Building Community Organizations: Credible Commitment and the New Institutional Economics

Issue title: Self-Management

Guest editors: Martin De WaeleGuest Editor

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Tang, Shui-Yan

Affiliations: School of Public Administration, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0041, USA

Abstract: Community organizations can play an important role in governing and managing local common-pool resources. Based on the emerging literature in the New Institutional Economics, this article examines the role of credible commitment in building community organizations. It discusses three factors that affect credible commitment among organizational participants – interactive processes, leadership, and structural design. The arguments are illustrated by field experiences in irrigation projects.

Keywords: Community organizations, self-governing, irrigation, credible commitment, interactive processes, leadership, structural design, the New Institutional Economics

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-1994-13307

Journal: Human Systems Management, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 221-232, 1994