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Exploring the dynamics
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a local government displays higher organizational attention
towards EM, it can actively learn a wide variety of approaches
for dealing with disasters, and recognize the importance and
necessity of collaboration in this policy area, which may
eventually increase the local government’s willingness to
collaborate vertically and horizontally.
(C) Mutual Understanding
Alter and Hage (1993) argue that an important contributor
to collaboration is the willingness to cooperate. However, they
also suggest that “willingness to cooperate starts from the
awareness and understanding of other organizations’ needs and
the perception that they are in some way compatible with one’s
own.” In other words, understanding possible partners by
collecting useful information about them is a necessary step in
the process of effectively reducing potential communication
conflicts and increasing the probability of other parties being
willing to collaborate. Ansell and Gash (2008) also indicate that
mutual understanding through face-to-face dialogue is a
necessary condition for collaboration. In light of transaction
costs, understanding the needs and resources of potential
partners before deciding to collaborate is also a means of
reducing the risks and costs generated by information
asymmetry (North, 1990). Regarding EM, local governments
can understand the thoughts of vertical and horizontal partners
through reading information from state and federal
governments or meeting regularly with their mutual aid partners
in the process of designing local EM plans and preparedness
activities.
(D) Institution/National Standards
An institution can be defined broadly as the prescription
according to which all repetitive and structured human
interactions are organized (Ostrom, 2005). In the case of EM