When Illusion Met Illusion: How Interacting Biases Affect (Dis)trust within Coopetitive Policy Networks

• Published date: 01 September 2021
• Author: Junesoo Lee
• Date: 01 September 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13351

962 Public Administration Review • September | October 2 021

Abstract: Coopetition is a universal relationship in policy networks where various organizations cooperate and also

compete with one another. Dealing with the ambivalent relationships in policy networks, organizations in the network

need to assess their internal and external environments. However, such assessments are usually inclined to be biased

for various reasons. The question is “If multiple organizations’ assessment biases interact with one another, what

happens to mutual trust or distrust?” This study explores the patterns and impact of interactions of assessment biases

using surveys and interviews administered to nuclear-related public institutions in South Korea. The findings imply

that the interactions of individual biases impact trust and distrust differently according to diverse dimensions of bias,

including power, cooperation, competition, and contribution in policy networks. What determines trust or distrust

among network members may not only be whether biases exist but also how biases of network members are combined

and matched.

Evidence for Practice

• How two network members’ expectations (or estimations) meet each other determines their mutual trust or

distrust.

• To increase how much it is trusted by other members of a network, an organization should: (1) depart from

being overbearing, i.e., actively listening and responding when forming interorganizational partnerships

and (2) have a realistic expectation of coopetition, i.e., being aware of the coexistence of competition and

cooperation in policy network relationships.

• To decrease how much it is distrusted by other members of a network, an organization should: (1) help the

partner organization depart from overestimating its own power or the degree of cooperation and (2) also help

the partner estimate its contribution to the network realistically.

Organizations work together in many policy

domains to pursue common (or diverse)

goals and form policy networks, policy issue

networks, or policy communities (Henry, Lubell,

and McCoy 2011; Hindmoor 1998; Loorbach 2010;

Skok 1995). In policy networks, each actor has its

own resources, and they make decisions independently

and jointly (Rethemeyer and Hatmaker 2008; Saz-

Carranza and Ospina 2011). Specifically, policy

network member interests or goals may converge or

diverge, which leads to a double-edged relationship:

cooperation and competition, i.e., coopetition

(Dagnino 2009).

Given that coopetition might be a universal

relationship in policy networks in which various

organizations cooperate and also compete with

one another, there are many drivers behind such

an ambivalent relationship. As for trust among

policy network members, having the same identity

(Williams 2001) or having a compatible mission

(Schindler-Rainman 1981) is known to enhance

trust between network actors. On the other hand,

competition (Gamson 1968; Triandis et al. 1975) or

incongruent values or goals between network actors

(Hardin 2004; Larson 2004; Lewicki 2006; Sitkin

and Roth 1993; Ullmann-Margalit 2004) are believed

to function as drivers of distrust between network

members. To decrease incongruence among network

members, brokers or facilitators in the networks are

expected to help exchange knowledge or resources

among diverse allies (Weber and Khademian 2008;

Yi 2017).

What aspects of policy network members’ biases cause

trust or distrust between the members? When dealing

with the ambivalent relationships of coopetition in

policy networks, organizations in the network need

to assess their internal and external environments.

However, such assessments are often inclined to be

biased in a certain direction for various reasons. With

this in mind, there are two major questions addressed

Junesoo Lee

KDI School of Public Policy and Management

When Illusion Met Illusion: How Interacting Biases Affect

(Dis)trust within Coopetitive Policy Networks

Junesoo Lee is an Associate Professor

at the KDI School of Public Policy and

Management. He received his PhD in

Public Administration and Policy from the

State University of New York at Albany. His

research focuses on failure management

(FM) and success management (SM), which

study the paradoxical contexts where

systems can be sustained by beneficial

failure and also challenged by harmful

success.

Email: jslee@kdischool.ac.kr

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 81, Iss. 5, pp. 962–972. © 2021 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13351.

Research Article