Organizational Implications of Collaborative Environmental Management

EasyChair Preprint 1189

Abstract

Incorporating stakeholder engagement and collaboration into the environmental management process is an increasingly popular prescription for environmental conservation issues. However, the transformative influence collaborative processes have on organizational outcomes is not well understood.

In this study, I investigate the implications of stakeholder engagement at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR). This organization is tasked with managing environmental subjects in Georgia, and in doing so, runs the Georgia Sea Turtle Cooperative which coordinates on Georgia’s barrier islands to promote sea turtle conservation. This case is an ideal subject by which to study how the level of collaborative engagement impacts (A) the ability of organizations to effectively manage environmental subjects, (B) the motivations of different organizational agents, and (C) the potential for target fixation when managers’ actions are biased by their personal motivations.

I employ a mix of qualitative data from various stakeholders engaged in the Sea Turtle Coop at GDNR. Triangulating data from semi-structured interviews and questionnaires conducted with volunteers, project leaders, and the program director, I develop a case study analysis to investigate these research questions.

The analysis demonstrates that collaboration is critical to sea turtle management at GDNR and contributes to management at the functional, information-dissemination, and decision-making levels. The results also show that many stakeholders, including managers, share alternative motivations that contradict the overarching goals set by the organization. These motivations are very persistent and remain embedded in individuals despite training and experience in the organization. Furthermore, they influence the actions of organizational agents, causing managers to act outside of, or contrary to, the agency's management plan.

Keyphrases: Organizations, Target Fixation, collaboration, environmental management, stakeholder engagement

@booklet{EasyChair:1189,
  author    = {Evan Mistur},
  title     = {Organizational Implications of Collaborative Environmental Management},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 1189},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2019}}