Social Capital and Leadership: Rural Cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe

Hurrelmann, Annette; Murray, Catherine; Beckmann, Volker

doi:10.1556/socec.28.2006.3.1

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…This provides for the assumption that "leadership" is an appreciated and accepted adoption of roles in Azerbaijan as well as in Georgia. If this assumption proves to be correct, the strengthening of collective pasture management might operate best through accepted informal or formal social leadership, or so-called social "change agents" (Rogers 1962) assigned a clear mandate by the community (Hurrelmann, Murray, and Beckmann 2006). Crucial for these facilitators, often encountered in the form of informal drivers and carriers of knowledge in local communities, is their understanding of local specifics, but also of the challenges of coordinated action.…”

Section: Real-world Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potentials and Constraints of Common Pasture Use – Field Experiments on Common Pool Resource Management in Azerbaijan and Georgia

2020

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Grazing livestock on commonly managed pastures is a widespread practice in post-socialist countries such as Azerbaijan and Georgia. Despite the value of livestock as an important income source for rural households, commonly managed pastures frequently show signs of degradation, pointing to shortcomings in the joint management of common pool resources in those countries. Among other factors, the success of common management crucially depends on the cooperation and self-organization capacity of stakeholders. Especially in post-socialist countries, their capacity and willingness to cooperate in natural resource management is said to be low due to previous experiences of forced cooperation during the socialist period. In this paper, we investigate stakeholders' capacity to cooperate in natural resource management in two post-socialist countries drawing on a framed field experiment for common pasture use. The analysis of group and individual participant performances show that groups are indeed capable of managing experimental pastures sustainably, especially if participants have the possibility to communicate which, in addition, is positively affecting cooperation. However, we find significant differences in participant performances and decisions between both countries, pointing to differing experiences with real-world pasture scarcity, common pasture management, as well as to differences in social capital endowment and cultural context factors.

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Section: Real-world Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potentials and Constraints of Common Pasture Use – Field Experiments on Common Pool Resource Management in Azerbaijan and Georgia

2020

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“…In fact, many cases indicate the positive effects and the importance of skilled and influential leaders in the course of self-organizing processes in ecosystem management (Folke et al 2005;Olsson et al 2007;Meinzen-Dick et al 2002;Johnson 2001;Calvert 1992;and Olsson et al 2007). Hurrelmann et al (2006) stress the role of appropriate mediating agencies involved, finding that particularly in post-socialist countries with low social capital, well-educated and well-connected local leaders can initiate and maintain local cooperation.…”

Section: Elite Capture In Natural Resource Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elite Capture in Local Fishery Management Post-Socialist Experiences from Albania

Schmidt¹,

Theesfeld

2012

SSRN Journal

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Local self-governance based on institutions for collective action can help overcome social dilemmas in the management of complex Common Pool Resources, such as fish. A common path towards local self-governance is decentralization, and within this context, a transfer of property rights from central government to local resource users. Yet, despite the well-documented successes of many decentralization policies in support of local common property regimes, the phenomenon of elite capture remains a risk. This paper investigates elite capture in Albania's Lake Ohrid fishing region. Our empirical findings draw onto an in-depth case study on local consequences of 2002's decentralization efforts by the Albanian fishery administration. We show how 'blueprint' approaches, top-down implementation, and weak institutions led to further empowerment of privileged locals. Our findings further indicate how those privileged locals realize significant personal gains at the expense of distributional inequity within the community. Specifically original insights are derived from our analysis of implications from the post-socialist context, which we show to facilitate capture because of a common susceptibility for destructive leadership and a lack of confidence in collective action. We believe that to understand those contextual peculiarities -and to act upon this understandingrepresents a pivotal prerequisite to the functional and equitable governance of common property regimes in any transitional society.

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“…Many researchers have used various theories in cooperative management research to make useful suggestions on how to strengthen the group and improve the efficiency of cooperative management (Birchall & Simmons, 2004; Hurrelmann, Murray, & Beckmann, 2006; Xiang & Sumelius, 2010). Nevertheless, the future of every cooperative also depends on the identification and development of active and committed leaders (Amini & Ramezani, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of transformational leadership and leaders’ skills for new agricultural cooperatives in post‐soviet countries

Hejkrlík

Chaloupková

Sokolska

2021

Ann Public Coop Econ

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Team leadership plays a crucial role in the management of agricultural cooperatives, especially in post‐Soviet countries where farmers keep bad experiences from the collectivization of their farms. The main objective of the research was to investigate how important the role of leadership is in the process of establishing, initial sustaining of cooperation and members’ commitment among small farmers in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Leadership was analysed from multiple perspectives using an explanatory sequential mixed approach involving quantitative and qualitative methods. We interviewed 293 cooperative leaders and members. The partial least squares structural equation model was used to examine the relationship between multiple constructs and variables. We concluded that leaders do differ in some of their characteristics from other members. They are the most active in the group, influencing all major decisions, playing a crucial role in trust‐building and group cohesion. Their skills and leadership style are significantly important for members’ commitment to the group's success. However, the dominance of group founders and lack of understanding of cooperative principles among members indicate some emerging challenges to the cooperatives’ sustainability and efficiency, and it is necessary to focus on the progressive professionalization and capacity building of leaders while maintaining a transformational leadership style.

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Social Capital and Leadership: Rural Cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe

Cited by 10 publications

References 24 publications

Potentials and Constraints of Common Pasture Use – Field Experiments on Common Pool Resource Management in Azerbaijan and Georgia

Potentials and Constraints of Common Pasture Use – Field Experiments on Common Pool Resource Management in Azerbaijan and Georgia

Elite Capture in Local Fishery Management Post-Socialist Experiences from Albania

The role of transformational leadership and leaders’ skills for new agricultural cooperatives in post‐soviet countries

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