Organisational Learning, Environmental NGOs, and Policy Advocacy in China

ABSTRACT

While previous studies have mainly emphasised the role of structural factors in explaining how and why Chinese environmental NGOs (ENGOs) have become more engaged in policy advocacy since the early 2000s, this study offers an alternative perspective on these dynamics by adopting an organisational learning framework. Through in-depth case studies, we identify the production and application of knowledge – specifically regarding the significance, viability, and practical expertise of policy advocacy – as a pivotal driver that compels organisations to proactively engage in policy advocacy. Moreover, we delineate two primary approaches to organisational learning used by ENGOs – intra-organisational learning and trans-organisational learning – and illustrate their internal mechanisms. This study also underscores the significance of individual learning by organisational leaders in the Chinese context, which occurs in parallel with collective learning at the group level. This article thereby enriches our understanding of the trajectory of environmental activism in contemporary China.

KEYWORDS:

• Organisational learning
• knowledge production
• policy advocacy
• environmental nongovernment organisations (ENGOs)
• China

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this article was presented at the ‘20^th Workshop on Organizational Sociology’ organised by the School of Sociology and Political Science at Shanghai University on 26–27 August 2023. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the co-organiser, Professor Yingying Ji, and the participants for their insightful comments. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our interviewees for their invaluable contributions to this research. We are also grateful to Dr Tong Wu (Stanford University) for editing the earlier version of this article, and to the editors, Dr Dirk Tomsa, Dr Jonathan Benney, Dr David Hundt, and Dr Yu Tao, as well as the two anonymous reviewers, for their valuable feedback and assistance during the submission and revision stages.

Authors’ Note

Both authors contributed equally to this article.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

^1. Policy advocacy is the process by which various stakeholders, including the public, nongovernmental organisations, other civil society groups, networks, and alliances, actively engage in efforts to influence the formulation, implementation, and decision-making processes of government bodies, corporations, and other authorities. This advocacy aims to advance specific political, economic, cultural, or environmental objectives and rights (Fox, 2001; Unsicker, 2013).

^2. The extant literature focuses more on the analysis of organisations’ strategies and the corresponding influencing factors in an authoritarian state at certain periods, and less on the diachronic change in the activities of ENGOs.

^3. Methodologically speaking, this case study is a plausibility probe that is an intermediary step between hypothesis generation and hypothesis testing, which can be achieved by identifying at least one relevant case (Levy, 2008, 3, 6–7).

^4. GK classifies its actions into different projects based on varying objectives.

^5. Yu is a senior environmental activist and the leader of Green Watershed, a local ENGO in Kunming.

^6. The annual and monthly reports were collected by the authors.

^7. In 2013, it was revealed that PetroChina, the Chinese state-owned oil and gas giant, was constructing an oil refinery in Anning, a county-level city located 17 miles southwest of central Kunming. This project attracted widespread opposition from the public due to its potential environmental and health risks. Local citizens launched two rounds of city-wide protests against the project in June 2013. Since then, GK has led efforts to stop the Anning project.

^8. Local organisations in Kunming include GK and Green Watershed, while organisations from outside the area include Friends of Nature, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), and Huanyoukeji (Envirofriends).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [Grant No. 24CXTD04] and the Humanities and Social Sciences Fund of the Ministry of Education of China [Grant No. 18YJA860007].