Organizational Ecology and Institutional Change in Global Governance

The institutions of global governance have changed dramatically in recent years. New organizational forms—including informal institutions, transgovernmental networks, and private transnational regulatory organizations (PTROs)—have expanded rapidly, while the growth of formal intergovernmental organi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International organization 2016, Vol.70 (2), p.247-277
Main Authors: Abbott, Kenneth W., Green, Jessica F., Keohane, Robert O.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accounting standards
Civil society
Climate
Climate action
Climate change
Climate change policy
Competition
Cooperation
Corporate governance
Cost benefit analysis
Ecological sustainability
Ecology
Environmental regulation
Governance
Intergovernmental organizations
International accounting standards
International cooperation
International organizations
International relations
Networks
Organizational behavior
Organizational change
Organizational structure
Population ecology
Regulation of financial institutions
Regulatory agencies
Resource availability
Studies
Theory
Transnationalism
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Summary:The institutions of global governance have changed dramatically in recent years. New organizational forms—including informal institutions, transgovernmental networks, and private transnational regulatory organizations (PTROs)—have expanded rapidly, while the growth of formal intergovernmental organizations has slowed. Organizational ecology provides an insightful framework for understanding these changing patterns of growth. Organizational ecology is primarily a structural theory, emphasizing the influence of institutional environments, especially their organizational density and resource availability, on organizational behavior and viability. To demonstrate the explanatory value of organizational ecology, we analyze the proliferation of PTROs compared with the relative stasis of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). Continued growth of IGOs is constrained by crowding in their dense institutional environment, but PTROs benefit from organizational flexibility and low entry costs, which allow them to enter “niches” with limited resource competition. We probe the plausibility of our analysis by examining contemporary climate governance.
ISSN:0020-8183
1531-5088
DOI:10.1017/S0020818315000338