‘Simply by collaborating’? The impact of public and nongovernmental sectors collaboration experience on its institutionalization in the Lithuanian crisis management system

Abstract

AbstractDespite some evidence that the experience of collaboration contributes to its institutionalization in the crisis management system, the mechanisms behind this process remain unclear. Building on existing research, we distinguish six building blocks (i.e., pressure to collaborate, clarity of roles, mutual trust, leadership, positive feedback and learning) that influence the institutionalization of collaborative crisis management. By applying theory‐building process tracing to the Lithuanian COVID‐19 and irregular migration crises management, we analyse the interplay on these factors to derive the following propositions: (1) when crisis management involves partners with limited collaborative experience, both transformational and boundary spanning leadership are critical at different stages to institutionalize collaboration; (2) the clarification of roles, provision of positive feedback and the subsequent growth of trust experienced by partners engaged in collaborative activities contribute to the informal institutionalization of collaborative crisis management; (3) positive feedback on previous collaborative experience facilitates learning within the crisis management system and, when supported by the efforts of transformational leaders, leads to the formal institutionalization of collaborative crisis management. These propositions demonstrate how collaborative approaches can be fostered to deal with future crises as well as raise the question on the balance between formal and informal institutionalization of these practices.