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)

Supply chain collaboration: Impact on collaborative advantage and firm performance

Comparative International Entrepreneurship A Review and Research Agenda

The Interrelationships among Informal Institutions, Formal Institutions, and Inward Foreign Direct Investment

Compared with the large body of literature on coping, coping flexibility has received relatively scant research attention, although more such studies have begun to emerge recently. Researchers have conceptualized coping flexibility in diverse ways: as a broad coping repertoire, a well-balanced coping profile, cross-situational variability in strategy deployment, a good strategy-situation fit, or the perceived ability to cope with environmental changes. This meta-analysis is the first to provide a summary estimate of the overall effect size and investigate cross-study sources of variation in the beneficial role of coping flexibility. The analysis covers all available studies conducted between 1978 and 2013 that empirically tested the relationship between coping flexibility and psychological adjustment. The results of a random-effects model revealed a small to moderate overall mean effect size (r = .23, 95% CI [.19, .28], 80% CRI [-.02, .49], k = 329, N = 58,946). More important, the magnitude of the positive link between coping flexibility and psychological adjustment varied with the conceptualization of such flexibility. Studies adopting the perceived ability or strategy-situation fit conceptualization yielded moderate effect sizes, whereas those adopting the broad repertoire, balanced profile, or cross-situational variability conceptualization yielded small effect sizes. In addition, the positive link between coping flexibility and psychological adjustment was stronger in samples from countries lower (vs. higher) in individualism and samples with higher (vs. lower) average ages. Individualism and age explained 10% and 13% of the variance, respectively. We discuss the conceptual problems and implications and propose a synthesized conceptualization of coping flexibility.

/pdf/coping-flexibility-and-psychological-adjustment-to-stressful-11einas38g.pdf

Coping flexibility and psychological adjustment to stressful life changes: A meta-analytic review.

On characterizing the 4 C's in supply chain management

This paper critiques an earlier contribution by Rugman and Verbeke (2004); and it does so by considering the global distribution of foreign direct investment (FDI). It also adds several new dimensions to the regionalisation/globalisation debate, noticeably by (i) the incorporation of inward multinational enterprise (MNE) activity, (ii) evaluating changes in the geography of FDI between 1990 and 2003, and (iii) the introduction of the concept of revealed investment comparative advantage (RICA) of countries and regions. While broadly supporting the findings of Rugman and Verbeke, our paper shows that much of the explanation for the regional concentration of FDI and MNE activity reflects that of the gross domestic product (GDP) and trade of the countries concerned, rather than any distinctive strategy on the part of investing firms.

/pdf/some-macro-data-on-the-regionalisation-globalisation-debate-tyen9ufo54.pdf

Some macro-data on the regionalisation/globalisation debate: a comment on the Rugman/Verbeke analysis

Both theoretical and empirical studies of professional service employee standardization preferences are relatively scarce. Using responses from 398 employees of an international public relations firm, this study finds that employees from high power distance, high uncertainty avoidance and high-context cultures prefer greater standardization, whereas employees from high individualism cultures prefer less standardization. Additionally, work interdependence is positively associated with standardization preferences, whereas local embeddedness is negatively associated with standardization preferences.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2Fpalgrave.jibs.8400179.pdf

Standardization preferences: a function of national culture, work interdependence and local embeddedness

The Fred Astaire East Side Dance Studio in New York City holds ballroom dancing showcases at least twice a year to provide its students with an environment for socializing, practice, and improvement. The most important part of organizing a showcase is constructing the dance-presentations timetable. The number of participants is increasing each year; thus, this task, which has been performed manually, requires a great deal of management time and effort. To construct its summer 2007 showcase, the studio's management expressed interest in using a computer-based tool that would significantly expedite the schedule construction process and deliver a more coherent and efficient showcase program. The tool we developed is rooted in the coding of algorithms and integer-programming optimization models. Because it is Excel-based, it is user-friendly; however, it also considers the various constraints and requirements posed by the dance studio's management, instructors, and students. We successfully implemented the scheduling tool to generate the summer 2007 showcase timetable. The management spent considerably less time preparing this schedule than it had in constructing previous schedules manually. Therefore, it was able to allocate more time to other important activities, such as teacher training, dance instruction, sales, marketing, and client communication.

/pdf/showcase-scheduling-at-fred-astaire-east-side-dance-studio-bbk37xy7ow.pdf

Nevena Yakova

Papers

On characterizing the 4 C's in supply chain management

Some macro-data on the regionalisation/globalisation debate: a comment on the Rugman/Verbeke analysis

Standardization preferences: a function of national culture, work interdependence and local embeddedness

Showcase Scheduling at Fred Astaire East Side Dance Studio