Learning in networks: A systematic review of public administration research

Networks are a main component of public policy processes. According to governance network scholar, they can help solving complex public problems by fostering individual and collective learning processes (Newig et al., 2010). In networks, transfers of information and deliberation can facilitate individual acquisition of information and cognitive changes (Leach et al., 214). In turn, individual learning can foster the development of collective understandings of public problems and solutions, as well as joint action (Heikkila & Gerlak, 2013). Surprisingly enough, however, public administration research lacks an overview of existing studies on the influence of networks on learning processes. Building on a review of 50 public administration studies collected and analyzed with the PRISMA method, the objective of this paper is to provide such an overview. Our statistics demonstrate that a majority of the reviewed articles are conceptual and relates to the management of natural resources. Methodologically speaking, cases studies and survey are most common within the empirical works but social network analysis becomes popular (i.e. Pietri et al., 2015). Our findings point to two main gaps in our understanding of the causal chain between networks and learning processes. On the one hand, existing studies demonstrate that learning is influenced by network’s factors operating at different levels. However, few studies assess the relative importance of those factors at different levels at the same time. On the other hand, existing research remains limited on the processes through which individual learning becomes collective, which we relate to weaknesses in the conceptualization and measurement of learning. All in all, this review demonstrates that networks characteristics have a key role in shaping learning processes. We conclude with an agenda for future studies in public administration research on learning within networks