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)

THIS paper is concerned with those actions of business firms which have harmful effects on others. The standard example is that of a factory the smoke from which has harmful effects on those occupying neighbouring properties. The economic analysis of such a situation has usually proceeded in terms of a divergence between the private and social product of the far' ory, in which economists have largely followed the treatment of Pigou in The Economics of Welfare. The conclusions to which this kind of analyris seems to have led most economists is that it would be desirable to make the owner of the factory liable for the damage caused to those injured by the smoke, or alternatively, to place a tax on the factory owner varying with the amount of smoke produced and equivalent in money terms to the damage it would cause, or finally, to exclude the factory from residential districts (and presumably from other

闡釋《社會成本問題》[The Problem of Social Cost]

The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains

opment, which includes social capital as one of its explanatory factors. In the absence of this analysis, we do not know if social capital is really driving political development or some other factor, such as economic development. Overall, this is a bold and ambitious book which examines participation across the world with a big theoretical canvas and a broad range of data. However, a more judicious analysis of the data and a greater recognition of the limitations of the sources would have made it a better book.

The Futures of European Capitalism

The analysis of media systems has become a cornerstone in the field of comparative communication research. Ten years after its publication, we revisit the landmark study in the field, Hallin and Mancini's “Comparing Media Systems”, and operationalize its framework for standardized measurement. The study at hand is, to the best of our knowledge, the first to comprehensively validate the original dimensions and models using aggregated data from the same sample of Western countries. Three out of four dimensions of media systems show relatively high levels of internal consistency, but “role of the state” should be disaggregated into 3 subdimensions. A cluster analysis reveals 4 empirical types of media systems that differentiate and extend the original typology.

Hallin and Mancini Revisited: Four Empirical Types of Western Media Systems

This article explores the governance by algorithms in information societies. Theoretically, it builds on (co-)evolutionary innovation studies in order to adequately grasp the interplay of technolog...

Governance by algorithms: reality construction by algorithmic selection on the Internet

Based on representative surveys on Internet use, this article advances comparative research on the second-level digital divide by modeling Internet usage disparities for five countries with narrowing access gaps. Four core Internet usage types are constructed and predicted by sociodemographic variables in a structural model. Overall, the findings confirm the recently identified shift in the digital divide from access to usage in five further countries. Results show that sociodemographics alone account for up to half of the variance in usage in these high-penetration countries, with age being the strongest predictor. Measurement invariance tests indicate that a direct comparison is only valid between three of the five countries explored. Methodologically, this points to the indispensability of such tests for unbiased comparative research.

Modeling the second-level digital divide: A five-country study of social differences in Internet use:

This article explains Internet users’ self-help activities in protecting their privacy online using structural equation modeling. Based on a representative survey of Swiss Internet users, it reveals past experiences with privacy breaches as a strong predictor of current protective behavior. Further, in line with the ‘privacy paradox’ argument, caring about privacy (privacy attitudes) alone does not necessarily result in substantial self-protection. Most strikingly, however, general Internet skills are key in explaining users’ privacy behavior. These skills enable users to reduce risks of privacy loss while obtaining the benefits from online activities that increasingly depend on the revelation of personal data. Consequently, Internet skills are an essential starting point for public policies regarding users’ self-help in privacy protection.

Caring is not enough: the importance of Internet skills for online privacy protection

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of governance choice in the area of algorithmic selection. Algorithms on the Internet shape our daily lives and realities. They select information, automatically assign relevance to them and keep people from drowning in an information flood. The benefits of algorithms are accompanied by risks and governance challenges. Design/methodology/approach – Based on empirical case analyses and a review of the literature, the paper chooses a risk-based governance approach. It identifies and categorizes applications of algorithmic selection and attendant risks. Then, it explores the range of institutional governance options anddiscussesappliedandproposedgovernancemeasuresforalgorithmicselectionandthelimitations of governance options. Findings – Analysesrevealthattherearenoone-size-fits-allsolutionsforthegovernanceofalgorithms. Attention has to shift to multi-dimensional solutions and combinations of governance measures that mutually enable and complement each other. Limited knowledge about the developments of markets, risks and the effects of governance interventions hampers the choice of an adequate governance mix. Uncertainties call for risk and technology assessment to strengthen the foundations for evidence-based governance. Originality/value – The paper furthers the understanding of governance choice in the area of algorithmicselectionwithastructuredsynopsisonrationales,optionsandlimitationsforthegovernance of algorithms. It provides a functional typology of applications of algorithmic selection, a comprehensive overview of the risks of algorithmic selection and a systematic discussion of governance options and its limitations.

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Governance of algorithms: options and limitations

Debates about media concentration and its adequate handling are not coming to an end. This paper stresses the dual character of media goods, the underlying ideological ideals, and the attendant institutional setting as source of value conflict in communications policy making. It discusses this value conflict and gives examples of where it surfaces and how it is confronted. It is particularly evident in cases of media concentration. Newly introduced communications laws and policies within Europe and the USA aim to reduce (ownership) regulation, promote competition and cope with the challenges posed by convergence. This quest is coupled in part with protections of media pluralism through custom-developed indices for measuring concentration in media markets and tests for assessing media plurality in merger cases. The paper describes and discusses such new methods and instruments as novel but imperfect attempts by policy makers to respond to the various challenges in communications such as value conflict, convergence, the need for empirical proof and claims for non-economic ways of assessing media diversity. It concludes by stressing the need to re-emphasize normative claims as essential guiding elements of communications policy making.

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Natascha Just

Papers

Governance by algorithms: reality construction by algorithmic selection on the Internet

Modeling the second-level digital divide: A five-country study of social differences in Internet use:

Caring is not enough: the importance of Internet skills for online privacy protection

Governance of algorithms: options and limitations

Measuring media concentration and diversity: new approaches and instruments in Europe and the US: