Meta-governance, uncertainty and self-organization in corporatist social service sectors: The case of Hong Kong

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between meta-governance, uncertainty and governance network responses. A social network analysis was conducted on the interlocking directorate network among nonprofits before and after a market-oriented collibration triggered by a new public management reform to the corporatist social service provision system in Hong Kong. By unpacking and showing the distinct processes of network formation in response to substantive and strategic uncertainty arising from the market-oriented collibration, the study shows that although more nonprofit actors were directly included in the formalized policy venues after the reform, the network density and clustering coefficient dropped after the reform, potentially reducing the self-coordinating capacity of the governance network. However, for some nonprofit actors, node betweenness centrality increased and node degree centrality decreased, creating an enabling condition for adaption. The uncertainties in meta-governance may bring about network processes at variance with the original intentions of public meta-governors that actors with complementary resources and competences combine their efforts in the provision of services and service innovation. To manage substantive and strategic uncertainties, public meta-governors need to find ways to increase the shared understandings of social problems, enhance the clarity of policy goals, and find a balance when collaborating between collaborative and market modes of governance.