COMBINING HIERARCHICAL AND NETWORK STRATEGIES: SUCCESSFUL CHANGES IN DUTCH SOCIAL HOUSING |
| |
| Authors: | JOS KOFFIJBERG HANS DE BRUIJN HUGO PRIEMUS |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Jos Koffijberg is Head of Research at the Nicis Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands.;2. Hans de Bruijn is Professor of Public Administration and Hugo Priemus is Emeritus Professor of Housing, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands. |
| |
| Abstract: | In the current times of economic turmoil, many sectors are thought to be in need of structural reform or system overhauls, which call for political leadership, decisiveness and vision. These kinds of challenges present governments with a dilemma. On the one hand, there is a call for radical change while, on the other hand, the options available for such radical change are limited by the many interdependencies of a network society. In this article, we analyse three fundamental and structural reforms in Dutch housing. These reforms were all implemented in a world of interdependencies. The strategies applied appear to be a mixture of unilateral, hierarchical strategies and multilateral, network strategies. These hybrid strategies come in three forms: (1) a combination of hierarchical and network strategies; (2) variations/alternations over time between network strategies and hierarchical strategies; and (3) the use of one strategy in the frontstage while the other strategy is being used backstage. Greater understanding of these types of hybrids can help governments in dealing with the tension between interdependencies and the need for change. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
|
|
