Environmental Studies Commons^™

Ego Network Properties As A Way To Reveal Conflict In Collaboration's Clothing, Bethany B. Cutts, Tischa A. Muñoz-Erickson, Kate J. Darby, Mark W. Neff, Elisabeth K. Larson, Amber Wutich, Bob Bolin

Environmental Studies Faculty and Staff Publications

A need for successful collaborative strategies is an enduring problem in natural resource management. Several qualities of “successful” partnerships have been identified but few empirical studies have tested these claims against the information sharing structure of “unsuccessful” partnerships. This paper examines the ego networks of members in a partnership that has not successfully reached its goals as an illustration of the ways in which external ties relate to attitudes and relationships within a partnership. By focusing on information sharing frequencies, member ideologies, and power structure among organizations involved in a groundwater controversy, we test the extent to which the process …