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Outlines how dependency theory exposes underlying characteristics that enable an autonomous political community to avoid the pitfalls of alienation & challenge international inequality. It is proposed that the benefits of this theory, eg, identifying how the ideology of sovereignty contrasts with the hierarchical division of labor on a global scale, outweigh the resulting paradox that a focus on sovereignty also legitimates the hierarchical order in the labor force. This theory emphasizes how the outdated ideology of the autonomy of political communities should be reconfigured to account for the postdevelopment perspective. 17 References. A. Durward

The authors discuss how scholars can bring theories of spatial policy dependence and empirical model specifications closer in line so that the empirical analysis actually tests the theoretical predictions. Comprehensive theories of spatial policy dependence typically suggest that the jurisdictions receiving spatial stimuli systematically differ in their exposure to such signals as a function of the intensity of their interaction with other jurisdictions. Similarly, theories often predict that governments also differ in their responsiveness to any given spatial stimulus as a function of the institutional, political, economic, or social context in which they operate. In other words, theories typically postulate that spatial dependence is conditional on exposure and responsiveness, neither of which is accounted for in the standard empirical practice of estimating one single common coefficient for a row-standardized spatial lag variable. The authors show how scholars can adequately model both forms of heterogeneity with properly specified interaction effects models.

English
Over the past decade, path dependence theory has found widespread support among students of institutions and public policy. Yet, outside economics, remarkably few studies have investigated the most rigorous formulation of increasing returns, preferring theoretically looser configurations of path dependence. This article seeks to evaluate the applicability of increasing returns arguments to the British National Health Service, a case heralded as a defining example of path dependency. The development of health policy in Britain demonstrates that policy development is driven by a far more complex and endogenous set of forces than can be captured by a parsimonious model of returns.

Despite ubiquitous references to Pfeffer and Salancik's classic volume, The External Control of Organizations, resource dependence theory is more of an appealing metaphor than a foundation for testable empirical research. We argue that several ambiguities in the resource dependence model account in part for this and propose a reformulation of resource dependence theory that addresses these ambiguities, yields novel predictions and findings, and reconciles them with seemingly contradictory empirical evidence from past studies. We identify two distinct theoretical dimensions of resource dependence, power imbalance and mutual dependence, which in the original theory were combined in the construct of interdependence and yet have opposite effects on an organization's ability to reduce dependencies by absorbing sources of external constraint. Results from a study of interindustry mergers and acquisitions among U.S. public companies in the period 1985–2000 indicate that, while mutual dependence is a key driver of mergers and acquisitions, power imbalance acts as an obstacle to their formation. We conclude that our reformulation of the resource dependence model contributes to realizing the potential of resource dependency as a powerful explanation of interorganizational action.

The fiscal landscape continues to challenge public and nonprofit managers. Against this backdrop, public and nonprofit managers look for new strategies to address the challenges associated with limited resources. Resource dependence theory provides valuable guidance for managers who want to understand the considerations and consequences relevant to different types of interorganizational partnering. In this article, the theory's core ideas are described, along with three common strategies or tactics that organizations use to obtain critical resources from the environment: merging, forming alliances, and co‐opting. For each strategy, the authors derive a set of practical lessons for busy public and nonprofit managers.