Antecedents of collaboration and drivers of relational risk in public safety networks

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the inter-related impact of the antecedents of collaboration on the emergence of relational risk and the impact of relational risk on the effectiveness of collaboration in public safety networks (PSNs). Design/methodology/approach The research is based on desk research and a survey questionnaire. The analysis of the results was based on the modelling of structural equations. Findings The analyses indicate how the antecedents of collaboration influence relational risk in PSNs and the extent to which this risk, in turn, may affect the overall effectiveness of collaboration in the networks studied. The findings identify the antecedents that have the greatest impact on the emergence of relational risks, the drivers of relational risk in PSNs and the impact of the drivers of relational risk on collaboration in the networks. Originality/value The study of relational risk is rarely undertaken with little literature or research in the field of public safety. The added value is the identification of the causes of the relational risk among the antecedents of collaboration in PSNs and the analysis of the impact of this risk on the effectiveness of inter-organisational collaboration.