Dissertation Rauchenecker
Institutional change in hunting and game management – the case of German hunting associations
Start: 11/2004
End: 05/2007
German hunting associations are an example of a resource management regime between state administration and partly autonomous local self-governing actors. Such arrangements are especially favoured in the agri-environmental sector. But new societal and political developments, such as the amendment of the German federal hunting law in 1998 and 2002, scrutinize them. At the moment hunting associations face challenges that stem from internal and external changes. Novel requirements for wildlife management (due to ecological reasons) and new forms of land use demands by society, politics and members themselves shape the daily management of a hunting association. The research project therefore first identifies the potential influencing factors and then examines their specific impact on the governance structure of the hunting association. Data collection is a combination of qualtitative and quantitative methods. The first step consists in conducting personal guided interviews with the executive directors of the national unions of hunting associations. In a second step results are tested by application on a focus group and conduction of a standardized postal survey with the business managers of hunting associations in Lower Saxony. The analytical framework connects theories of New Institutional Economics, namely Transaction Cost Theory, New Political Economy and the IAD and IoS approaches. For the first time ever, in addition to structural data the research project provides a detailed situation analysis of hunting associations in Germany. Moreover the dissertation gives an assessment of reaction, need for and efficiency of adaption ability of these resource management regimes. Besides, the organizational behaviour of hunting associations as pressure groups respectively interest groups is highlighted. Theoretical considerations from the transaction cost perspective about the compulsary membership of landowners in hunting associations lead to the conclusion that one should keep it up. In general, the project defines impacts and restraints of institutional change in game and land management and contributes to insights into adaption behaviour of self-governed governance structures in natural resource management.
Researcher: Rauchenecker Katharina
Cooperation Partners:
Advisor: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Konrad Hagedorn, PD Dr. habil. Volker Beckmann
Funding: Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, Osnabrück
End: 05/2007
German hunting associations are an example of a resource management regime between state administration and partly autonomous local self-governing actors. Such arrangements are especially favoured in the agri-environmental sector. But new societal and political developments, such as the amendment of the German federal hunting law in 1998 and 2002, scrutinize them. At the moment hunting associations face challenges that stem from internal and external changes. Novel requirements for wildlife management (due to ecological reasons) and new forms of land use demands by society, politics and members themselves shape the daily management of a hunting association. The research project therefore first identifies the potential influencing factors and then examines their specific impact on the governance structure of the hunting association. Data collection is a combination of qualtitative and quantitative methods. The first step consists in conducting personal guided interviews with the executive directors of the national unions of hunting associations. In a second step results are tested by application on a focus group and conduction of a standardized postal survey with the business managers of hunting associations in Lower Saxony. The analytical framework connects theories of New Institutional Economics, namely Transaction Cost Theory, New Political Economy and the IAD and IoS approaches. For the first time ever, in addition to structural data the research project provides a detailed situation analysis of hunting associations in Germany. Moreover the dissertation gives an assessment of reaction, need for and efficiency of adaption ability of these resource management regimes. Besides, the organizational behaviour of hunting associations as pressure groups respectively interest groups is highlighted. Theoretical considerations from the transaction cost perspective about the compulsary membership of landowners in hunting associations lead to the conclusion that one should keep it up. In general, the project defines impacts and restraints of institutional change in game and land management and contributes to insights into adaption behaviour of self-governed governance structures in natural resource management.
Researcher: Rauchenecker Katharina
Cooperation Partners:
Advisor: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Konrad Hagedorn, PD Dr. habil. Volker Beckmann
Funding: Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, Osnabrück