergency Management releases the basic situation of natural disasters in China in 2020. https://www.mem.gov.cn/xw/yjglbgzdt/202101/t20210108_376745.shtml. Accessed 10 Dec 2023.
[36]	Moynihan, D.P. 2009. The network governance of crisis response: Case studies of incident command systems. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 19(4): 895–915.
[37]	Quinn, E., T. Johnstone, Z. Najjar, T. Cains, G. Tan, E. Huhtinen, S. Nilsson, S. Burgess, M. Dunn, and L. Gupta. 2018. Lessons learned from implementing an incident command system during a local multiagency response to a legionnaires’ disease cluster in Sydney, NSW. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 12(4): 539–542.
[38]	Song, M., and K. Jung. 2015. Filling the gap between disaster preparedness and response networks of urban emergency management: Following the 2013 Seoul Floods. Journal of Emergency Management 13(4): 327–338.
[39]	Stata. 2022. Web page. https://www.stata.com/. Accessed 10 Nov 2022.
[40]	Tang, P., C.F. Deng, S.Q. Shao, and G.Q. Shen. 2017. Leveraging intergovernmental and cross-sectoral networks to manage nuclear power plant accidents: A case study from China. Journal of Cleaner Production 162: 1551–1566.
[41]	Tao, Z.G., and H.B. Zhang. 2023. The emergence of complex adaptive response networks in China: A case study of four disasters. Risk Analysis 43(11): 2223–2240.
[42]	Waugh, W.L., and G. Streib. 2006. Collaboration and leadership for effective emergency management. Public Administration Review 66(s1): 131–140.
[43]	Willem, A., and M. Buelens. 2007. Knowledge sharing in public sector organizations: The effect of organizational characteristics on interdepartmental knowledge sharing. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 17(4): 581–606.
[44]	Zhang, H.B., and W. Chen. 2022. Social media support mechanisms for organizational adaptation in governmental response to extreme natural hazards. Natural Hazards Review 23(2). https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000555.