Examining collaborative disaster response in China: network perspectives

Guo, Xuesong; Kapucu, Naim

doi:10.1007/s11069-015-1925-1

Cited by 41 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(46 reference statements)

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“…In the current emergency response regime, the permanent EMO is responsible for planning and preparing for crises, while the temporary headquarters or disaster-specific command centers are in charge of emergency response. Apart from the Emergency Response Committee (ERC) steering crisis response, there are also a handful of cross-agency coordinating committees responsible for specific disasters (Guo & Kapucu, 2015). Given their different roles and positions in the regime, their horizontal coordination during crises is quite questionable (Lu & Xue, 2016).…”

Section: Central Coordination Structures and Overall Challenges In Chinamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Particularly by using campaign-style coordination, the central government can successfully provide incentives for its apparatus and mobilize the public in crisis management (Lu & Xue, 2016). But the major weakness in the system is the fragmented horizontal structure when it comes to coordination in cross-sectoral and cross-regional crises (Guo & Kapucu, 2015). The State Council used a pairing-assistance package to assign rich provinces to assist counties and prefectures hit by the 2008 earthquake, which helped these jurisdictions quickly recover from the disaster.…”

Section: Coordination and Crisis Management Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Coordination is particularly crucial in giant, sprawling countries such as China (Chen, 2016), which faces major challenges in coordinating numerous actors with distinct values and interests (Lu & Xue, 2016) and still has only a nascent understanding of the coordination structures and mechanisms required for crisis management (Guo & Kapucu, 2015). China's government has been very keen to learn from the West, particularly in adopting various reform measures advocated by the New Public Management (NPM) bandwagon (Chou 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coordination Structures and Mechanisms for Crisis Management in China: Challenges of Complexity

Christensen

2018

Public Organiz Rev

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When responding to crises, a joint approach is often used, which requires coordination among government agencies and other institutions. In this article we combine the vertical and horizontal dimensions to develop a theoretical framework to explain the patterns and performance of coordination. By drawing on structural-instrumental and institutional perspectives, we examine the coordination structures and mechanisms in China's crisis management at the central and local levels. We outline the main structural characteristics of the Chinese system and the overall challenges it faces. We then discuss four crises that have happened in and around Beijing, using these to understand the crucial factors driving coordination successes and failures. Lastly, we discuss some comparative features and the theoretical and policy implications of our main results.

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Section: Central Coordination Structures and Overall Challenges In Chinamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Coordination and Crisis Management Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coordination Structures and Mechanisms for Crisis Management in China: Challenges of Complexity

Christensen

2018

Public Organiz Rev

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“…In recent years, this system has been challenged in terms of its disaster response performance and effectiveness in large-scale disasters. Although some scholars have pointed out the advantages of control and command systems and have considered the system a force for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of disaster response (Gao, 2008;Shan and Chen, 2007), others have asserted that China's organizational structure and response model should be more flexible to improve disaster management performance (Guo and Kapucu, 2015;Liu and Xiang, 2005). Comfort (1994) argued that disaster management networks can be understood as self-organizing systems, which is an important corrective action for the assumptions of central planning.…”

Section: The Need For Self-organization In Disaster Management In Chinamentioning

confidence: 99%

The building of social resilience in Sichuan after the Wenchuan earthquake: A perspective of the socio-government interactions

2020

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China implemented its Emergency Response Law to ensure national unified leadership and collaboration when responding to emergencies. In recent years, China's main focuses for enhancing disaster management have included emergency preparation, emergency management, and legal system mechanisms. However, its well-designed management system faced a great challenge during the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008. By examining the literature on the development of disaster management, we realized that enhancing selforganization in communities can effectively resolve problems caused by collective actions and strengthen resilience to disasters.In the decade since the Wenchuan earthquake, the literature has focused more on empowering communities during disaster management in China. However, literature on the compatibility of social resilience and the government-dominant model in China is still scant. This study investigates China's current disaster management system design; specifically, it identifies ways and methods for counteracting any conflicts between disaster management under social synergies and China's emergency management system. It further explores what factors facilitate the balance between social synergies and the emergency management system if the two concepts were fused together. Using case studies, in-depth interviews, and a focus group in the field of public administration, this study collected qualitative data to understand the changes in China's disaster management system since the Wenchuan earthquake as well as provide recommendations for future reform. However, the above-mentioned plans were challenged by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, which forced the government to shift efforts to further strengthen emergency management with an "emergency plan" and "emergency management system, construction of mechanism and legal system" (i.e., three-in-one measurements) (Tong and Zhang, 2012, pp. 23, 28). By the end of 2008, China had established 35 laws, 37 administrative regulations, 55 institutional rules, and 111 documents related to emergency response development (Yu, 2016, pp. 41-42). In October 2016, the National Committee for Disaster Reduction issued China's Disaster Reduction Action Plan during the Twelfth Five-Years, which included four aspects: regulations and institutional mechanisms

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“…During a response to major accidents, multiorganizational collaboration based on interorganizational relationships in both hierarchical and horizontal dimensions is essential toward addressing the disastrous situation [10]. In the hierarchical dimension, particularly in the context of China [11], interorganizational hierarchies specified in the political-administrative structure provide an important way to arrange response operations for facilitating collaboration among participants. Meanwhile, horizontal relationships among public organizations without formal hierarchical arrangement, as well as private and nonprofit sectors, are essential to improve interaction spanning organizational boundaries [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the Intergovernmental and Interorganizational Network of Responding to Major Accidents for Improving the Emergency Management System in China

2018

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Since the SARS crisis in 2003, institutionalized emergency management systems have been established in each government level for improving inter-organizational collaboration in China. Major accidents require participation of public organizations affiliated with multiple government levels, and the lack of collaboration and coordination among the involved organizations within the critical time constraints during the response process is an existing problem. In this research, a case study of examining the intergovernmental and cross-sectoral collaboration for responding to a well-known oil pipeline explosion accident in China by a complex network method is conducted. The aim is to obtain managerial insights in improving the existing emergency management system in a centralized political-administrative context, such as China. A mixed method of data collection is applied to identify the participating organizations and to determine the interaction spanning organizational boundaries in both hierarchical and horizontal dimensions. An emergency response network is built and visualized for representing intergovernmental and interorganizational collaboration during the response process of the major accident by social network analysis (SNA) tools. The SNA indicators are used to measure quantitatively the network structure at the levels of the whole network, subnetwork, and node. The obstacles of achieving intergovernmental collaboration are found, and managerial suggestions for improving the existing emergency management system are provided. This research indicates that the Chinese government should pay attention to establishing and sustaining partnerships with private and nonprofit organizations and conduct a blend of hierarchical, market, and network principles in fostering collaboration for addressing major accidents. The public organizations in the local government level are shown to be more active than other participators in coordinating their response operations, and their capability should be emphasized for improvement. Additionally, the interactive relationships among specific emergency function groups and between the affected communities and organizations performing emergency command and coordination function should be strengthened.

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Examining collaborative disaster response in China: network perspectives

Cited by 41 publications

References 40 publications

Coordination Structures and Mechanisms for Crisis Management in China: Challenges of Complexity

Coordination Structures and Mechanisms for Crisis Management in China: Challenges of Complexity

The building of social resilience in Sichuan after the Wenchuan earthquake: A perspective of the socio-government interactions

Examining the Intergovernmental and Interorganizational Network of Responding to Major Accidents for Improving the Emergency Management System in China

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