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organizations in the local EM planning process, or sign mutual
aid agreements with other nearby local governments in order to
respond effectively to emergencies. Better EM capacity also
gives local governments a greater ability to operate these
complicated collaborative initiatives in the EM program. At the
same time, other private companies and non-profit
organizations may be attracted to collaborate with local
governments with greater EM capacities to request EM-related
resources and intelligence, or improve their reputation by
demonstrating that they possess better quality EM (Graddy &
Chen, 2009).
B. Organizational Internal Factors
(A) Shortages of Financial, Human, and Information
Resources
The influence of resources on collaboration is a widely
studied research topic, and related management and
organizational theories have been proposed (Alter & Hage,
1993; Fleishman, 2009; Gazley, 2008; Levine & White, 1961;
Thomson & Perry, 2006; Van de Ven, Emmett, & Koenig,
1975). The aforementioned theories posit that an organization
that lacks internal resources will seek external support by
collaborating with other organizations.
In the case of U.S. EM, local governments are at the
frontline of dealing with various emergencies. However, they
also face shortages of human and financial resources, especially
at times of serious fiscal difficulties. Therefore, local
governments maybe more likely to rely on vertical and
horizontal collaborative actions to secure local EM. For
example, a local government may seek grants from federal and
state governments to resolve budget shortfalls. They may also
ask for volunteers from local non-profit organizations to expand
administrative capacity and help local EM (Patton, 2007), or