Temporal Properties in Cross-Border Coordination: Sweden’s Combat Against Antimicrobial Resistance

The temporal dimension has increasingly been recognized as relevant to studies of inter-organizational coordination (Ekengren 2002; Bouckaert et al. 2010: 31; Goetz 2014; Hartlapp 2017). However, there still seems to be lack of systematic treatment in terms of how temporality features as a property of coordination processes. Coordination, if studied as a process (Alexander 1995), involves multiple interactions among different actors at multiple points in time. Its temporal logic can thus be considered an endogenous property of such processes, one which can be revealing of the inner workings and challenges to the inter-organizational synchronization of objectives. This paper utilizes qualitative data (semi-structured elite-interviews, policy documents, secondary literature) from a case study to explore the temporal properties of coordination processes. It specifically looks at coordination enacted upon to contain Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). AMR is considered “[…] an increasingly serious threat to global public health […]” (WHO 2018). Given its transcendental, cross-border, character, to combat AMR arguably requires the coordinated efforts of multiple policy sectors (animal-/food health, human health, trade etc.) and levels of jurisdiction (from global to local). The focal focus of this paper is the publicly administered processes within, and partly beyond, the Swedish nation-state. Previous studies (Jordan and Lenschow 2010: 149) have highlighted Sweden as particularly skilful in integrated policy making involving cross-border coordination over extended periods of time. Via exploration of the temporal properties (time horizons, time tables, etc.) of Sweden’s AMR coordination, this paper elaborates on the following research questions (RQs): What are the temporal properties of long term inter-organizational coordination process? Why should we care about the temporal structuring of coordination? The ambition of this paper is to analyse Sweden’s approach to AMR coordination to see whether it holds a distinctive temporal signature. Concerning the first RQ, the paper’s findings are in support of recent studies (Goetz 2014) suggesting an advantage to efforts at fostering synchronization from having a politico-administrative centre that is; 1) conveniently positioned at the upper levels of government; and 2) with the ability to decide on the timing of in-/output procedures among the coordinating actors. Nevertheless, the Swedish case also indicates that processes initially enacted upon by stakeholders (i.e. organizations comprised of street-level bureaucrats/professionals), have a better chance of a longer life-time. This, arguably, is due to the stakeholders’ perception of self-interest, thus providing an incentive to relax intra-organizational temporal rhythms in order to adopt a feasible temporal logic to the inter-organizational process. Concerning the second RQ, the paper suggests the temporal property to be a signature trait of institutional orders (when perceived of as the recurring, to various extent routinized patters of social interaction). To uncover the temporal property of any given process, can thus be revealing of particular challenges (e.g. dissonance) within and beyond an institutional order.