Motivations for collaborative governance in China: a systematic review of the literature

Jie Wang and Nicola Ulibarri

International Review of Public Administration, 2025, vol. 30, issue 3, 204-222

Abstract: This article highlights the role of political context in shaping motivation of actors from the public sector, the private sector, and civil society to work together collaboratively. Most studies on motivations for collaborative governance come from Western, democratic contexts, and a comprehensive assessment of motivations in authoritarian contexts is missing. We bring political context in by investigating what motivates state and non-state actors to collaborate in China, a classic example of an authoritarian state. By conducting a systematic review of 264 empirical studies on collaborative governance in China published from 2006 to 2021, this paper reveals prevalent motivators including vertical commands, material-resource dependence, rules and regulations, legitimacy, economic benefits, and political resources; and uncommon motivators including asset specificity and share beliefs for both state and non-state actors in Chinese cases. We conclude by reflecting on the ways common theoretical frameworks, including transaction cost theory, resource dependence theory, the advocacy coalition framework, and social capital theory, explain motivations in China.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/12294659.2025.2454057

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