Prospects for coordination in a complex system and the concept of polycentricity Case study of prehospital emergency services
Coordination dans un système complexe et concept de polycentricité : quelles perspectives ? Étude du cas des secours d’urgences pré-hospitaliers
Résumé
The range of theoretical perspectives that apply to coordination studies is so broad (Okhyusen and Bechki, 2009) as to render research in this area very challenging. The approach pursued within the present paper revolves around Ostrom's polycentricity concept (2005), and more specifically around the institutional diversity aspects associated with it. The coordination of prehospital emergency services is construed here as one manifestation of the kind of work that occurs in a context characterised by institutional diversity. This is the epitome of polycentric governance, which happens when many different entities collaborate using mechanisms originally designed for conflict resolution and shared decision-making purposes. Polycentric governance itself can be defined as an association of autonomous but interdependent decision-makers looking to attain a common purpose. The Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework (Ostrom 2005) used here elucidates the nature of a polycentric system by combining different variables comprised of specific institutional elements (sets of rules, norms, community attributes) that are all analysed at an individual level (Aligica 2014). The research question is to what extent a polycentricity concept enhances understanding of a complex system’s coordination. The paper’s theoretical framework revolves around a variety of coordination perspectives, each of which has been enriched by the polycentricity construct. Based on an application of ethnomethodology principles to prehospital emergency services, it is a comprehensive and qualitative study that uses meta-collective conceptualisation to explore a range of coordination theories of relevance to complex polycentric systems – the idea being that denying the existence of a meta-collective sphere is tantamount to denying the existence of the very ecosystem in which all work organisations interact.