Strategies of managers in the new forms of common property governance: The case of the private forest owners’ cooperatives

Forestry has a substantial impact on the economy in Latvia. Complementary new governance models of fragmentized private-owned forests are emerging in Latvia—the formation of the private forest owners’ cooperatives of the forestry services. The process of institutionalization implies both structural experience (conceptualized as habitus) and knowledge translation among social actors. Managers play a crucial role in subsequent conditions for the institutionalization of cooperatives in small scale common property governance by recruiting potential cooperative members, coordinating various interests of the cooperative members, and monitoring day-to-day operations. This research questions what strategies of knowledge translation do managers practice in the framework of these conditions. Qualitative research methods, a theoretical framework of actor-network theory, the conceptual approach of Bourdieu, and operational approach from the studies of the commons are applied to address the research question. Results show that practices of managers are incorporated in the process of multi-directed translations of knowledge in inner and outer stakeholder networks. The relation between structural experience and knowledge translation can be discussed as both opportunity and challenge for sustainable governance of common pool resources. The study implicates the role of cooperatives’ scale in the institutionalization of new forms of common property governance.