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Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony
... While existing research has illustrated the organizational constraints to ethical AI, especially intra-organizational dynamics, less is known about how the inter-organizational or field-level dynamics shape firms' capacity to develop ethical approaches. The fieldlevel, i.e., "institutional" dynamics and market-based pressures that impact an organization's chances of survival inevitably alter the structures and practices firms adopt [13,37,45,54]. By behaving in ways that conform with institutional expectations, emerging organizations can improve their social and cultural fitness; however, institutional expectations sometimes conflict with each other and also with economic pressures. ...
... The theory of institutionalism looks at the "macro" level, foregrounding patterns taking place at the level of entire organizational fields or social orders. Institutionalism focuses on unconscious social and cultural expectations, contending that these influences lead to widespread changes in multiple organizations, shaping fields of industry [13,37,71,78]. A critical component of institutional theory examines how new organizations establish legitimacy, where their actions are perceived as "desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions" [62]. ...
... Institutional theorists posit that emerging organizations can bolster their own legitimacy by adopting the values, structures, and practices of established organizations [13,37]. That is, organizations can improve their chances of survival by mimicking what incumbent organizations already do. ...
... The institutional perspective on international business organizations has shown that applying core institutional constructs of institutional demand and legitimacy (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983;Meyer & Rowan, 1977;Suchman, 1995) significantly contributes to our understanding of the global orientation of organizations with respect to their business activities (Busenitz, Gómez, & Spencer, 2000;Kostova & Roth, 2002;Kostova et al., 2008;Kostova & Zaheer, 1999). This contribution is achieved by complementing research that has provided an explanation of the international expansion of organizations and their activities based on functional grounds such as organizational structure (Calof, 1994;McDougall et al., 1994), internal resources and capacities (Crick & Spence, 2005;Dunning, 1980;Westhead, Wright, & Ucbasaran, 2001), foreign market characteristics (Buckley & Casson, 1998;Dunning, 1980;Hill & Kim, 1988), knowledge of foreign markets (Johanson & Vahlne, 1977, 1990, and the transformation of markets or technologies (Andersson, Gabrielsson, & Wictor, 2004;Luo & Tung, 2007). ...
... A strong focus of the institutional perspective on international business organizations is the investigation of the impact of institutional traditions within national contexts on business activities. One argument in this context is that institutional traditions within national contexts exert demands on organizations to adopt practices in conformity with environmental expectations (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983;Meyer & Rowan, 1977). For example, Lu (2002) found that, corporations used entry modes similar to those of earlier entrants within the same national context. ...
... Other studies provided comparable results within the context of quality practices (Kostova & Roth, 2002) or organizational development techniques (Lau & Ngo, 2001). Past research has also highlighted that conformance to institutional traditions helps organizations achieve legitimacy within these national contexts (Kostova & Zaheer, 1999;Meyer & Rowan, 1977;Suchman, 1995). Accordingly, various studies have suggested that organizations entering THE GLOBAL ORIENTATION OF ORGANIZATIONS 6 a new national context generally experience a lower degree of legitimacy in relation to local organizations and thus need to acquire legitimacy over time (Mezias, 2002;Zaheer & Mosakowski, 1997). ...
Most institutional studies have conceptualized institutions within the borders of national contexts as relevant to the global orientation of organizations. The world society approach in institutional theory, however, highlights the existence of a global institutional realm (i.e., driven by a process of cultural rationalization) and proposes that as a consequence of both global and national institutional demands, organizations are constructed as actors with global identities-the orientation of an organization toward the world or away from it. We argue that the global identity of organizations varies with the national institutional traditions within which organizations originate, the exposure of organizations to various instantiations of cultural rationalization within national contexts, and the extent to which organizations are governed by traditional forms of authority (i.e., family, nation-state). We tested our hypotheses empirically, using data from 366 corporations listed in major stock indices in 22 countries around the globe. The empirical results support our argument.
... NIS is concerned with social processes through which social structures, including rules, routines and norms become institutions or established as taken-for-granted ways of thinking and acting (Meyer and Rowan, 1977;Scott, 2001). Institutional theory deals with social processes as well as their outcomes. ...
... The former are referred to as institutionalization, which is described by authors as a social process through which social behaviours or practices become sufficiently regular and automatic as a result of relatively self-activating social processes (Philips et al., 2004). NIS proposes that institutions are constructed through social processes in the course of human interaction (Meyer and Rowan, 1977). Hence the understanding of institutionalisation requires investigation on the way patterns of social interactions develop into institutions (Philips et al., 2004). ...
... Institutionalisation is generally described as a social process, through which social structures such as rules, routines, and norms, are established as taken for granted ways of thinking and acting (Meyer and Rowan, 1977;Scott, 2001). Institutional theorists view institutionalisation as a variable property, in the sense that the degree to which behaviours, actions, and practices are institutionalised might vary from low to high (Zucker, 1977;Mayer and Rowan, 1977;Scott, 2001;Phillips et al., 2004). ...
p>This thesis explores the role of accounting in accountability and governance in local governments in Tanzania. The purpose is to develop a theory from data related to the phenomena. Prior research has suggested that accountability and governance are subject to different meanings (Sinclair, 1995; Edwards, 2002). Hence an interpretive methodology was adopted and grounded theory procedures (Strauss and Corbin, 1990, 1998) were employed in gathering and analyzing data. The construction of theory concerning the phenomena was driven by data rather than a priori theory.
The emergent substantive grounded theory proposes that the phenomena involve interplay between accounting and the participants’ perceptions of roles in accountability and governance interactions. Also of importance were perceptions of utawala and uwajibikaji held by the participants and the nature of the relationships between these groups.
The research involved two local governments in Tanzania and five groups of local government stakeholders: councillors, local and central government executives, external auditors, and members of a parliamentary committee. Data was gathered through interviews, document review and passive participant observation over a period of seven months in two different phases. The initial field study was conducted from August to December 2003 and the final one from January to February 2005.
The key contributions of this thesis are firstly, an extension of grounded theory accounting research on accountability and governance in an unexplored social setting. Secondly, it proposes that the phenomena of accounting, accountability and governance involve interplay between accounting and the institutionalization of accountability and governance. The thesis identifies factors and social processes influencing such institutionalisation processes. Thus it contributes to the emerging literature on accounting and institutionalisation processes (Dillard et al., 2004). Finally, the research proposes that governance structures create dynamic and complex roles and relationships between different stakeholders and that the real roles played by different stakeholder groups constitute the essence of governance.</p
... The chapter illustrates that accounting practices are implicated in legitimating organisations to external stakeholders because accounting functions were geared largely towards portraying images of organisations as competent entities that employed modem management practices that the society perceives as important. In line with institutional theorists (Meyer and Rowan, 1977;Meyer and Rowan, 1991;Powell and DiMaggio, 1991) organisations were responding to societal dynamics that desired a role for accounting. Similarly important was the use of expert services such as auditors and management consultants in enhancing organisational legitimacy. ...
... This emerging thesis in the substantive theory -that organisations incorporated sound accounting practices as legitimating devices echoes theoretical ideas brought forth in the institutional theory tradition (Meyer and Rowan, 1977;Meyer and Rowan, 1991;Powell and DiMaggio, 1991 Noteworthy is the observation that accounting changes had not resulted in making accounting important in internal decision processes. The installation of a computerised accounting system at AIKA for example ought to have made easier the accumulation and analyses of programme costs. ...
... Accounting functions were geared largely towards portraying images of organisations as competent entities that employed modem management practices that society perceives as important. In line with institutional theorists (Meyer and Rowan, 1977;Meyer and Rowan, 1991;Powell and DiMaggio, 1991) organisations were responding to societal dynamics that desired a role for accounting. ...
p>This research investigates the phenomenon of accounting in non-governmental organisations (NGOs). It seeks to understand accounting processes and reporting practices in NGOs and conditions that sustain those processes and practices. NGOs have become important institutions in world affairs but accounting research has not developed interest in their operations. Premised on an interpretive theoretical orientation this research executes a grounded theory strategy as the principal line of inquiry (Strauss and Corbin, 1990; 1998). However, since stakeholder relationships are important dimensions in NGOs, a stakeholder analysis framework (Mitchell et al., 1997) was also employed. Fieldwork was undertaken from June 1999 to October 2000 in three Tanzanian NGOs.
The research established the importance of accounting in the process of seeking, attaining and maintaining organisational legitimacy. Accounting communicated activities and scale of resource need and was the formal channel for justifying resource utilisation, but it was also an important legitimating catalyst because it symbolised organisational competence. When perceived to be adequate accounting enhanced organisational legitimacy. Increased availability of easily accessible donor funds; a weak and outdated regulatory regime; effects of stakeholder stature, organisational growth, conflicts; organisational credibility; the strength of cultural orientation; and the state of trust relationships emerged as other important conditions that facilitated or constrained the processes of navigating legitimacy.
The research contributes to interpretive accounting research by providing incremental evidence of previously observed phenomena but from organisational forms that have not been studied previously. It observes accounting to be intertwined with intra-organisational dynamics as well as inter-organisational dynamics that arise from interactions with, and meeting demands, or stakeholders. The research underscores the centrality of trust to organisational accountability and suggests that the relationship between accounting and trust is a multi dimensional one. Whereas accuracy, integrity, frequency, and coverage of accounting information affect levels of trust, the depth of trust relationships similarly influences the burden of accounting.</p
... Danach werden die möglichen Auswirkungen dieser E-Government-Mythen auf das Verwaltungshandeln im Kontext der digitalen Transformation und unter Berücksichtigung mimetischer Isomorphieprozesse (vgl. DiMaggio & Powell, 1983;Meyer & Rowan, 1977) reflektiert. Ausgehend von diesen Überlegungen schliesst der Beitrag mit Handlungsempfehlungen für die Verwaltungspraxis. ...
... Zahlreiche Arbeiten haben in der Vergangenheit gezeigt, dass Mythen, verstanden als Kommunikation in symbolischer Form (Cassirer, 1924), für öffentliche Organisationen und deren Strategieentwicklungen eine wichtige Rolle spielen (Barner et al., 2003;Cassirer, 1985;Edelman, 1964;Flood, 1996;Meyer & Rowan, 1977;Mosco, 2005;Münch, 2016). Bevor nun auf das Verhältnis zwischen Mythos und E-Government näher eingegangen werden kann, gilt es, die Frage zu klären, was den ein Mythos ist bzw. ...
... Auch Berger & Luckmann, 1969;Searle, 1995;Watzlawick, 1976) und diese Konstruktion orientiert sich unter anderem an den institutionalisierten Erwartungshaltungen und Rationalitätsmythen innerhalb der gesellschaftlichen bzw. sozialen Umwelt (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983;Meyer & Rowan, 1977;Scott, 2004). Als Mechanismus für die Durchsetzung dieser normierenden und konstitutiven Regeln sei hier insbesondere auf den coervice isomorphism hingewiesen (vgl. ...
Der Mythos ist eine symbolische Form, die Komplexität in erhabene Eindeutigkeit hüllt. Die digitale Transformation der öffentlichen Verwaltung geht teils von Annahmen aus, die solch mythischen Narrativen gleichen. In diesem Kapitel werden vier dieser Mythen eingängig reflektiert. Mit Hilfe einer Diskursnetzwerkanalyse wird aufgezeigt, dass diese vier Mythen auch im Schweizer Diskurs lebendig sind und insbesondere politische und verwaltungsnahe Akteure diese mythischen Narrative in die Öffentlichkeit tragen. Unter Beachtung mimetischer Isomorphieprozesse wird dargelegt, welche Bedeutung diese E-Government-Mythen für die Digitale Verwaltung haben. Das so geschaffene Bewusstsein für Mythen und deren Wirkmacht soll die Verantwortlichen für staatliche Digitalisierungsvorhaben dabei unterstützen, tradierte Strategien und routinierte Vorgehensweisen kritisch zu hinterfragen und vermeintliche Eindeutigkeit in tatsächliche Mehrdeutigkeit zu transformieren.
... La pression c'est enfin une force qui oblige l'organisation à engager des changements dans ses pratiques et/ou outils de gestion. Selon Meyer et Rowan, (1977), DiMaggio et Powell, (1983), les organisations sont soumises à diverses sortes de pressions de leur environnement externe non pas pour la recherche d'efficacité mais plutôt pour la recherche de la légitimité. Ainsi, Bollecker ...
... La décentralisation est un processus qui a débuté pendant la période coloniale avec la création En initiant toutes ces lois qui vont régir l'organisation et le fonctionnement des communes béninoises, l'Etat, consciemment ou inconsciemment, joue son rôle d'institution c'est-à-dire une source de pression sur les communes au regard de la théorie néo-institutionnelle selon Meyer et Rowan (1977) et DiMaggio et Powell, (1983 République du Bénin, « l'administration territoriale de l'État s'exerce dans le cadre du département ». Le département en tant que circonscription administrative, ne jouit ni de la personnalité juridique, ni de l'autonomie financière. ...
... Il ressort de ce qui précède que l'environnement institutionnel influence la structure des organisations qui finissent par adopter des pratiques et des normes généralement acceptées par tous. PourMeyer et Rowan (1977),DiMaggio et Powell (1983), c'est cette tendance à la normalisation et à la standardisation des pratiques qui est au coeur de la théorie néo-institutionnelle. Toutefois, le fait pour les organisations de se conformer aux normes socialement acceptées de tous n'est pas forcément lié à la recherche d'efficacité ou d'efficience mais surtout à mettre l'organisation en phase avec les exigences des autorités publiques d'une part et l'environnement socio-économique où règne le culte de la raison d'autre part : c'est la recherche de légitimité. Ainsi par exemple, les entreprises qui essaient de respecter les normes environnementales définies par l'Etat et les institutions internationales en général et celles qui respectent les normes de gestion des déchets informatiques en particulier sont à la recherche de plus de légitimité selon un ou plusieurs isomorphismes que de performance financière(Daoud et al. 2012). ...
Le Bénin, à l’instar de la plupart des pays africains, s’est engagé dans le processus de décentralisation suite à la conférence nationale des forces vives de la nation de février 1990. Les nouvelles communes, créées à la place des anciennes sous-préfectures, sont appelées à mettre en œuvre des compétences à elles dévolues avec pour finalité la démocratie locale et le développement à la base. Mais pour certains auteurs comme Vigoda-Gadot et al (2018) et Chitou (2013), les administrations publiques (Etat, entreprises publiques) sont généralement mal gérées et affichent des contre-performances récurrentes. La question qui se pose est de savoir si les nouvelles communes béninoises qui sont aussi des structures publiques peuvent faire exception à ce constat général de mauvaise qualité de la gestion des administrations publiques.L’objectif principal de cette étude est d’identifier les principaux déterminants de la qualité de la gestion des communes au Bénin. La démarche méthodologique est basée sur les modèles économétriques avec des données en panel à travers le logiciel STATA d’une part et la méthode d’évaluation des performances dénommée Data Enveloppement Analysis (DEA) d’autre part. En particulier, le modèle DEA a permis de mesurer les efficiences techniques globale, pure et d’échelle afin d’en faire un lien avec la qualité de la gestion des communes. Aux termes de l’étude, les résultats obtenus se présentent comme suit :- l’efficacité dans le fonctionnement des organes de gouvernance, la qualité des outils de gestion et la qualité du système d’information influencent positivement et significativement la qualité de la gestion;- les résultats montrent qu’il existe une relation entre l’efficience et la qualité de la gestion. Le score d’efficience technique globale influence positivement et significativement la qualité de la gestion lorsqu’il est dessus des seuils qui varient de 76,4% à 82,9% en fonction des modèles estimés. En dessous de ces seuils, l’efficience technique globale influence négativement la qualité de la gestion
... Explanations of noncompliance with external rules rely on "institutional theory," claiming that organizations comply with normative environmental elements in an attempt to secure legitimacy and support (Meyer and Rowan 1977;DiMaggio and Powell 1983;Durand et al. 2019). The main assumption here is that organizations operate under conditions of "institutional pluralism" in which they face multiple and competing institutional demands and pressures (Pache and Santos 2010;Okhmatovskiy and David 2012). ...
... Another normative form of noncompliance with external rules is "decoupling," first discussed by Meyer and Rowan (1977). This suggests that organizations create "myths and ceremonies" to appease external audiences such as regulatory agencies. ...
Noncompliance -- a critical aspect of organizational life -- fits into the core of many social science disciplines. However, to date, the diverse knowledge on the subject has not been integrated. This article provides a systematic review of existing interdisciplinary scholarship on social and organizational factors of noncompliance. Using a grounded theory approach, we elaborate a generic conceptual framework that includes a basic classification scheme to better understand the opportunity factors that make this behavior possible and a six-cell typology to capture the essential features of the motivations for noncompliance within organizations. The two main components of the opportunity structure can be classified as organizational-structural factors and regulator-related factors. Considering the motivation of noncompliant actors, the study presents three major perspective categories: utilitarian, normative, and relational approaches. The other critical dimension along which most studies explain noncompliance is the rule systems with which actors can be noncompliant. There are internal rules -- policies and procedures developed internally by an organization, and external rules -- general laws and regulations mandated by external governing authorities.
... This means standard setters can plan an effective course of action (Hoornbeek & Peters, 2017;Van den Bosch, Volberda, & Den Boer, 1999), which identifies complete, targeted, and well-enforced measures (Bernstein, 2017) without overlooking relevant aspects (Ocasio, 1997(Ocasio, , 2011, indirect effects (Sterman, 2001), or with the need to tailor for local idiosyncrasies (Timmermans & Epstein, 2010). They share equal and complete information, precluding the possibility of policy-practice decoupling in the form of opportunistic behavior when standard setters and adopters pursue incompatible goals (Meyer & Rowan, 1977). ...
... These measures target mainly the challenges related to systemic opacity and do not fully acknowledge or prescribe advice regarding the challenges of behaviorally opaque issues, which call for rigidity. Behavioral opacity involves the risk of undesired behavior when standard setters and adopters have incompatible interests, driving standard setters to apply a "control logic" (Auld et al., 2015) that recouples policies and practices (Meyer & Rowan, 1977). Our distinction thus helps fill this gap, and has important repercussions for the effectiveness of sustainability standards addressing opaque issues. ...
Many voluntary sustainability standards govern opaque environmental and social issues, which are difficult to understand and address. Extant studies show mixed evidence around the effectiveness of such standards. We develop a theoretical framework that relates different degrees and types of opacity to standard effectiveness. Systemic opacity results from issues embedded in complex, diverse, and dynamic settings, whereas behavioral opacity stems from human challenges in interpreting and acting upon focal issues. Rigid sustainability standards, oriented toward compliance, are effective for addressing issues that are transparent or enshrouded by behavioral opacity, but are counterproductive for issues with systemic opacity. The trade‐off between rigidity and flexibility leads to optimal effectiveness when standards governing systemically and behaviorally opaque issues are moderately rigid. Our ideas are illustrated with two leading sustainability standards in the fisheries and real estate sectors, which effectively address transparent issues but show limited success when facing opacity. We conclude that unpacking issue opacity is instrumental in designing and implementing more effective sustainability standards.
... But their leadership roles are those 'of educator, stimulating and accepting changing worldviews, redefining meanings, and exciting commitments' (March and Olsen, 1989, p. 163). In doing so, symbols are considered useful to change their attitudes and beliefs toward the values attached to reform programmes (Meyer and Rowan, 1977). ...
... Thus, March and Olsen agreed with the contention that bureaucratic reorganisation is 'expressions of social values' (p. 289), as claimed by Miles (1977), Seidman (1980), and Meyer and Rowan (1977). To this, March and Olsen added that expressing their frustration with the bureaucracy and announcing reforms are essential for political leaders to demonstrate their leadership through the development of future vision, assure the public of immediate action, and reaffirm their confidence that they can run government. ...
The type of government, whether the cabinet is a single-party majority, multiparty coalition, or minority, is often claimed to be one important factor affecting the shape of bureaucratic reform. Masashi’s research investigates empirically whether this statement can be applied to the case of New Zealand, where government type has shifted from majoritarian to consensual since the introduction of the MMP electoral system in the mid-1990s. Through the investigation of impacts of differences in cabinet type on government organisational restructuring, Masashi’s research has shown that New Zealand did not follow the commonly stated pattern in the relationship.
... In summary, the above may determine the extent to which idiosyncratic and local meso-level institutions influence the structuring of MCSs at the startup level. 8 In using the institutional lens described, we model any institutional influence exerted by a community on its members in three mediating mechanisms (Kim et al. 2016;Marquis and Battilana 2009;Scott 2014;Zimmerman and Zeitz 2002) which may all result in respective isomorphic tendencies making entrepreneurial practices increasingly homogenous (Meyer and Rowan 1977;DiMaggio and Powell 1983): (1) Regulative mechanisms, which comprise formal rules, incentives, and sanctions that may impose constraints on action or force organizations to adopt specific managerial practices (coercive isomorphism); (2) Normative mechanisms, which "introduce a prescriptive, evaluative and obligatory dimension" (Scott 2014, p. 64) through which organizations conform to others' expectations for their approval; values and norms explain what is appropriate which means that organizations may adopt 8 For ecosystems, the literature has established that the Silicon Valley is in many ways the ideal archetype copied many times since (e.g., 'Silicon Alley' in New York, 'Silicon-sur-Seine' in Paris, or 'Silicon Wadi' in Israel) (Hospers et al. 2009). Also the US venture capital (VC) industry was copied many times (Bruton et al. 2005). ...
... Thus, we address a paradox in that whilst one would expect startups to be different from each other given their focus on innovation, we actually find remarkable commonalities in their managerial practices. And here, we find an absence of typical responses like resistance or ceremonial adoption in particular to coercive institutional pressures (Meyer and Rowan 1977). ...
Entrepreneurial ecosystems play a key role in the development of startups by not only providing support—such as flexible office space and access to skilled employees, mentors, and investors—but moreover by promoting concrete ideals about “good” entrepreneurship. However, we know less about the role that ecosystems play for managerial practices of startups. In our empirical analysis of management control systems (MCSs) in earliest‐stage startups, we witness a strong influence of entrepreneurial ideals, above all the Lean Startup philosophy, on the MCSs analyzed. Building on cross‐sectional field study data resulting from a comprehensive field‐immersion strategy and 50 interviews with key actors in an entrepreneurial ecosystem as well as with founder‐managers of startups, we consider the entrepreneurial ecosystem as a collective meso‐level community that mediates between macro‐level institutional pressures and micro‐level practices of startups. We show how this community, through a variety of what we term amplifying mechanisms, actively deinstitutionalizes a legacy entrepreneurial philosophy epitomized by the business plan concept. At the same time, the community propagates the Lean Startup philosophy so that this alternative has become the dominant institutional philosophy in the studied ecosystem and its startups. Due to the amplifying mechanisms exerted by the meso‐level, startups use MCSs that play a crucial role in the rapid experimentation and learning process towards finding a scalable business model that is characteristic of the Lean Startup philosophy. We highlight that this philosophy of scientific experimentation has, to a significant degree, transformed intuitive entrepreneurial processes into a set of transactions which can be steered and accelerated by MCSs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... Organizational institutionalism (OI) acknowledges that the firm is embedded within a social context that influences its behavior, performance and survival (Meyer & Rowan, 1977;Scott, 2008). The MNE is embedded in multiple social contexts (Saka-Helmhout, Deeg, & Greenwood, 2016), and MNE subsidiaries are dually embedded in their local and MNE environments (Andersson & Forsgren, 1996;Oehmichen & Puck, 2016). ...
... According to OI, MNEs face a liability of foreignness (Coviello, Kano, & Liesch, 2017;Johanson & Vahlne, 1977) which complicates embedding and legitimation, threatening firm survival through resource attraction problems and performance decline. The institutional forces influencing firms are divided into regulatory (responding to coercive pressures), cognitive (inducing imitation of exemplars) and normative (conforming to widely accepted practices) (Meyer & Rowan, 1977;Scott, 2008). ...
Institutional differences between countries influence strategic choices and performance of international businesses, but the unintended effects of legal institutions on firm legitimacy have received less attention. We argue that, while minority shareholder rights protection in an investment location does not directly protect shareholder interests abroad, the normative and mimetic effects it has on host country managers can mitigate agency problems. Using Japanese FDI established between 1986 and 2013 we find that (a) subsidiaries established in host countries with higher shareholder rights protection employ a smaller proportion of Japanese expatriates, (b) shareholder rights protection enhances a country’s FDI attractiveness, and (c) that the impacts of shareholder rights protection on expatriate ratio and location attractiveness are stronger when firm ownership is concentrated among exchange-listed firms. This research contributes to the literature on institutional difference in international business, in particular by highlighting the value of studying the imprinting effects of regulations.
... By broadening the focus on (the lack of) linkages between multiple government policies and clusters of routines in schools, our research aims to resemble daily reality in schools more closely. After all, the fact that schools operate in an environment with multiple, often contradictory policy demands is long considered a prime reason why schools put buffers in place to ensure continuity in core processes of teaching and learning in classrooms (Meyer & Rowan, 1977;Weick, 1976). The big lesson from research on sustainable change in schools is that it calls for a comprehensive approach because school practices are highly intertwined (Desimone, 2002;Hill et al., 2022). ...
This paper develops a new, broader, and more realistic lens to study (lacking) linkages between government policy and school practices. Drawing on recent work in organization theory, we advance notions on cluster of organization routines and the logic of complementarities underlying organizational change. This lens allows looking at how schools do (not) change a cluster of organization routines in response to multiple, simultaneous demands posed by government policies. Thirteen purposively selected Dutch secondary schools responding to three central government policies calling for concurrent change were analyzed, taking the schedule of a school as an exemplary case of a cluster of organization routines. Five distinct responses were distinguished, which can be sorted according to their impact on the whole organization. The study finds that ten of the thirteen schools did not change anything in response to at least one of the three policies we studied. However, all schools changed their cluster of organization routines, which impacted the whole organization in response to at least one of the three government policies. Therefore, looking at combinations of responses and considering the impact of change on school organizations qualifies ideas about schools being resistant to policy or unwilling to change and improve.
... Die Literatur der beiden erwähnten Pfade der empirischen Kulturforschung bezieht in der Regel zwei Analyseebenen ein, welche auf die neo-institutionalistische Organisationstheorie zurückgehen (DiMaggio und Powell 1983;Meyer und Rowan 1977;Powell und DiMaggio 1991): die Organisationsebene (das jeweilige Theater) und die Ebene des Organisationsfeldes (alle untersuchten Theater), in das die jeweilige Organisation eingebettet ist. Wir orientieren uns ebenfalls an diesen beiden K Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. ...
Zusammenfassung
Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die kulturelle Innovationstätigkeit staatlicher deutscher Theater am Beispiel des bevölkerungsreichsten Bundeslandes Nordrhein-Westfalen (NRW). Während bisherige Diagnosen, einschließlich die sozialstrukturell geprägte Publikumsforschung, die Nachfrageseite in den Mittelpunkt stellen und dabei vor allem den stetigen Rückgang und die Alterung des Publikums diagnostizieren, geht unsere Analyse auf die Angebotsseite ein, insbesondere die Zahl von Ur- und Erstaufführungen und ihre Übernahme ins Repertoire. Der Beitrag zeigt, dass die bisherigen Anstrengungen der kommunalen und landeseigenen Theater, die Anzahl der Spielstätten und der dort aufgeführten Stücke zu erhöhen, nicht ausgereicht haben, um den Rückgang des Publikums zu stabilisieren. Gleichzeitig werden nur wenige neue Stücke auf den Spielplan gesetzt, von welchen sich noch weniger langfristig im Repertoire etablieren können. Unseren Ergebnissen zufolge wird der Theatersektor seine Erneuerungsfähigkeit nur sichern können, wenn eine Verschiebung hin zu deutlich mehr neuen Stücken erfolgt, die neues Publikum anziehen. Ein für Erneuerung grundsätzlich günstiger institutioneller Kontext ist der dezentrale Wettbewerb, der den Theatersektor in NRW prägt.
... Recognized as a professional management tool in higher education (Hardy et al. 1983), strategic plans play an important role both in decision-making and, furthermore, in the internal legitimation of various ideas and rationales inside the academic community. The transformation of universities into institutional environments and instruments of public media also questioned their external legitimacy (Meyer and Rowan 1977) and demanded another type of strategic positioning, reflecting upon the relationship between the internal community and the self-representation of the university in the wider society (Drori and Honig 2013). As a strong external reputational force for universities from different status groups, global rankings became an important mechanism for constructing an organization's status (Brankovic 2019) and it is currently hard to ignore them in the process of strategic planning (Altbach 2016). ...
The Ambivalence of Power in the Twenty-First Century Economy contributes to the understanding of the ambivalent nature of power, oscillating between conflict and cooperation, public and private, global and local, formal and informal, and does so from an empirical perspective. It offers a collection of country-based cases, as well as critically assesses the existing conceptions of power from a cross-disciplinary perspective. The diverse analyses of power at the macro, meso or micro levels allow the volume to highlight the complexity of political economy in the twenty-first century. Each chapter addresses key elements of that political economy (from the ambivalence of the cases of former communist countries that do not conform with the grand narratives about democracy and markets, to the dual utility of new technologies such as face-recognition), thus providing mounting evidence for the centrality of an understanding of ambivalence in the analysis of power, especially in the modern state power-driven capitalism. Anchored in economic sociology and political economy, this volume aims to make ‘visible’ the dimensions of power embedded in economic practices. The chapters are predominantly based on post-communist practices, but this divergent experience is relevant to comparative studies of how power and economy are interrelated.
... Before we can consider schools as critical nodes in the creation of a democratic society, it is helpful to view them as fully human organizations guided less by ideals and more by the norms, rituals, and beliefs of dominant groups. Phrased another way, schools are institutions shaped by power that encode biases beneath the surface and work to reinforce long standing interests (Delpit, 2006;Meyer & Rowan, 1977;Nieto & Bode, 2018). And, while there are many examples of excellent teachers who work to connect with and empower their students (Howard, 2001;Ladson-Billings, 2009), a rich body of literature has chronicled the ways the cultural dynamics in schools consistently marginalize students of color (Carter, 2005;Ferguson, 2000;Hammond, 2015;Nolan, 2011). ...
How can elementary social studies methods courses prepare elementary teachers to offer the kinds of social studies instruction that support democracy? To answer this question, we draw on survey data, syllabi, and interview data collected from a regional sample of methods instructors. We view our data through the lens of five qualities of social studies identified by the National Council of Social Studies as supporting democracy: Social studies experiences for elementary students should be meaningful, value-based, integrative, challenging, and active (NCSS, 2017). Using these qualities as lenses, we identify and share four cases to show that—and how—elementary social studies methods courses can prepare teachers to instantiate these qualities in their work with elementary students. We call on elementary social studies methods instructors to engage in joint work, self-study, and greater use of extant documents pointing us towards the kinds of social studies that supports participatory democracy.
... The classic view defines institutions as "the rules of the game in a society", formal or informal, generally consisting of rules, norms and beliefs (North, 1990, p. 3). Institutions place pressure on organisations, which change their strategies and activities because they can be more efficient than others and seek to gain legitimacy in the market (Dimaggio and Powell, 1983;Meyer and Rowan, 1977). Organisations should adapt to these institutional expectations to be recognised and legitimised by society (Dimaggio and Powell, 1983). ...
Institutional change has been identified as inherent to social innovation proposals, especially in developing contexts. However, it is still unclear how these changes occur in the social innovation process. Therefore, our study seeks to answer the following research question: How do attempts at institutional change occur in the social innovation process in an emerging context? We use the qualitative approach to investigate two Brazilian social innovation cases striving to change the institutional environment in which they operate. Our data reveals that institutional change may be necessary before the scalability stage of the social innovation process. We suggest that this finding is related to the developing context, which requires social entrepreneurs and their teams to break institutional barriers to expand their social innovation initiatives. We have also identified some mechanisms used for the attempts to institutional changes: cwompetition with government organisations, influence in formulating laws, and support for the market growth and the entry of new participants.
... DiMaggio and Powell (1983) define three institutional pressures on organizations leading to isomorphic change: (1) coercive pressure exerted from state actors, (2) mimetic pressure that drives firms to adopt the characteristics of other organizations, and (3) normative pressure by and within firms (e.g., via associations and professionalization). An organization striving for legitimacy might encounter conflicts of interest (Meyer & Rowan, 1977). Firms from emerging and frontier markets may face pressure to legitimize themselves by conforming to unrealistic requirements (Khanna & Palepu, 1997). ...
How to achieve sustainable communities with decent work and economic growth without negative environmental impact, is at the heart of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and a top priority of many governments around the world. This article critically explores the role of government intervention for achieving sustainable local prosperity in frontier markets of developing countries, where such advancement is especially crucial. More specifically, we explore by an in-depth case study how multiple stakeholders cooperate to enhance local development and export from firms in the leather and leather products industry in Ethiopia. From a multistakeholder engagement perspective, including representatives of local businesses, United Nations, Ministry of Trade and Industry, and other development partners, we analyze how government interventions have resulted in unintended outcomes despite their good intention. We contribute with a new understanding of why development initiatives in frontier markets struggle with stakeholder integration, caused by power asymmetry and lack of institutional trust which prevents the achievements of sustainable development goals. Contextualized implications for firms, government, and non-governmental actors on how to improve collaboration are provided, and policy implications are proposed.
... However, key to Ellul's thinking around technique is that it relentlessly subverts all values in the aspiration of a monolithic world culture. It does so by buttressing formal rationality as a dominant value and mode of conduct in social and economic life (Meyer & Rowan, 1977;Simon, 1978;Thompson, 1967). In so doing, other values are increasingly suppressed. ...
We review Jacques Ellul’s book The Technological Society to highlight ‘technique’ – the book’s central phenomenon – and its theoretical relevance for organizational and institutional theorists. Technique is defined as “the totality of methods rationally arrived at and having absolute efficiency . . . in every field of human activity” in society (1964: xxv, italics added). More than simply ‘machine technology’, technique involves the rational pursuit of standardized means or practices for attaining predetermined results. What makes Ellul both unique and relevant for organizational and institutional theorists is his historical analysis delineating the characteristics of, and the processes through which, technique has evolved into an autonomic and agentic force. We build on and mobilize Ellul’s analysis to explore two aims in this essay. First, we aim to illuminate the process through which technique transforms values – a process we describe as the mechanization of values in organizations and institutions. Second, we identify the consequences of value mechanization for organizational scholarship. We discuss the wider ramifications of Ellul’s work for management theory, practise, and education.
... A number of IB scholars have analyzed the managerial challenges associated with the transfer of practices from 'here' to 'there' (Kostova, 1999;Kostova & Roth, 2002). Rooted in Meyer and Rowan's (1977) observation that contextual differences may result in incompatible pressures, the MNC is the example of a firm that has to manage ''incompatible prescriptions from multiple institutional logics'' (Greenwood et al, 2011: 317), especially when transferring capabilities across markets and countries (Foss & Pedersen, 2002;Kogut & Zander, 1993). Practices considered legitimate and/ or efficient in one context may not be considered to be so in another (Fiss & Zajac, 2004). ...
The field of international business (IB) has been successful in developing a unique body of knowledge on the multinational corporation and on country-level contexts. A recurring debate concerns its claim to uniqueness, and to associated scholarly characteristics that distinguish IB from other fields of research. I discuss what makes IB research unique by looking at what IB theory can explain and predict. To that end, I leverage key theoretical arguments and empirical insights to advance an understanding of IB centered around a firm’s ability to create added value in more than one location. I introduce a stylized model of the multi-locational firm embedded in multiple business systems characterized by equifinality. As a result of the qualitative disjunctures that separate one place from another, multi-locational firms are confronted with additional managerial and organizational challenges. These challenges are rooted in the process of “othering”. Theorizing on the critical constructs of place, space, and organization, I argue that IB offers the most generalizable approach to understanding firms doing business in more than one location. IB’s ultimate uniqueness lies in the potential of advancing a general theory of the firm in space.
... Organizational behavior theories posit that superficial conformity with social norms disconnects firms' real actions from their external facades (e.g., Meyer and Rowan 1977;Cho et al. 2015). The lack of standardization, transparency, and enforcement for ESG disclosures (Christensen et al. 2019;Grewal and Serafeim 2020) offers managers flexible reporting, increasing this disconnect. ...
We show that banks with high environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings issue fewer mortgages in poor localities—in number and dollar amount—than banks with low ESG ratings. This lending disparity happens at both the county and census tract level, worsens in disaster areas of severe hurricane strikes, is robust to alternative ESG ratings (including using only the social (S) component), and cannot be explained by banks’ differential deposit networks. We find no difference in mortgage default rates between high- and low-ESG banks, rejecting an alternative explanation based on differential credit screening quality. We report a complementary, not substitution, relation between high-ESG banks’ mortgage lending and their community development investments (like affordable housing projects) in poor localities. Loan-application-level analyses confirm that high-ESG banks are more likely than low-ESG banks to reject mortgage loans in poor neighborhoods. The evidence hints at social wash: banks deploy prosocial rhetoric and symbolic actions while not lending much in disadvantaged communities, the social function they arguably ought to perform. Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examinations partially undo the social wash effect.
... Firstly, we assume that social responsibility plays a key role and has been institutionalized in the values of a professional football club. As such, the aspect of social responsibility is an established "social fact" in football clubs and is taking into account when deciding what can be regarded as an appropriate action, however, the football can decide to which extent social responsibility is integrated into the club's values (Meyer and Rowan, 1977;Zucker, 1977). Secondly, we assume that, at a football club level, the organizational identity and its associated socially responsible actions are attributed directly to the football club's intention to maintain or gain legitimacy for their actions (Suchman, 1995). ...
Purpose-A perceived misalignment between socially responsible fans and football club management has recently led to a major crisis during the annual meeting in 2021 of Bayern Munich, one of the largest professional football teams in Europe. In an unprecedented scenario, Bayern Munich fans demanded that management drop one of its largest sponsors due to alleged violation of human rights. The goal of this paper is to examine this particular phenomenon, as it not only demonstrates a discrepancy between the social organizational identity and its image, but more importantly, how it impacts legitimation strategies and the fans' loyalty attitudes towards the club. Design/methodology/approach-Using the underlying concepts of legitimacy and loyalty, this conceptual model paper proposes two frameworks for social responsibility in professional football clubs: (1) analyzing how the (mis-)alignment between organizational identity and image impacts fan loyalty and (2) depicting four different types of social responsibility strategies to align organizational identity and image. Findings-The authors identify various theoretical concepts that influence organizational identity and image in and for social responsibility and combine the two critical concepts of legitimacy and loyalty to categorize the social responsibility strategies for professional football clubs. Originality/value-Both frameworks advance the understanding of the decision-making behind social responsibility strategies and also synthesize the current literature to offer conceptual clarity regarding the varied implications and outcomes linked to the misalignment between organizational identity and image.
... Another stream of research dedicated to implementation relies on institutional theory to explore whether and how CSR/SD policies are actually coupled to organizational practices (i.e. is much of CSR/SD just window-dressing or green-washing?). First, scholars leveraged Meyer and Rowan's (1977) seminal observation that organizations adopt organizational structures from their environment in order to enhance their legitimacy and comply with dominant "rationalized myths", even though there is no economic or technical rationale for doing so (and they never intend to actually change their practices). Research has since focused on more recent distinctions between various forms of decoupling, hybridization, loose-coupling or recoupling. ...
This report sets out to analyse the emergence and distinctive impact of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development (CSR/SD) functions and professionals within organizations. By evaluating the literature on this topic, it seeks to clarify how leveraging the already established CSR/SD functions and professionals across organizations can contribute to the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) objective of achieving a future of work that provides decent and sustainable work opportunities for all.
... or 'new' institutional cause ran parallel to this interest in social context and action (Meyer and Rowan, 1977;Zucker, 1977Zucker, , 1987. More recently, however, institutional research advocated an exogenous focus on structuralism and placed emphasis on homogeneity, fields and decoupling at the expense of notions including legitimacy and taken-for-grantedness, as implied in the previous chapter (DiMaggio andPowell, 1983, Scott andMeyer, 1994;Boxenbaum and Jonsson, 2008;Deephouse and Suchman, 2008;Wooten andHoffman, 2008, Suddaby, 2010). ...
... North (1990) posited that institutions are formal, and it is informal rules and norms that facilitate and guide societal co-operation. The institutional theory offers researchers the wider platform to interrogate why some practices are adopted in natural resource extraction by focusing on the economic prospects (Meyer and Rowan 1977). In spite of the fact that the overarching aim of the extractive sector is to leverage the economic outcomes, developing nations have had to battle with key strategies to extracting natural resources: projecting the economic gains while enhancing environmental quality (Tuokuu et al. 2019). ...
In Ghana, there is a consensus that all the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) degraded landscapes should be restored to ecologically functionable limits after the small-scale mining ban. Restoration of the mined degraded landscapes will replenish lost ecosystems and contribute to the socio-ecological wellbeing of the nearby communities. Despite the government’s effort to reclaim these degraded landscapes, the cost and resources involved make the agenda a forlorn hope. Yet, few studies have explored the local communities’ perspectives towards reclaiming the galamsey degraded landscapes. This study investigates the perspectives of the local dwellers concerning the environmental consequences, roles, and commitment towards reclaiming the galamsey degraded landscapes. A concurrent cross-sectional mixed methods design was employed in administering 342 household questionnaires across 14 communities, which was supported with key informant interviews. Results reveal that the majority of the dwellers of the galamsey communities showed little regard for the environmental destruction caused by the galamsey operations — reduction in quantity and quality of water resources (63.2%), compromised ambient air (60.8%), destruction of ancestral homes and sacred groves (57%), and modification of the entire landscape (54.4%). In light of these findings, we posit that the local communities’ dwellers have limited knowledge of the value of the environment and future consequences of the destruction caused by the mining activities. This calls for thorough environmental education and sensitization in artisanal and small-scale mining communities.
... This is often done through tales of good journalists (Hanitzsch and Vos, 2017). These good journalists in reality reflect institutional guidelines (Meyer and Rowan, 1977) and such myths distort interpretations of journalism, journalists and journalists' performance; hence, journalists attempt to reflect informal routines and guidelines from their institution as opposed to responding to the actual demands they see individually. ...
This study seeks to explore the motivations and labor of lifestyle, or “soft news,” journalists. Rooted in the lens of discursive institutionalism and through 30 interviews with lifestyle journalists in the United States, this study reflects on the aspirational labor—the opportunity to “do what you love”—that motivates entry into journalism but also can encourage disengagement. This study finds that while lifestyle journalists are motivated to enter the profession because of their own personal connection to the topic, their desire to be embedded in the topic and their love for the people in the genre, they also have to negotiate institutional expectations. Furthermore, lifestyle journalists seemed to reflect a sort of cognitive dissonance in their practices–while drawn to the idea they would never actually work, since they were embedded in their passion–in reality what many journalists described reflected that they had difficulty leaving work, given that even their passion had become work.
... Furthermore, highly institutionalized actions go beyond the discretion of individuals and firms and are considered as legitimate practices. These institutions have a reality of their own and create an external coercive force on individuals, which eventually shape organizational behaviors (Berger & Luckmann, 1966;Meyer & Rowan, 1977;Zucker, 1987). ...
The purpose of this study is to sketch the history of the Japanese CSR and put up the determinants of its unique institutional settings by following a semi-systematic literature review. Findings suggest that Japan has a rich history of environmental reporting. It is a code-low-based country where CSR-context is voluntary and is featured with flexible guidelines, social responsibility-based corporate philosophy and internally collaborative corporate culture; these attributes are positive for the growth of CSR in Japan. However, this growth could be halted due to excessive dependency on local guidelines; additional challenges for the Japanese CSRs are environmental-heavy disclosures, dwarfed social disclosures, information overload, overlooking ESG-based targets and less integration between the financial and non-financial parts of the CSR. This paper contributes by formulating an institutional framework dedicated to the understanding of Japanese CSRs' unique attributes; CSR-focused researchers and non-financial framework/standard setters are likely to draw value from this endeavor.
... Different logics are seen to encourage the development of different practices about audit materiality (Canning et al., 2019, p. 7). Indeed, when examining PwC's innovation toward more audit materiality disclosures, we expected that other firms' auditors respond and follow different institutional logics, the analysis of which providing a breadth to our theoretical coverage and enhancing the depth of this present study (Meyer & Rowan, 1977;Lounsbury, 2008). ...
Within the accounting profession, PwC has introduced innovative practices related to audit materiality disclosures, and subsequently, some other auditors have accepted and followed PwC’s voluntary disclosure policy in audit reports, whereas others have rejected it. In this study we report on why external auditors in Australia and New Zealand have developed different audit materiality disclosure practices. As such, we explore the interplay between competing institutional logics, to shed light on the ways in which audit disclosure practices differ. Our findings indicate that, in New Zealand, both Deloitte and KPMG have been influenced by stakeholders pressuring them to accept and then follow the new voluntary disclosure practice introduced by PwC. In Australia, however, there has been resistance towards voluntary audit materiality disclosures. We examine claims about the various risks surrounding these audit disclosure practices. The study conveys how the circulation of ideas in the audit domain is influenced by a quest for tangibility (of claims), as mediated by the interplay between institutional logics, which has led to differences between audit disclosure practices in Australia and New Zealand.
... Institutional theory suggests that firm actions are often driven by institutional pressures to build and maintain legitimacy in the eyes of the firm's stakeholders (DiMaggio and Powell 1983;Meyer and Rowan 1977). Therefore, firm actions are often in response to how the news media report about the firm and its decisions (Graf-Vlachy et al. 2020). ...
Does the news media's reporting of the safety (or the lack thereof) in a firm's products impact managers' voluntary recalls of the products? The current article empirically answers this question in the context of safety defects in vehicles of 22 manufacturers from June 2009 to December 2020 in the United States. Results show that the volume of news reports about safety in a manufacturer's products increases voluntary recalls by managers. Further, the negativity in these news reports strengthens the main effect of news volume, whereas news positivity does not moderate the main effect. Lastly, the media's rating of the manufacturer's products weakens the news volume effect, thus acting as a buffer. The supplementary analysis demonstrates that none of the main or moderation effects exist for involuntary recalls, confirming the theory that news affects managers' voluntary behavior. Lastly, the effects exist for high (and not low) severity voluntary recalls only. The findings unearth the news media's role in enhancing public safety by affecting managerial decisions about recalls.
... The institutional theory emanated from work accomplished by Meyer and Rowan (1977) and DiMaggio and Powell (1983). Institutional theories claim that institutions develop and design structures, processes and systems purely because they are legally required to do so (Meyer & Rowan 1977:340;DiMaggio & Powell 1983:149). ...
This study investigated the development and implementation of methods and procedures as generic administrative function, with specific reference to issuing drivers licences in the Driving Licence Testing Centre of the Madibeng Municipality. The contribution of the study to the discipline, Public Administration, is found in the basic framework for the development of standard operating procedures. Furthermore, a set of standard operating procedures to issue drivers licences was developed. In essence, the systems theory inspired the design of the basic framework for the development of standard operating procedures, while the phases of the ADDIE instructional design model simplified the drafting of the standardised procedures to issue drivers licences.
Although the empirical data collection commenced with a quantitative research methodology, a qualitative dimension was required to fully understand the problem why the Driving Licence Testing Centre at the Madibeng Municipality lacks contemporary and relevant standard operating procedures to issue drivers licences. A mixed methods research design was eventually adopted to explore the phenomenon because a second research method was needed to strengthen the primary research method. Data was initially collected through a questionnaire, and follow-up personal interviews were conducted to clarify issues that were not responded to or unclear from the self-administered questionnaires. This conforms to pragmatism the research philosophy adopted for this study because predetermined research questions dictated the path towards realising the research objectives. Since this study utilised a mixture of qualitative and quantitative research designs, the research methodology was shaped by various strategies, techniques and data collection instruments, such as literature reviews, document analyses to draft the standardised procedures, case study (Driving Licence Testing Centre of the Madibeng Municipality), a structured questionnaire and semi-structured personal interviews.
In this study, the administrative generic function of determining and revision of methods and procedures was referred to as ‘methods and procedures’. Within the context of Public Administration, the study revealed that methods and procedures specify the sequence, processes and techniques necessary to execute certain actions and operations during service delivery. Moreover, it states how tasks must be exercised within the public sector, as well as indicate who must take action. Consequently, methods and procedures are built into all public service activities, regardless whether these are administrative, functional or auxiliary activities. It was concluded that methods and procedures form an indispensable part of any public institution’s activities. However, the study focused on methods and procedures to issue drivers licences at the Driving Licence Testing Centre of the Madibeng Municipality. The study realised its overall aim when recommendations were made to the Driving Licence Testing Centre of the Madibeng Municipality of how to develop and implement standard operating procedures to issue drivers licences. In essence, it was recommended that the basic framework for the development of standard operating procedures be applied when updating and/or developing methods and procedures. Moreover, it was recommended that the set of newly developed standard operating procedures be adopted and implemented. It was also suggested, amongst other proposals, that the management and the staff at the Centre engage from the initial stages in the procedure development process, that clear steps and instructions of how to reach organisational short-term objectives, be specified, and caution be taken by the Madibeng Municipality against the implementation of an overly multifaceted internal control system at its Driving Licence Testing Centre.
... There can be important and consequential differences among individuals and subunits in organizations. These can manifest themselves as conflict (e.g., see Lang, 2009;Meyer & Rowan, 1977;Mikkelsen & Clegg, 2019). Scholarship has suggested the inevitability-and, sometimes, desirabilityof conflict between individuals or subgroups within an organization, highlighting the potential for individuals and subunits to act in ways that reflect differing beliefs and personal agendas rather than a shared vision. ...
Scholars have called for promoting coherence in teacher education programs. Such coherence is often depicted as a state to be achieved. This article reconceptualizes coherence as a dynamic process affected by the simultaneous organizational realities of unity, conflict, and fragmentation; it also aims to clarify factors that can facilitate or challenge the work of enhancing teacher education program coherence. Drawing on a case study of program-wide redesign, we show that promoting coherence requires more than just maximizing unity (instructors’ agreement on means and ends). It also requires addressing conflict and recognizing fragmentation in ways that support what we term “pathway flexibility.” By highlighting the interplay of unity, conflict, and fragmentation, we offer a set of conceptual tools to understand and support the development of program coherence in teacher education.
... The institutional literature is made up of three major institutional traditions: rational choice institutionalism (a.k.a., institutional economics, new institutional economics: Acemoglu, Johnson, & Robinson, 2001, 2003Djankov et al., 2003;North, 1990North, , 2005Williamson, 1985Williamson, , 2000, organizational institutionalism (a.k.a. neo-institutional theory: Meyer & Rowan, 1977;DiMaggio & Powell, 1983, 1991Powell & DiMaggio, 1991Scott, 1987Scott, , 1995Scott, , 2013Selznick, 1957), and historical institutionalism (a.k.a., comparative institutionalism, with comparative capitalism as an important strand: Block, 1994;Fukuyama, 2004;Granovetter, 1985Granovetter, , 1992Granovetter, , 2017Hall & Soskice, 2001;LaPorta, Lopez-de-Silanes, Shleifer, & Vishny, 1998;Polanyi, 1957;Stark, 1996), each arising from different academic fields (Campbell, 2004;Campbell & Pedersen, 2001;Hall & Taylor, 1996;Hotho & Pedersen, 2012). For a detailed treatment of the three as they relate to informal institutions and IB, see the introductory Editorial to this SI. ...
Informal institutions influence all aspects of international business (IB), but they have received limited attention in the literature relative to formal institutions. This article extends prior IB work by examining the relationships between several key formal and informal institutional factors and the international strategy of MNEs. First, it examines the direct effects of formal and informal institutional effectiveness, convergence, and distance on MNE local adaptation, developing arguments and propositions for each relationship. Second, it focuses on the interactions of formal and informal institutional effectiveness and convergence to develop an eight-fold typology of market institutional configurations. This typology depicts the role that informal institutions take in a market depending on the interaction of these three institutional factors. Third, it builds on these interactions and the concept of institutional distance to develop a conceptual framework of market and MNE institutional diversity and dynamism. This framework captures the formal and informal institutional relationships within a home market, host market, parent firm, and foreign subsidiary, as well as the formal and informal institutional relationships across each of these entities over time. In so doing, this article helps advance research on informal institutions and IB, which can lead to considerable future work on the topic.
... A former solely technical practice corresponds to maximum entropy; a completely institutionalized practice approaches the state of maximum entropy, that is, it contains no relevant information and reflects uncertainty. An institutionalized practice manifests and reflects the absence of knowledge because it implies believing rather than knowing (Meyer and Rowan, 1977;Mellemvik et al., 1988;Jepperson, 2002), manifests myths about efficient ways of organizing, not real solutions based on real and updated empirical information (Feldman and March, 1981). Scott motivates the introduction of entropy into institutional analysis by arguing that "like all systems, institutional arrangements are subject to entropic forces" (Scott, 2015, p. 472), but institutionalization as a state is an absence of any system and order (in informational terms, of course). ...
Purpose
Once introduced and conceptualized as a factor that causes erosion and decay of social institutions and subsequent deinstitutionalization, the notion of entropy is at odds with predictions of institutional isomorphism and seems to directly contradict the tendency toward ever-increasing institutionalization. The purpose of this paper is to offer a resolution of this theoretical inconsistency by revisiting the meaning of entropy and reconceptualizing institutionalization from an information-theoretic point of view.
Design/methodology/approach
It is a theoretical paper that offers an information perspective on institutionalization.
Findings
A mistaken understanding of the nature and role of entropy in the institutional theory is caused by conceptualizing it as a force that counteracts institutional tendencies and acts in opposite direction. Once institutionalization and homogeneity are seen as a product of natural tendencies in the organizational field, the role of entropy becomes clear. Entropy manifests itself at the level of information processing and corresponds with increasing uncertainty and the decrease of the value of information. Institutionalization thus can be seen as a special case of an increase in entropy and a decrease of knowledge. Institutionalization is a state of maximum entropy.
Originality/value
It is explained why institutionalization and institutional persistence are what to be expected in the long run and why information entropy contributes to this tendency. Contrary to the tenets of the institutional work perspective, no intentional efforts of individuals and collective actors are needed to maintain institutions. In this respect, the paper contributes to the view of institutional theory as a theory of self-organization.
... Building on the arguments of Meyer and Rowan (1977), Owen-Smith and Powell discuss the generative potential of networks as transmission channels that, by generating categories and hierarchies, "help define institutions and contribute to their efficacy" (2008: 596). These authors conclude that "networks are essential to fields because they are both the pipes through which resources circulate and the prisms that observers use to make sense of actions" (Owen-Smith & Powell, 2008: 618). ...
... Institutional theory, finally, has long suggested that the institutional environment determines how workers, managers, and other stakeholders interpret and evaluate an organization's practices and structures (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983;Meyer and Rowan, 1977;Powell and DiMaggio, 2012;Scott, 1987;Suchman, 1995;Zucker, 1987). Thus, societal norms and rules can influence how people approach diversity (Joshi and Roh, 2009;Shore et al., 2009). ...
A Crosscountry analysis of the impacts of gender targets on the boards' diversity of the national sports federations Abstract There is an increasing need for policies to support gender diversity in sports organizations. Drawing on the national sports federations in Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Spain, and the United Kingdom, in 2018, this study investigates whether board size, age, and country have played any role in the poor level of achievement of the gender target, set in 2000 by the International Olympic Committee of having by 2005 at least the 20% of women on the sports boards. The study confirms the low level of compliance in these five countries, and by using a binomial logistic regression, we have found that, while the federation's age is not relevant, the board size, or being from Italy, Portugal, Turkey, is negatively related to the likelihood of compliance with the gender target. These three countries have had no experience with gender quotas nor other forms of incentive concerning the gender diversity of the federations' boards in the examined period. The study's originality is conducting a crosscountry analysis of gender diversity on boards of sports federations in five European countries regarding board size and age. Moreover, it offers new insights into the debate about quotas-versus-targets and brings it into the under-researched scenario of sports governance. Specifically, the main contribution relies on questioning the quotas-versus-targets debate and promoting a perspective of complementary use of the two forms of regulatory intervention to increase women's percentage on sports federations' boards.
... They are thus embedded into multiple networks through which resources and influence, and recognition and support are obtained. Against this background, we approach the promotional behavior of entrepreneurship centres in social media through the conceptual lens of the new institutionalism in sociology, which foregrounds legitimacy as a key source of organizational survival (Meyer & Rowan, 1977;DiMaggio & Powell, 1983;Scott, 2001). Previous studies illustrate the usefulness of this theoretical perspective in illuminating the relationship between the pursuit of legitimacy and the communication strategies of universities (Millian, 2017;Millian & Quirke, 2017). ...
Entrepreneurship centres are increasingly common on university campuses, but their organizational survival depends on their ability to continuously secure resources and support from a range of internal and external stakeholders. Like other non-departmental centers and institutes in universities, the ability of such units to survive and thrive depends on their legitimacy. This study examined how entrepreneurship centres use online promotion through websites and social media as part of their efforts to ascertain their status and standing. Drawing on qualitative data from interviews with entrepreneurship centre leaders at 12 universities located in a range of settings across Canada, and an analysis of websites and Twitter feeds, this study identifies multiple relevant patterns. There is a clear gap between the principles of strategic communications espoused by centre leadership and actual practice. Further, entrepreneurship centres use social media to broadcast promotional messages that resonate with broader university and social values but do not leverage interactivity tools and possibilities. Their promotional efforts foreground images of success and positive experiences associated with entrepreneurial learning. While there is overlap in the stakeholders they consider important for their promotional efforts, centres located in large metropolitan areas differed from their counterparts in smaller cities in their external outlook. As entrepreneurship centres tend to remain reliant on contingent support from multiple sources, more intentional efforts to communicate their attributes and achievements might be fruitful.
Given the increased popularity of HR analytics, a particular focus has been placed on its enactors ‐ HR analysts. Their capabilities are believed to entail analytical and storytelling skills. While we acknowledge the importance of analytical skills, this study utilises an exploratory and qualitative approach to extend our understanding on the storytelling of HR analysts, which remains less understood in the HR analytics research. Data from HR analysts shows they engage in storytelling as showcasing, incorporating a narrow approach to translating and selling. The latter is a broader form of institutional work to gain legitimacy for HR analytics on a general level. New insights are also offered on how HR analysts engage in storytelling as curbing, a form of institutional work linked with decoupling HR analytics policy from daily practices and projects. HR analysts engage with these two seemingly contradictory aspects of storytelling to develop sustainable and legitimate HR analytics.
Organizational culture has marked its place especially in the last decades, as a crucial element in the management of organizations: for the implementation of a change, the conformation of corporate identity and image, organizational performance, leadership, innovation , as a resource potentially generating competitive advantage, among others; the objective of this study is to present its evolution through organizational theories showing birth, growth and maturity, through a theoretical documentary review carried out in classic books and specialized databases; The results show that culture has gone from being a secondary element to taking a key role in the study of organizational ones. This establishes the guideline to support that organizational culture as a study phenomenon is at its peak within organizational theories, given the inseparable employee-culture connection and the tendency to explore intangible assets to enhance performance and value of organizations, so that the theories of organization still have a lot to contribute regarding this phenomenon.
In this study, we consider the role of social environment in boards’ decisions whether to replace women directors or not following corporate financial misconduct. To explain the board's decision, two competing hypotheses are presented. The immunity perspective suggests that women directors benefit from growing social pressures to increase women's representation on boards, resulting in a lower turnover, while the susceptibility perspective proposes that societal gender stereotypes that give rise to biased boards’ decisions result in a higher turnover. Using a sample of Chinese firms involved in financial misconduct during 2011–2019, we find strong support for the susceptibility perspective and show a higher turnover of women directors following financial wrongdoing. Further, we find that board gender diversity and a firm's belonging to male‐dominated industries increase women directors’ turnover. Our findings make important contributions to directors’ turnover literature and practice.
Purpose
Increasingly, studies are reporting supply chain analytical capabilities as a key enabler of supply chain agility (SCAG) and supply chain performance (SCP). This study investigates the impact of environmental dynamism and competitive pressures in a supply chain analytics setting, and how intangible supply chain analytical capabilities (ISCAC) moderate the relationship between big data characteristics (BDC's) and SCAG in support of enhanced SCP.
Design/methodology/approach
The study draws on the literature on big data, supply chain analytical capabilities, and dynamic capability theory to empirically develop and test a supply chain analytical capabilities model in support of SCAG and SCP. ISCAC was the moderated construct and was tested using two sub-dimensions, supply chain organisational learning and supply chain data driven culture.
Findings
The results show that whilst environmental dynamism has a significant relationship on the three key BDC's, only the volume and velocity dimensions are significant in relation to competitive pressures. Furthermore, only the velocity element of BDC's has a significant positive impact on SCAG. In terms of moderation, the supply chain organisational learning dimension of ISCAC was shown to only moderate the velocity aspect of BDC's on SCAG, whereas for the supply chain data driven culture dimension of ISCAC, only the variety aspect was shown to moderate of BDC on SCAG. SCAG had a significant impact on SCP.
Originality/value
This study adds to the existing knowledge in the supply chain analytical capabilities domain by presenting a nuanced moderation model that includes external factors (environmental dynamism and competitive pressures), their relationships with BDC's and how ISCAC (namely, supply chain organisational learning and supply chain data driven culture) moderates and strengthens aspects of BDC's in support of SCAG and enhanced SCP.
İklim değişikliğinin olumsuz etkileriyle mücadelede özel aktörlerin, bilhassa işletmelerin önemli rol oynadığı günümüz dünyasında işletmeler, iklim değişikliğinin olumsuz etkilerinin azaltılması ve işletme faaliyetleriyle iklim politikalarına uyum sağlanmasına yönelik hedeflerine ulaşmak amacıyla çeşitli politikalar ve girişimler benimsemiştir. İşletmelerin iklim değişikliğine uyum sağlamayı; varlıklarını ve operasyonlarının sürekliliğini artırmayı amaçlayan bu girişimleri öncelikle işletmeye yönelik finansal riskleri azaltmayı amaçlasa da çevreye ve genel olarak topluma yönelik riskleri de azaltmayı amaçlayan bazı uyum örnekleri de vardır. Söz konusu gelişmelere paralel olarak kurumsal sosyal sorumluluk (KSS) uygulamalarının önemli bir girişim olarak öne çıktığı görülmektedir. Bu çalışma kapsamında da sürdürülebilir kalkınma hareketinin başladığı 1970’li yıllar ile iklim yönetişiminin yükselişe geçtiği 1990’lı yıllardan günümüze KSS ve iklim değişikliğinin işletmelerdeki yansımalarına yönelik gelişimi, kurumsal kuram perspektifinden incelenmiştir.
O objetivo deste artigo é comparar concepções de inovação e características de dois laboratórios do setor público, um de governo, no Brasil, e um social, na Espanha. Para tanto, empregou-se abordagem qualitativa a partir de documentos e entrevistas de roteiros semiestruturados, com três participantes que ocupavam cargos de coordenação e direção desses laboratórios, para aprofundar suas percepções sobre o modus operandi dessas organizações. Os dados foram analisados de forma interpretativa categorial com suporte do software WebQDA. Como principais resultados, enquanto convergências, verificou-se que os laboratórios analisados são espaços de inovação que concentram seu trabalho em métodos de experimentação e mudança radical. Observou-se que, embora os laboratórios tenham focos distintos (inovação organizacional e social), estes possuem um ponto comum que é a criação de valores para os cidadãos, os quais ocorrem de modo direto ou indireto. Ambos os laboratórios têm papel fundamental na formação de ideias para resolver problemas sociais e político-administrativos cotidianos, especialmente em um contexto pós-pandêmico.
This study examines the impact of green business practices (GBP) on firm financialization and, analyzes the moderating role of female directorship in China. A‐share listed non‐financial firms are sampled (total 1049 firms including 284 small and medium enterprises [SMEs]) from Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2009 to 2020. OLS and fixed‐effects regression techniques are applied and the results show a significantly positive relationship between GBP and firms’ financialization level (FIN) in the whole sample. Also, greater female directorship strengthens this relationship in Chinese firms. However, for SMEs in China, this study does not support a relationship between GBP and firm financialization. Nonetheless, the moderating role of female directorship is more significant among SMEs. The findings of this study may assist policymakers in devising policies tailored separately for SMEs and non‐SMEs in China.
Global Legitimacy Crises addresses the consequences of legitimacy in global governance, in particular asking: when and how do legitimacy crises affect international organizations and their capacity to rule. The book starts with a new conceptualization of legitimacy crisis that looks at public challenges from a variety of actors. Based on this conceptualization, it applies a mixed-methods approach to identify and examine legitimacy crises, starting with a quantitative analysis of mass media data on challenges of a sample of 32 IOs. It shows that some, but not all organizations have experienced legitimacy crises, spread over several decades from 1985 to 2020. Following this, the book presents a qualitative study to further examine legitimacy crises of two selected case studies: the WTO and the UNFCCC. Whereas earlier research assumed that legitimacy crises have negative consequences, the book introduces a theoretical framework that privileges the activation inherent in a legitimacy crisis. It holds that this activation may not only harm an IO, but could also strengthen it, in terms of its material, institutional, and decision-making capacity. The following statistical analysis shows that whether a crisis has predominantly negative or positive effects depends on a variety of factors. These include the specific audience whose challenges define a certain crisis, and several institutional properties of the targeted organization. The ensuing in-depth analysis of the WTO and the UNFCCC further reveals how legitimacy crises and both positive and negative consequences are interlinked, and that effects of crises are sometimes even visible beyond the organizational borders.
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Projects pursuing the balance of economic, ecological, and social aspects are being increasingly implemented by the construction industry. This shift represents a paradigm change and evidences new values being acknowledged within the sector. Concurrently, construction scholars tend to emphasize the creation, retention and addition of value, focusing mostly on costs and client deliverables. However, less attention is paid to the process of value change, specifically one that focuses on alternative stakeholders, such as Social Movements. We employ Social Movement theory to comprehend how these organizations affect the notion of value and value change in this industry. Their role is accentuated as a source for a value paradigm change in the form of institutional pressures that shape the values of other stakeholders of the construction industry. These pressures elicit a response in the form of a broader incorporation of sustainable practices amongst construction projects, which effectively alters the industry’s notion of value. Additionally, we showcase a theoretical model that describes the pressure channels originated by Social Movements and their process mechanism affecting the construction industry.
The engagement of multinational corporations from different nationalities in corrupt operations in every corner of the world has more recently driven an extensive scholarly interest for the antecedents and outcomes of corruption. Indeed, exploring corruption around and between organizations, has significantly advanced the field of international business, but yet, there are still important issues underdeveloped. How multinational corporations engage in corruption, how this is internally developed, sustained and then spread across its various units at home and even abroad is still an uncharted research field. Our paper addresses this gap drawing upon a case study of the EMNE Odebrecht – one of the largest construction companies in Latin America. We bring together conventional theories of international business, and the institutionalization perspective to understand what enabled the company to institutionalize and reproduce corrupt practices not only with the country of origin but also around subsidiaries around the world.
The horticultural industry in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has witnessed unprecedented growth in recent years, fuelled by increased demand for temperate fruits and vegetables in the European market. In Uganda, the introduction of Non-Traditional Agricultural Exports (NTAEs) in the post-civil war era (mid 1980s onwards) as an export diversification strategy was met with limited success attributed to agronomical, logistical, and institutional challenges that resulted in a relatively small and fragile horticultural industry, serving a limited market specialised in the ethnic/exotic food trade. However, in recent years, increased demand from the diaspora has created new opportunities for Uganda´s ethnic/exotic horticultural exports in a buoyant industry that has increased fourfold over the last two decades. Meanwhile, this renewed opportunity is threatened by EU/UK legislation targeting the introduction and spread of organisms considered harmful to the environment. The threat is manifested in the interception and destruction of consignments found to be infested by (regulated) organisms (notably the false coddling moth (FCM)). While being common to all SSA countries infested by the FCM, interceptions have been particularly high for Uganda over the last seven years, a period coinciding with the boom in its horticultural industry. Based on an instrumental case study design consisting of semi-structured interviews, document reviews, and participant observations, this research investigates the cause of interceptions in the Ugandan Horticultural Export Supply Chain, (fresh fruits & vegetables) and their relationship to the concept of transparency, which is increasingly core to agri-food chains. In line with the Global Value Chain (GVC) approach (Gereffi, 1999; 2005), it examines the response and outcomes resulting from attempts to comply with international public standards governing agricultural supply chains. Findings indicate that a combination of environmental (e.g., regulatory), people (e.g., literacy levels of Outgrowers), process (e.g., bureaucracy) and technological (e.g., lack of IT infrastructure) factors working together as inhibitors of transparency are to account for the rising wave of interceptions. Uganda´s response to interceptions, described in this study as the regulated integration (backwards) of supply chain relationships through the mandatory registration of producers is yielding results. This is in terms of enhanced capability development and supply chain transparency in a process described by the GVC literature as process upgrading. In so doing, the research contributes to the literature on supply chain transparency while suggesting a renewed focus of GVC research on the role of public standards (as opposed to private governance) in the upgrading and integration of developing countries in the world economy. The research is limited by the lack of a quantitative approach to validating findings that are essentially qualitative in nature. Future research involves the validation of transparency inhibitor matrix for the prioritisation of improvement initiatives in a quantitative study as well as an investigation of opportunities for improving Uganda´s phytosanitary certification process with distributed ledger technology.
Leveraging theoretical insights from Mike W. Peng's institution-based view, this paper examines how mandatory corporate social responsibility investment regulations impact on firm performance in emerging economies, such as India. We thus first discuss the overview of India's statutory provisions and disclosure guidelines related to corporate social responsibility, which became effective from the financial year 2014-2015. Then, because in the emerging economy, formal institutional environments such as the rule of law greatly influence a firm's strategic decisions and performance, we propose a contingency framework of the impact of mandatory corporate social responsibility investment on a firm's overall performance, i.e., firm-specific advantages, financial outcome, and competitive advantage. In this way, we also explore how corporate social responsibility implementing intermediary agencies’ mediating role with third-party contractual terms will moderate the relationship between the focal firm's social investment agendas and performance. In so doing, the study contributes to and advances understanding of the institution-based perspective on the relationship between the focal firm's mandatory social investment and performance in emerging economies and brings the institution-based view into the mainstream of corporate social responsibility literature. Taken together, the novelty of our work is to study the association between sustainable social agendas and firm-specific and competitive advantages, as well as the mediating role of registered social intermediary agencies.
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