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)

Although the literature on university–industry links has begun to uncover the reasons for, and types of, collaboration between universities and businesses, it offers relatively little explanation of ways to reduce the barriers in these collaborations. This paper seeks to unpack the nature of the obstacles to collaborations between universities and industry, exploring influence of different mechanisms in lowering barriers related to the orientation of universities and to the transactions involved in working with university partners. Drawing on a large-scale survey and public records, this paper explores the effects of collaboration experience, breadth of interaction, and inter-organizational trust on lowering different types of barriers. The analysis shows that prior experience of collaborative research lowers orientation-related barriers and that greater levels of trust reduce both types of barriers studied. It also indicates that breadth of interaction diminishes the orientation-related, but increases transaction-related barriers. The paper explores the implications of these findings for policies aimed at facilitating university–industry collaboration.

Investigating the factors that diminish the barriers to university-industry collaboration

Catch-up cycles and changes in industrial leadership:Windows of opportunity and responses of firms and countries in the evolution of sectoral systems ☆

Much of the prior research on interorganizational learning has focused on the role of absorptive capacity, a firm's ability to value, assimilate, and utilize new external knowledge. However, this definition of the construct suggests that a firm has an equal capacity to learn from all other organizations. We reconceptualize the firm-level construct absorptive capacity as a learning dyad-level construct, relative absorptive capacity. One firm's ability to learn from another firm is argued to depend on the similarity of both firms' (1) knowledge bases, (2) organizational structures and compensation policies, and (3) dominant logics. We then test the model using a sample of pharmaceutical–biotechnology R&D alliances. As predicted, the similarity of the partners' basic knowledge, lower management formalization, research centralization, compensation practices, and research communities were positively related to interorganizational learning. The relative absorptive capacity measures are also shown to have greater explanatory power than the established measure of absorptive capacity, R&D spending. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Relative absorptive capacity and interorganizational learning

One of the puzzles about why some countries have stronger economic growth than others revolves around the so-called 'middle-income trap', the situation in which a country that has grown strongly gets stuck at a certain level. In this book, Keun Lee explores the reasons why examples of successful catching-up are limited and in particular, why the Asian economies, including China, have managed to move, or are moving, beyond middle-income status but economic growth has stalled in some Latin American countries. This is one of the first studies to demonstrate using patent analysis that the secret lies in innovative systems at the firm, sector and country levels which promote investment in what the author calls 'short-cycle' technologies and thereby create a new path different from that of forerunning countries. With its comprehensive policy framework for development as well as useful quantitative methods, this is essential reading for academic researchers and practitioners.

Schumpeterian Analysis of Economic Catch-up: Knowledge, Path-Creation, and the Middle-Income Trap

Many U.S. companies are searching for foreign business opportunities. And the world's largest democracy—India—has become a favorite of U.S. multinational companies. But what is the Indian business climate really like? What risks do you face? What pitfalls should you avoid? Where are the best fast-growth opportunities? Here is a comprehensive, hands-on guide to doing business in India that will answer those vital questions and more. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

An insider's guide to doing business in India

Based on synthesis of ideas from international business and strategy, and drawing on the experiences of (1) Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese firms and (2) Indian software and pharmaccutical companies, we present a framework to understand the issues related to emerging market companies ascending the value curve in international markets. In this framework, the proponsity of EMCs to ascend the value curve is dependent on their motivation and willingness to do so, their capabilities and the availability of suitable product-market opportunities. Implications are drawn for action by emerging market companies, and for further research in this area.

Emerging market companies ascending the value curve: rationale, motivation and strategies

IIMs have played a significant role in realizing the societal aspirations of India becoming a creative, compassionate, and developed nation. This needs attention of all stakeholders. Very few peopl...

Social Context of Management Education: Institution Building Experiences at IIMs

How do firms react when an industry faces increased competitive pressures due to trade liberalization? Firms are believed to bring about changes in their technology, marketing and organization by reorganization and redeployment of resources, often through exit process (Buffie and Spiller 1986, Ross 1988). Pavitt's (1990) analysis of technological opportunity and innovations, Ettlie and Bridges's (1982) analysis of environmental uncertainty and its impact on technological performance seem to support this. Many research results have observed that environment can affect firms' strategies (Jemison 1981, McArthur and Nystrom 1991), and under conditions of increased uncertainty firms employ innovative strategies (Paine and Anderson 1977). However, evaluations are not so clear in a science-based industry such as Pharmaceuticals, especially if it is an oligopolistic domestic industry and imports are only imperfect substitutes for local production. Innovations are endogenous to the science-based industries and the form's have high technological options: one of diversifying into horizontal related products or altering the basic technological platforms themselves (Pavitt, 1990). This paper looks at adaptive behavior of the Indian pharmaceutical firms during the period of trade liberalization.

Rishikesha T. Krishnan

Papers

An insider's guide to doing business in India

Emerging market companies ascending the value curve: rationale, motivation and strategies

Social Context of Management Education: Institution Building Experiences at IIMs

Adaptive Strategies in the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

Growth challenges of software SMITs: a strategic analysis