摘要：What is social structure, and how does it influence the views and behaviors of land managers.In this paper, we unpack the term "social structure" in the context of current research on institutions, socialnetworks, and their role(s) in resource management. We identify two different kinds of structure, formaland informal, and explore how these link to views of land management and management practice. Formalstructures refer to intentionally designed organizations that arise out of larger institutional arrangements;informal ones refer to social networks, based on the communication contacts individuals possess. Ourfindings show significant correlations between respondents' views regarding land management and theirsocial networks; it is these informal structures that have greater influence on what stakeholders perceive.These findings suggest that stakeholders are less influenced by their particular organizational affiliation orcategory (e.g., "conservationist" versus "farmer"), and more by whom they speak with on a regular basisregarding land management. We conclude with a discussion on the practical implications for resourcemanagers wishing to "design" participatory management, arguing that, if "diversity" is the goal in designingsuch participatory processes, then diversity needs to translate beyond stakeholder categories to includeconsideration for the personal, social networks surrounding stakeholders
关键词：formal organizations; homophily; institutions; land management; social networks; social;network analysis; social structure; stakeholder perceptions
