The Link Between Social-Ecological Network Fit and Outcomes: A Rare Empirical Assessment of a Prominent Hypothesis

Figures & data

Figure 1. Illustration of triangle and four-cycle network motifs characterizing fit.

Table 1. Assessments of governance outcomes by actors and associated share of open network motifs.

Actor	Case	Outcome assessment by actor	Governance outcome	Share of closed versus open triangle motifs associated with outcome	Share of closed versus open four-cycle motifs associated with outcome	Outcome popularity
ORG001	Reussebene	Goal achieved	Timber production	0.3	0.3	3
ORG001	Reussebene	Goal achieved	Biodiversity	0.4	0.4	1
ORG002	Maggia	Goal not achieved	Flood protection	0.1	0.1	4

The outcome assessments are specific to the individual actors, while the share of closed versus open motifs and the outcome popularity are grouped on the level of governance outcomes. Stylized example data.

Figure 2. Marginal effects of the share of the closed triangle and four-cycle motifs on governance outcomes assessments. The probabilities of all three states of governance outcomes sum to one for every configuration of inputs. To interpret the figure, the likelihood of the state of a governance outcome falling within the highest versus the lowest category with an increasing share of closed versus open motifs of fit can be compared. Solid lines within ribbons show the median posterior density. Ribbons indicate the 88% credibility interval. The range of the x-axis differs for the share of closed triangles and four-cycle motifs as it is based on the empirically observed range.