The Network Governance of Crisis Response: Case Studies of Incident Command Systems

This article examines the application of a structural innovation known as Incident Command
Systems (ICS) in different crises. The ICS seeks to coordinate multiple response organizations
under a temporary hierarchical structure. The ICS is of practical interest because it has become
the dominant mechanism by which crisis response is organized in the United States. It is of
theoretical interest because it provides insights into how a highly centralized mode of network
governanceoperates.Despite the hierarchical characteristics of the ICS, the networkproperties of
crisis response fundamentally affects its operations, in terms of the coordination difficulties that
multiple members bring, the ways in which authority is shared and contested between
members, and the importance of trust in supplementing formal modes of control.