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Concentration despite competition: The organizational ecology of technical assistance providers

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  • Jean-Frédéric Morin

    (Canada Research Chair in International Political Economy, Political Science Department, Laval University)

Abstract

When international organizations expand and proliferate, why do they fail to spread more evenly in their policy sphere? To answer this question, this article builds on organizational ecology theory, which was recently introduced into the study of international organizations. However, rather than studying each population separately, as previous studies have done, this article investigates how distinct populations with overlapping niches shape each other’s evolution. It argues that when inter-population competition occurs, the first population to occupy its niche at a high density limits the long-term development of other populations. This is the case even if emerging populations may temporarily enjoy a higher growth rate. The argument is illustrated by a study of the relations between four populations of technical assistance providers in the field of intellectual property. By doing so, the article brings for the first time inter-population relations in the study of international organizations and provides an explanation for the persistent concentration of international organizations in specific areas of the governance space.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean-Frédéric Morin, 2020. "Concentration despite competition: The organizational ecology of technical assistance providers," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 75-107, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:revint:v:15:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s11558-018-9322-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11558-018-9322-7
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    Cited by:

    1. Bernhard Reinsberg & Oliver Westerwinter, 2023. "Institutional Overlap in Global Governance and the Design of Intergovernmental Organizations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 693-724, October.
    2. Yoram Z. Haftel & Tobias Lenz, 2022. "Measuring institutional overlap in global governance," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 323-347, April.
    3. Tuncer Murathan & Akbulut Nesrin & Turhan Miraç Savaş & Ari Yakup, 2022. "Time-Varying Network Connectedness Between the Organizational Ecology of Transportation and Storage Firms and Macroeconomic Variables," Folia Oeconomica Stetinensia, Sciendo, vol. 22(2), pages 209-223, December.
    4. Zhu, Hua & Cantwell, John & Jia, Fei & Wang, Chengqi, 2023. "Location choice of Chinese outward FDI – An ethnicity-based population ecology perspective," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(1).
    5. Xu, Jin & Peng, Biyu & Cornelissen, Joep, 2021. "Modelling the network economy: A population ecology perspective on network dynamics," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    6. Jhon Wilder Sánchez-Obando & Luis Fernando Castillo-Ossa & Néstor Darío Duque-Méndez & Eduardo Carrillo Zambrano, 2024. "Design of a conceptual model of open innovation for the decentralization of the science, technology, and innovation system in Colombia from an organizational ecology perspective," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-28, December.
    7. Mette Eilstrup-Sangiovanni & Oliver Westerwinter, 2022. "The global governance complexity cube: Varieties of institutional complexity in global governance," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 233-262, April.
    8. Lall, Ranjit, 2021. "The financial consequences of rating international institutions: competition, collaboration, and the politics of assessment," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 107032, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Jean‐Frédéric Morin & Madison Cartwright, 2020. "The US and EU’s Intellectual Property Initiatives in Asia: Competition, Coordination or Replication?," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 11(5), pages 557-568, November.
    10. Matias E. Margulis, 2021. "Intervention by international organizations in regime complexes," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 871-902, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Organizational ecology; Intellectual property; Technical assistance; Capacity building; World intellectual property organization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • D79 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Other
    • F53 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Agreements and Observance; International Organizations
    • F55 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Institutional Arrangements
    • L33 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Comparison of Public and Private Enterprise and Nonprofit Institutions; Privatization; Contracting Out
    • O19 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations

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