As configurações das funções da governança em redes colaborativas: o caso dos comitês de bacias hidrográficas

Abstract

Governance functions can contribute to a collaborative environment in inter-organizational networks. Identifying the presence of this environment is complex, as it is associated with other benefits. Literature has contributed to the understanding of these two phenomena – governance-management functions and collaborative environment – separately. So far, five intermediate outcomes that emanate from collaborative environments have been identified: trust, legitimacy, power, justice, and learning. However, the strategic idiosyncrasies among the participants of interorganizational networks make governance-managing necessary to enable an environment conducive to collaboration in these networks. This governance-management can be conducted through the six governance functions illustrated in the literature: alignment, arbitration, organization, mobilization, integration, and monitoring. In this sense, it is necessary to conduct research that enable the association of these functions to the collaborative environment characterized by intermediate results. The present research focuses on filling this gap, analyzing the possible configurations of governance functions that produce this desired collaborative environment. To this end, thirty inter-organizational networks, called State Committees of Hydrographic Basins (CBHs), established by the National Water Agency (ANA) for the management of water resources, located in seven states in three regions of Brazil, were surveyed. These networks are relevant because they were established by the federal government to manage a public good and consist of entities from three different segments: public authorities, users, and communities. To fill the gap, the research method chosen was the Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). The results showed four configurations of governance functions that favor the presence of a collaborative environment. These configurations demonstrate that by combining the presence of some functions and the absence of others, it is possible to obtain a collaborative environment. This study also presents theoretical contributions through practices identified in the CBHs related to governance functions that favor the collaborative environment in networks aimed at a common good. These practices can be used by the leadership of other CBHs to encourage collaboration. Additionally, recommendations for future studies on the investigated topic are indicated.