Institutions, urban governance, and leadership: A study of the impacts of community planning and governance on the delivery of urban services and infrastructure in Cambodia

Collective action in community planning and development affairs plays an important role in service achievement---the provision of urban services and infrastructure such as water and sanitation. Grounded in theories of social capital, social support, collective and self-efficacy, and community leadership, this study was to determine the viability and merit of collective action and the effects it has on service achievement.;The combination of these theories, which voluminous research has argued to influence the prospect of collective action, was examined through survey research in an organized low-income community---the Borei Prei Nokor community---in the municipality of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The survey instrument was developed to include several items measuring all constructs under study. Using exploratory factor analysis as a data reduction strategy, six constructs with 45 items were extracted for the study. A structural model, which I call the "Collective-Action Effects" model, was developed to test the hypothesized relationships between the constructs, using structural equation modeling (SEM). The first step of SEM ruled out 3 items. Subsequent analyses led to the final model.;The findings indicate that social capital, social support, collective and self-efficacy, and community leadership had direct and positive impacts on collective action. Social capital and community leadership also had direct and positive impacts on service achievement. All impacts, however, differed in magnitude. The results show that social capital and community leadership had the strongest impacts on collective action and service achievement. Collective action, while also having direct and positive impacts on service achievement, plays a mediating role.;Although this study supports the "Collective-Action Effects" model, some methodological limitations need consideration. Nonetheless, it points to a new departure for further research in the field of urban and regional planning, especially planning at the community level, with emphasis on urban services and infrastructure such as water and sanitation. The study suggests that, before making conclusions about these relationships, further research is necessary to continue to explore these variables for their relationships with service achievement and the role of collective action, as well as to confirm the validity and reliability of the scales used in this study.