IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envirc/v39y2021i5p900-918.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Street level bureaucracy in response to environmental pressure. Insights from forestry and urban green space governance in Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Renata Putkowska-Smoter
  • Krzysztof NiedziaÅ‚kowski

Abstract

Forestry and urban green space governance experiences rapid changes due to bottom up environmental pressure and top down changes of legislation. To deepen our understanding of crafting preferable environmental reactions towards environmental pressure, we introduced the perspective of environmental street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) and explored it using Oliver’s strategic response framework. Drawing from case studies on the governance of the moose and urban green space in Poland, we investigated the complex and mediating sphere of SLB “policy intentions†in environmental governance. We argue that SLBs can distance themselves from new expectations if these are perceived as “socially constructed†and potentially disturbing for SLBs’ professional routines. Such limited or moderated reactions can be a coping mechanism of SLBs trying to balance a complex landscape of various, even contradictory pressures. Our findings break the monolithic-type image of a ‘decision-maker’ into complex web of interrelations between administrative units and political structures. They also suggest a need of new forms of environmental (post-) bureaucracy to reinforce social trust and to deal with ambiguities of nature.

Suggested Citation

  • Renata Putkowska-Smoter & Krzysztof NiedziaÅ‚kowski, 2021. "Street level bureaucracy in response to environmental pressure. Insights from forestry and urban green space governance in Poland," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 39(5), pages 900-918, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:39:y:2021:i:5:p:900-918
    DOI: 10.1177/2399654420972114
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2399654420972114
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/2399654420972114?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maier, Carolin & Winkel, Georg, 2017. "Implementing nature conservation through integrated forest management: A street-level bureaucracy perspective on the German public forest sector," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 14-29.
    2. Sanjay Sharma & Irene Henriques, 2005. "Stakeholder influences on sustainability practices in the Canadian forest products industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 159-180, February.
    3. Niedziałkowski, Krzysztof & Komar, Ewa & Pietrzyk-Kaszyńska, Agata & Olszańska, Agnieszka & Grodzińska-Jurczak, Małgorzata, 2018. "Discourses on Public Participation in Protected Areas Governance: Application of Q Methodology in Poland," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 401-409.
    4. Richard Crook & Joseph Ayee, 2006. "Urban Service Partnerships, 'Street-Level Bureaucrats' and Environmental Sanitation in Kumasi and Accra, Ghana: Coping with Organisational Change in the Public Bureaucracy," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 24(1), pages 51-73, January.
    5. Philip Catney & John Henneberry, 2012. "(Not) Exercising Discretion: Environmental Planning and the Politics of Blame-Avoidance," Planning Theory & Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(4), pages 549-568, December.
    6. Maier, Carolin & Abrams, Jesse B., 2018. "Navigating social forestry – A street-level perspective on National Forest management in the US Pacific Northwest," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 432-441.
    7. Donatella Della Porta & Massimiliano Andretta, 2002. "Social Movements and Public Administration: Spontaneous Citizens’ Committees in Florence," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 244-265, June.
    8. Connolly, James J.T. & Svendsen, Erika S. & Fisher, Dana R. & Campbell, Lindsay K., 2014. "Networked governance and the management of ecosystem services: The case of urban environmental stewardship in New York City," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 10(C), pages 187-194.
    9. Niedziałkowski, Krzysztof & Beunen, Raoul, 2019. "The risky business of planning reform – The evolution of local spatial planning in Poland," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 11-20.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Franck Brulhart & Sandrine Gherra & Bertrand V. Quelin, 2019. "Do Stakeholder Orientation and Environmental Proactivity Impact Firm Profitability?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 25-46, August.
    2. Carmen Nastase & Carmen Chasovschi & Mihai Popescu & Adrian Liviu Scutariu, 2010. "The Importance of Stakeholders and Policy Influence Enhancing the Innovation in Nature Based Tourism Services Greece, Austria, Finland and Romania Case Studies," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2), pages 137-148.
    3. Gore, Christopher D., 2018. "How African cities lead: Urban policy innovation and agriculture in Kampala and Nairobi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 169-180.
    4. H. L. Zou & R. C. Zeng & S. X. Zeng & Jonathan J. Shi, 2015. "How Do Environmental Violation Events Harm Corporate Reputation?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 836-854, December.
    5. Julie Dekker & Tim Hasso, 2016. "Environmental Performance Focus in Private Family Firms: The Role of Social Embeddedness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 293-309, June.
    6. Galbreath, Jeremy, 2017. "Drivers Of Environmental Sustainability In Wine Firms: The Role And Effect Of Women In Leadership," Working Papers 253851, American Association of Wine Economists.
    7. Pete Tashman & Jorge Rivera, 2016. "Ecological uncertainty, adaptation, and mitigation in the U.S. ski resort industry: Managing resource dependence and institutional pressures," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(7), pages 1507-1525, July.
    8. Ante Glavas & Jenny Mish, 2015. "Resources and Capabilities of Triple Bottom Line Firms: Going Over Old or Breaking New Ground?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(3), pages 623-642, March.
    9. Lai, Kee-hung & Wong, Christina W.Y., 2012. "Green logistics management and performance: Some empirical evidence from Chinese manufacturing exporters," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 267-282.
    10. Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen & Wencke Gwozdz & Kerli Kant Hvass, 2018. "Exploring the Relationship Between Business Model Innovation, Corporate Sustainability, and Organisational Values within the Fashion Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 267-284, May.
    11. Julia Hamprecht & Jan Schwarzkopf, 2014. "Subsidiary Initiatives in the Institutional Environment," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 54(5), pages 757-778, October.
    12. Christopher Durugbo & Joseph Amankwah‐Amoah, 2019. "Global sustainability under uncertainty: How do multinationals craft regulatory policies?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(6), pages 1500-1516, November.
    13. Hadi Al-Abrrow & Jaber Ali & Alhamzah Alnoor, 2022. "Multilevel Influence of Routine Redesigning, Legitimacy and Functional Affordance on Sustainability Accounting: Mediating Role of Organizational Sense-making," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 23(2), pages 287-312, April.
    14. Yusi Jiang & Tianyu Gong & Wan Cheng & Yapu Zhao, 2023. "Repression or indulgence? Distinctive government influence on firm financial and environmental misconduct in China," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(1), pages 379-402, February.
    15. Dai, Jing & Montabon, Frank L. & Cantor, David E., 2014. "Linking rival and stakeholder pressure to green supply management: Mediating role of top management support," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 173-187.
    16. Simona Galletta & Sebastiano Mazzù & Valeria Naciti, 2021. "Banks' business strategy and environmental effectiveness: The monitoring role of the board of directors and the managerial incentives," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2656-2670, July.
    17. Madeleine Feder & Barbara E. Weißenberger, 2019. "Understanding the behavioral gap: Why would managers (not) engage in CSR-related activities?," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 95-126, April.
    18. Jianxin Ge & Tong Li, 2019. "Entrepreneurial Resources, Complementary Assets, and Platform Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-20, August.
    19. Ogawa, Keishi & Garrod, Guy & Yagi, Hironori, 2023. "Sustainability strategies and stakeholder management for upland farming," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    20. Thomas Johnsen & Marie-Anne Le Dain & Nadine Kiratli & Holger Schiele, 2022. "Editorial: Purchasing and innovation: Past, present and future of the field of research," Post-Print hal-03761525, HAL.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:39:y:2021:i:5:p:900-918. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.