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Sustainable management processes have undergone a shift from a top-down approach to a bottom-up approach. This bottom-up approach allows for a more apprehensive inclusion of stakeholders. In traditional hierarchical societies a combination of both is considered more desirable. This combination is described as a participatory approach that allows for bi-directional knowledge sharing. The question asked is whether this theoretical approach is viable in practice, taking into account different social, political and cultural influences. Qualitative research in bi-directional knowledge sharing and stakeholder participation in Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) was conducted in the provinces of Thua Thien Hue in Vietnam. Qualitative research was conducted using coding analysis. This analysis showed that in practice a great reluctance for change affects the implementation of ICZM. This reluctance is directly related to the level of power of stakeholders and the level to which stakeholders are embedded in the topdown tradition. Two contradicting results emerged. On the one hand the theoretical understanding of participatory ICZM is highest when reluctance for change is highest and vice versa. On the other hand a decrease in power results in an increase of the sustainability of the implementation of participatory ICZM. This research concluded that a 'platform or structure' is essential to achieve sustainability. In the Vietnamese context the tradition of power results in a platform which is both formal and non-formal. A non-formal platform is needed to create social capital, whereas a formal platform will limit the risk for arbitrariness and allow for institutionalisation. ª 2015 Institution for Marine and Island Cultures, Mokpo National University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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Nuclear emergencies confront decision‐makers, emergency actors and publics with several challenges, many of which are related to social, ethical and communication aspects. Based on empirical data from three European countries, this paper investigates citizens' potential behaviour in an emergency situation. It analyses relationships between self‐assessed compliance with protective actions and a number of variables, including knowledge about protective actions, trustworthiness of communicators, perceived social norm (expectation of other residents' behaviour), perceived effectiveness and perceived difficulty of protective actions. Results suggest that most respondents expect to follow actions advised by authorities, except for leaving children at school or avoiding the use of phones. Moreover, large fractions of local and wider publics may seek to avoid risks by rejecting food produced in affected areas even when it satisfies legal norms or taking iodine tablets when not needed. Self‐assessed compliance with protective actions is positively correlated with perceived social norm, perceived effectiveness and compliance with other actions; and negatively correlated with perceived difficulty. Higher trust in the regulator is associated with higher compliance with some actions, but mostly among the local populations. We argue that clarifying and anticipating societal concerns contributes to enhancing societal resilience and the response to nuclear accidents.