<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This article contributes to the consolidation and synthesis of scholarship on collaborative governance by expanding our knowledge of how the term is used in the academic literature and policy documents in a range of European countries. It adds value to the existing reviews of the field by conducting a systematic literature review on a corpus of over 700 article abstracts and a traditional literature review identifying five key analytical dimensions. The article also provides an exploratory analysis of grey literature hitherto outside the purview of researchers and considers the linguistic and cultural connotations that alter the meaning of the term when translated into new contexts in ten EU/EFTA countries. Findings indicate heterogeneity and fuzziness in the way the concept is used. The article argues that explicit positions with respect to five main analytical dimensions and taking into account the national connotations that the term carries across political systems would inject more clarity into the academic discourse. This, in turn, will help policymakers to make informed use of the concept, especially in multi-national policy-making arenas.</p></abstract>

This article contributes to the consolidation and synthesis of scholarship on collaborative governance by expanding our knowledge of how the term is used in the academic literature and policy documents in a range of European countries. It adds value to the existing reviews of the field by conducting a systematic literature review on a corpus of over 700 article abstracts and a traditional literature review identifying five key analytical dimensions. The article also provides an exploratory analysis of grey literature hitherto outside the purview of researchers and considers the linguistic and cultural connotations that alter the meaning of the term when translated into new contexts in ten EU/EFTA countries. Findings indicate heterogeneity and fuzziness in the way the concept is used. The article argues that explicit positions with respect to five main analytical dimensions and taking into account the national connotations that the term carries across political systems would inject more clarity into the academic discourse. This, in turn, will help policymakers to make informed use of the concept, especially in multi-national policy-making arenas.

The fuzzy concept of collaborative governance: A systematic review of the state of the art

Central European Journal of Public Policy

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

This article contributes to the consolidation and synthesis of scholarship on collaborative governance by expanding our knowledge of how the term is used in...

The fuzzy concept of collaborative governance: A systematic review of the state of the art

Publié en ligne: 12 nov. 2019

Pages: 28 - 39

Reçu: 16 mai 2019

Accepté: 13 sept. 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/cejpp-2019-0008

Mots clés
collaborative governance, systematic literature review, connotations of collaboration

© 2019 Agnes Batory et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The fuzzy concept of collaborative governance: A systematic review of the state of the art

Publié en ligne: 12 nov. 2019

Pages: 28 - 39

Reçu: 16 mai 2019

Accepté: 13 sept. 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/cejpp-2019-0008

Mots cléscollaborative governance, systematic literature review, connotations of collaboration

© 2019 Agnes Batory et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Mots clés
collaborative governance, systematic literature review, connotations of collaboration