What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

Redesigning Social Inquiry Fuzzy Sets And Beyond

'Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony', American Journal of Sociology, 83, pp. 340-63.

Abstract This paper explores the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and government. CSR is often viewed as self-regulation, devoid of government. We attribute the scholarly neglect of the variety of CSR-government relations to the inadequate attention paid to the important differences in the way in which CSR has ‘travelled’ (or diffused), and has been mediated by the national governance systems, and the insufficient emphasis given to the role of the government (or government agency) in the CSR domain. We go on to identify a number of different types of CSR-government configurations, and by following empirically the CSR development trajectories in Western Europe and East Asia in a comparative historical perspective, we derive a set of propositions on the changing dynamics of CSR-government configurations. In particular, we highlight the varied role that the governments can play in order to promote CSR in the context of the wider national governance systems.

The Government of Self-Regulation: On the Comparative Dynamics of Corporate Social Responsibility

The aim of this article is to clarify the apparent confusion in the literature about the impact of a revenue sharing arrangement on the competitive balance in a sports league. A crucial factor in the discussion seems to be the impact of the absolute rather than the relative quality of the teams on the clubs' revenues. The analysis shows that revenue sharing improves the competitive balance under both the profit- and the utility-maximizing hypotheses.

Revenue sharing and competitive balance in professional team sports

Although much research exists on the performance of organizations little literature exists that allows understanding of the performance of national governing bodies (NGBs) of sport. The research in this paper aims to facilitate this understanding and presents the results of a programme of research carried out with French NGBs. In the main phase of the research, utilizing an adaptation of Lawrence and Lorsch's theoretical framework, case study research was carried out with 11 French NGBs in order to understand their strategy and management practices in relation to their organizational performance. Analysis of these case studies, alongside previous research that has focused on the relationship between strategy/organizational structure and performance, leads to the proposal of a framework through which to explain NGB performance in the field of sport. This framework seeks to accommodate the relationship between strategy, management and operational performance.

A Framework for Understanding the Performance of National Governing Bodies of Sport

It is widely recognized that the performance measurement of organizations should help them in their strategic decisions and in their capacity to evaluate their successes This measurement is, however, lacking in the sport governing bodies from the French speaking Community of Belgium This paper proposes a model to measure organizational performance by considering objectives distributed among five main dimensions: sport, customer, communication and image, finance and organization, which are measured by quantitative performance indicators The focus of the paper is on governing bodies of Olympic sport (n = 27) and the model measures their strategic objectives and operational goals In addition, the priority that the Chairs of 13 Olympic sport governing bodies attach to each dimension and each objective is assessed Finally, there is a discussion of the comparison of their priorities and their organizational performance, which leads to the identification of four strategic orientations

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Organizational performance of Olympic sport governing bodies: dealing with measurement and priorities

This paper confronts the basic questions involved in the measurement of the performance of national sport organisations through a specific approach conceived and carried out for national swimming federations in four Mediterranean countries (Italy, Greece, Portugal and Spain). In the past there has been a number of studies assessing the effectiveness or the performance of NSOs (national sporting organisations/national governing bodies/national sport federations), but these were predominantly descriptive, specific to a particular point in time, and were not related to the establishment of a stable measurement system for management control. Performance is viewed here, in a broad sense, as the ability to acquire and process human, financial and physical resources to achieve the goals of the organisation. To measure a multidimensional performance we propose to use a specific model with a systemic approach (applied from Madella, A. (1998). La performance di successo delle organizzazioni-Spunti di rifle...

The organisational performance of national swimming federations in Mediterranean countries: A comparative approach

Research question: International and national sport federations as well as their member organisations are key actors within the sport system and have a wide range of relationships outside the sport system (e.g. with the state, sponsors, and the media). They are currently facing major challenges such as growing competition in top-level sports, democratisation of sports with ‘sports for all’ and sports as the answer to social problems. In this context, professionalising sport organisations seems to be an appropriate strategy to face these challenges and current problems. We define the professionalisation of sport organisations as an organisational process of transformation leading towards organisational rationalisation, efficiency and business-like management. This has led to a profound organisational change, particularly within sport federations, characterised by the strengthening of institutional management (managerialism) and the implementation of efficiency-based management instruments and paid staff. Research methods: The goal of this article is to review the current international literature and establish a global understanding of and theoretical framework for analysing why and how sport organisations professionalise and what consequences this may have. Results and findings: Our multi-level approach based on the social theory of action integrates the current concepts for analysing professionalisation in sport federations. We specify the framework for the following research perspectives: (1) forms, (2) causes and (3) consequences, and discuss the reciprocal relations between sport federations and their member organisations in this context. Implications: Finally, we work out a research agenda and derive general methodological consequences for the investigation of professionalisation processes in sport organisations.

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Professionalisation of sport federations – a multi-level framework for analysing forms, causes and consequences

The measurement of performance of a voluntary organization challenges man-agement theorists and practitioners. What are the effectiveness and efficiency criteria to evaluate performance of these organizations? To overcome the limi-tations of current methods of performance measurement, we propose a new performance measurement technique in a taxonomic perspective that associ-ates qualitative and quantitative indicators thanks to a contractual approach. This approach establishes a typology of 6 performance profiles of 40 NSO. Statistical correlations between performance dimensions are also analyzed. Statistical analysis shows that dimensions of performance are significantly correlated. Economic and financial performance is correlated more with pro-motional performance than with the number of members.

Emmanuel Bayle

Papers

A Framework for Understanding the Performance of National Governing Bodies of Sport

Organizational performance of Olympic sport governing bodies: dealing with measurement and priorities

The organisational performance of national swimming federations in Mediterranean countries: A comparative approach

Professionalisation of sport federations – a multi-level framework for analysing forms, causes and consequences

Development of a taxonomy of performance for national sport organizations