A Yin-Yang Perspective of Street-Level Policy Entrepreneurs

Abstract

We introduce a cultural perspective, Yin-Yang logic, to explore how street-level policy entrepreneurs (SLPEs) formulate policy and foster inter-local collaborations across 14 Chinese cities. Drawing on a case forming the Chinese Eastern Northeast Economic Zone (2003-2016), we identify 20 critical incidents through interviews and content analysis. We make four main theoretical contributions: (i) this study is the first in the SLPEs literature to introduce a cultural perspective, the Yin-Yang logic, for understanding the complex yet central role that SLPEs play in policy innovation; (ii) it reveals a sequential six-stage process view in policy innovation formation from the Yin-Yang perspective; (iii) it extends our understanding of policy actors, SLPEs, as change agents outside Western democracies and provides the Yin-Yang perspective for dealing with the contextual paradoxical conditions; and (iv) SLPEs demonstrate three Yin-Yang framed capabilities in harnessing the natural momentum (shi) generated by the interaction and balancing forces of Yin-Yang dynamics.

Keywords

• street-level policy entrepreneurs
• inter-governmental collaboration
• policy innovation
• yin-yang
• paradox