The World Health Organization estimates that foodborne and waterborne diseases kill millions annually, highlighting the critical importance of food safety risk management. This is a complex, cross-boundary issue requiring effective multi-agency collaboration. While developed countries have explored public-public collaboration in managing public affairs, systematic examination of its effectiveness in food safety risk management, particularly in developing nations like China, remains limited. China’s food safety regulatory system, involving multiple agencies at different levels, serves as a relevant case study. The country has undergone significant reforms since 1983, leading to improvements in food safety, as indicated by its improved ranking in the Global Food Safety Index. This study aims to analyze the factors influencing public-public collaboration for food safety risk management within this multifaceted Chinese context, offering valuable insights for both China and other developing nations.

The study reviews the evolution of public management reforms, starting with the New Public Management (NPM) focusing on streamlining government and vertical power optimization. However, NPM’s drawbacks, including power fragmentation and service cleavability, led to the post-NPM era emphasizing cross-boundary collaboration. This led to various governance theories like networked governance, multi-level governance, and collaborative governance. The review highlights the importance of the government as the primary actor in cross-boundary governance, with public-public collaboration categorized into horizontal (same-level agencies) and vertical (different-level agencies) forms. The study further examines the challenges faced by countries with multi-agency food safety regulation, citing the US as an example of persistent fragmentation despite attempts at reform. The existing literature lacks a standardized definition of public-public collaboration in food safety. The study proposes a definition encompassing horizontal and vertical collaboration to overcome information and resource barriers stemming from unclear powers and responsibilities.

To test hypotheses about factors influencing public-public collaboration in food safety risk management, a questionnaire survey was conducted in Jiangsu and Guangxi provinces, China. The survey targeted staff from various government agencies at the county level and below. The questionnaire included 20 measures covering five dimensions: basic characteristics of agencies, basis for fulfilling responsibilities, functions of agencies, behavior and capabilities of agencies, and infrastructure and culture of agencies. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to reduce dimensionality and identify key factors. A multivariable linear regression model was then employed to analyze the relationship between the principal components and governance effectiveness. The KMO test and Bartlett's test confirmed the suitability of PCA. Varimax rotation was used for factor analysis, resulting in nine principal component factors which collectively explained over 80% of the total variance. A robustness check was performed by removing five independent variables to ensure the findings' validity.

The adjusted R² of the multivariable linear regression model (0.748) indicates that the nine extracted principal component factors explain 74.8% of the variation in governance effectiveness. All nine factors demonstrated significant effects (p<0.05). The analysis reveals that the behavior and capabilities of legislative, administrative regulation and enforcement, and environmental improvement agencies are the most significant factors influencing governance effectiveness. Laws and regulations, and professionalism of agencies, also emerged as key factors. The regression coefficients for laws and regulations (0.161), administrative regulation and enforcement agencies (0.137), and environmental improvement agencies (0.119) indicate a strong positive correlation with governance effectiveness. While other factors were considered, their influence on governance effectiveness was significantly weaker.

The findings highlight the importance of strong legislative frameworks, effective administrative enforcement, and supportive social environments for successful public-public collaboration in food safety risk management. The study emphasizes the need for a clear legal basis and well-defined responsibilities for each agency. The significant impact of professionalism underscores the necessity of well-trained and adequately resourced agencies. The study’s findings contrast with some existing literature, particularly regarding the roles of informal rules and organizational culture in China. The authors argue that China’s system differs significantly from Western models, with a greater emphasis on formal rules and a unique cultural context that affects cross-boundary governance. The results offer valuable policy implications for China and other developing countries adopting multi-agency food safety regulation.

This research demonstrates that the effectiveness of public-public collaboration for food safety risk management is significantly influenced by legislative actions, strong administrative enforcement, and a supportive social environment. The professionalism of involved agencies and clear legal frameworks are critical. Future research should broaden the geographical scope, address potential overlaps between factors, and delve into the causal mechanisms linking these factors to governance effectiveness.

The study's conclusions are based on a questionnaire survey in two provinces, limiting the generalizability of the findings to the whole of China. Potential overlaps among the 20 hypotheses and the use of a Likert scale with limited response options might also influence the results. The study primarily focuses on correlation, not causality, between factors and governance effectiveness. Further research is needed to address these limitations and explore the causal mechanisms in more detail.