Abstract Social capital generated by frequent, face-to-face interactions provides the foundation for collective action. Does this also hold for a community action in post-communist, Central European countries where modern NGOs are perceived to be ineffective? This article examines this question...

With increasing emphasis being placed on professionalism and a self-sustaining financial model, microfinance institutions are joining forces in national associations. This research explores the stated goals of these associations and the challenges they face in implementation, through content...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the theoretical and empirical possibility of measuring trust and commitment in collective actions. Design/methodology/approach The study employs choice experiments to estimate trust implicitly as opposed to the common practice of measuring trust...

Purpose Within a gated community, management of common property presents great challenges. Therefore, the diagnostic social ecological system (SES) framework proposed by Elinor Ostrom providing a holistic understanding of complex collective action problems in terms of management of commons is...

During the 1990s, household public services in Colombia went through an important reform: the entrance of the private sector was allowed and users could participate in the surveillance and control of these services. However, given the collective dimension and monopolistic character of most of...

Scholars have started to focus on the ways in which firms manage their reputations through collective action. Collective reputation management is most often carried out through trade associations (TAs). But what do these TAs actually do? How do they further their members' interests with...

While there is a strong theoretical foundation for the relationship between business sectors' political spending and the policy benefits that they receive, the empirical support for it is mixed. We use the logic of this exchange to examine a policy area that directly and significantly affects...

A sketch of three major features of the theoretical framework developed by John R. Commons is presented in this article. Commons begins with collective action captured in dynamic going concerns rather than individual choice. Individuals operating in going concerns have power to attempt to shape...

This paper shows that reciprocity has powerful implications for many economic domains. It is an important determinant in the enforcement of contracts and social norms and enhances the possibilities of collective action greatly. Reciprocity may render the provision of explicit incentive...

Philosophers and economists write about collective action from distinct but related points of view. This paper aims to bridge these perspectives. Economists have been concerned with rationality in a strategic context. There, problems posed by “coordination games” seem to point to a form of...