TRUST, POWER DYNAMICS AND COLLABORATIVE DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN NAIROBI CITY COUNTY, KENYA
Abstract
Achieving effective collaborations during emergency and disaster management remains a challenge due to trust and power asymmetries among the participating agencies, therefore there is need to understand how trust and power dynamics influences effectiveness of collaborative disaster management. The study assessed the influence of trust and power dynamics on the effectiveness of interagency collaboration during disaster management in Nairobi City County (NCC), Kenya. The study was anchored on social capital theory, it employed both cross sectional survey and phenomenological research designs. Target population was 3045 persons working with disaster management agencies in NCC and a sample size of 317 purposively and stratified randomly picked from the various strata of target population. Data collection instruments used in the study were questionnaires and key informant interview guide. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistical procedures and inferential analysis specifically linear regression. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically. Findings of the study revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between trust, power dynamics and interagency collaboration where a correlation coefficient (R) of =0.288; P= 0.001 was established, this implies that trust and power relations contribute 28.8% of the outcome of IAC. Coefficient of determination (R2) was R2= 0.235: P= 0.00, this implies that 23.5% of variability in IAC during disaster management is explained by trust and power dynamics. Further, the study revealed that lack of trust and power equalization makes collaboration almost unattainable by resulting to increased conflicts, lack of synergy, unhealthy competition, exclusion of low power actors, reluctance by agencies to share resources. To achieve power equalization and trust during IAC, the study concluded that there is need for inclusion in decision making, agencies valuing each other’s contribution, encouraging symbiotic working relations and agencies striving to complement each other instead of competing each other. The study recommended creation of opportunities for agencies from different backgrounds to interact regularly as this would help agencies to develop an understanding of each other’s capabilities and weaknesses, cultivate trust amongst themselves, change and improve their attitudes and perception towards each other, bridge power differences, helps to develop individual experiences in collaborations and above all provide opportunities for discussing challenges. This can be achieved through holding joint training and drills, workshops and meetings
Key words: Interagency Collaboration (IAC), Disaster Management (DM), Disaster Management Agency (DMA) Collaborative Disaster Management (CDM) and Interagency (IA)
CITATION Zakayo, C. N. (2022). Trust, power dynamics and collaborative disaster management in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 9 (3), 325 -339.
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Arai, Y., Oktoriana, S., Maswadi, M., Suharyani, A. & Inoue (2021). How can we mitigate power imbalances in collaborative governance environment? Examining the role of the village facilitation team approach observed in west Kalimantan, Indonesia. Sustainability.13, pp 39-72 https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073972
Berasategi, L., Arana, J., & Castellano, E. (2011).A comprehensive framework for collaborative networked innovation. Production Planning & Control, 22(5-6), 581-593.
Christensen, T., & Ma, L. (2020). Coordination structures and mechanisms for crisis management in China: challenges of complexity. Public Organization Review, 20(1), 19-36.
Cook, A. H. (2009). Towards an emergency response report card: Evaluating the response to the I-35W bridge collapse. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 6(1).
Curnin, S., & O'Hara, D. (2019). Nonprofit and public sector interorganizational collaboration in disaster recovery: Lessons from the field. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 30(2), 277-297.
De Oliveira, G. F., &Rabechini Jr, R. (2019). Stakeholder management influence on trust in a project: A quantitative study. International Journal of Project Management, 37(1), 131-144.
Dewulf, A., & Elbers, W. (2018). Power in and over cross-sector partnerships: actor strategies for shaping collective decisions. Administrative Sciences, 8(3), 43.
Emerson, K., &Nabatchi, T. (2015).Evaluating the productivity of collaborative governance regimes: A performance matrix. Public Performance & Management Review, 38(4), 717-747. doi:10.1080/15309576.2015.1031016
Fodor, O. C., Flestea, A. M., Onija, I., &Curșeu, P. L. (2018). Networks originate in minds: An exploration of trust self-enhancement and network centrality in multiparty systems. Administrative sciences, 8(4), 60.
Grant, N. K., Hoover, D. H., Scarisbrick-Hauser, A., & Muffet, S. L. (2002). Terrorism in Shanksville: A study in preparedness and response. University of Akron. Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy Research
Green, B. L., Rockhill, A., & Burrus, S. (2008). The role of interagency collaboration for substance-abusing families involved with child welfare. Child Welfare, 87(1), 29-62.
Halvorsen, K., Almklov, P. G., & Gjøsund, G. (2017). Fire safety for vulnerable groups: The challenges of cross-sector collaboration in Norwegian municipalities. Fire SafetyJournal,92,1-8https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2017.05.001
Harris, S. & Allen, T. (2011).Young people’s view of multi-agency working. British educational Research Journal, 37(3), pp 405-419
Hartley, J., & Rashman, L. (2018).Innovation and inter-organizational learning in the context of public service reform. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 84(2), 231-248.
Helliwell, J. F., Aknin, L. B., Shiplett, H., Huang, H., & Wang, S. (2018). Social capital and prosocial behaviour as sources of well-being. Handbook of well being, Salt Lake City, UT: DEF Publishers.
Hileman, J., & Bodin, Ö. (2019).Balancing costs and benefits of collaboration in an ecology of games. Policy Studies Journal, 47(1), 138-158. doi:10.1111/psj.12292.
Kapucu, N., &Garayev, V. (2011).Collaborative decision –making in emergency and disaster management.International Journal of Public Administration, 34(6),366-375
Kinnear, S., Patison, K., Mann, J., Malone, E., Ross, (2014). Network governance and climate change adaptation: collaborative responses to the Queensland floods. Research report to the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility.
Kucharska, W. (2017), Relationship between Trust and Collaborative Culture in The Context of Tacit Knowledge Sharing: Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Vol.14 (4) pp 61-78
Levesque, V. R., Calhoun, A. J., Bell, K. P., & Johnson, T. R. (2017). Turning contention into collaboration: engaging power, trust, and learning in collaborative networks. Society & Natural Resources, 30(2), 245-260.
Lin, N. (1999), Building a Network Theory of Social Capital, Connection, 22(10. 28-5
Maypole, J., & Davies, T. G. (2001). Students' perceptions of constructivist learning in a community college American history 11 survey course. Community College Review, 29(2), 54-79.
Meinzen-Dick, R., DiGregorio, M., & McCarthy, N. (2004).Methods for studying collective action in rural development. Agricultural systems, 82(3), 197-214.
Murphy, P. and Doyle, N. (2013). Pregnant Harvard grad killed in Kenyan terror attacks just two weeks from giving birth. Daily News: New York
Mwangi, O. G. (2017). Neo-elitism and counterterrorism operations in Kenya. African security review, 26(1), 12-25.
Nahapiet, J. (2009). Capitalizing on connections: social capital and strategic management. Social capital: Reaching out, reaching in, 205-236.
Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy of management review, 23(2), 242-266.
Nowell, B. (2010). Out of sync and unaware? Exploring the effects of problem frame alignment and discordance in community collaborative. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 20(1), 91-116
Olena, Z. (2016). “Getting the agencies together”: A qualitative study of the professionals’ perceptions of collaboration in prevention of juvenile criminality (Doctoral dissertation).
Ostrom, E. (2009). What is social capital? In V. O. Bartkus, & J.H. Davis (Eds.), Social Capital: Reaching Out, Reaching In(pp. 17-38).
Pishdad-Bozorgi, P., & Beliveau, Y. J. (2016).Symbiotic relationships between integrated project delivery (IPD) and trust. International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 12(3), 179-192
Provan, K. G., Kenis, P. N., & Human, S. E. (2015).Legitimacy building in organizational networks. In L. B. Bingham & R. O'Leary (Eds.), Big ideas in collaborative public management (pp. 121-137). New York, NY: Routledge.
Purdy, J. (2012). A framework for assessing power in collaborative governance processes. Public Administrative Review 72, 409-41
Rajala, T., Laihonen, H., &Hapaala, P. (2018). Why is dialogue on performance challenging in the public sector?. Measuring Business Excellence.
Ramos-Pinto, P.(2006). Social capital as a capacity for collective action. Assessing social capital: concept, policy, practice, 53-69.
Ran, B., & Qi, H. (2018).Contingencies of power sharing in collaborative governance. The American Review of Public Administration, 48(8), 836-851.doi:10.1177/0275074017745355
Roud, E. (2021). Collective improvisation in emergency response. Journal Safety Science, 135, 105104.
Sapir, G. (2019a). EM-DAT: The Emergency Events Database-Universite Catholique de Louvain (UCL) Retrieved from https://www.emdat.be/emdat_db/
Strahorn, S. (2015).The influence of trust in traditional contracting: Investigating the" lived experience" of stakeholders. Construction Economics and Building, 15(2), 81-101.
Sulaiman, H., Teo, S., Fermando, T., Shiau, C., Roslan, A., & Abdul, K. (2019). Multi Agency Collaboration in Flood Disaster Management in Sarawak Malaysia.International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering (IJITEE)ISSN: 2278-3075, Volume-8 Issue-8S, June 2019
Tang, P., Shao, S., Zhou, D., & Hu, H. (2021). Understanding the collaborative process and its effects on perceived outcomes during emergency response in China: From perspectives of local government sectors. Sustainability, 13(14), 7605.
United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, (2012).How to Make Cities More Resilient.A Hand book for Local Government Leaders. Geneva,
World Health Organization, (2017).A strategic framework for emergency management. Geneva: WHO 2017
Yassin, M. (2015, March 15). Official Statement of Malaysia Government in the third United Nations Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v9i3.2372
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
PAST ISSUES:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.