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)

Historically, management theory has ignored the constraints imposed by the biophysical (natural) environment. Building upon resource-based theory, this article attempts to fill this void by proposing a natural-resource-based view of the firm—a theory of competitive advantage based upon the firm's relationship to the natural environment. It is composed of three interconnected strategies: pollution prevention, product stewardship, and sustainable development. Propositions are advanced for each of these strategies regarding key resource requirements and their contributions to sustained competitive advantage.

A natural resource-based view of the firm

The implementation of Industry 40 has a far-reaching impact on industrial value creation Studies on its opportunities and challenges for companies are still scarce However, the high practical and theoretical relevance of digital and connected manufacturing technologies implies that it is essential to understand the underlying dynamics of their implementation Thus, this study examines the relevance of Industry 40-related opportunities and challenges as drivers for Industry 40 implementation in the context of sustainability, taking a differentiated perspective on varying company sizes, industry sectors, and the company’s role as an Industry 40 provider or user A research model comprising relevant Industry 40-related opportunities and challenges as antecedents for its implementation is hypothesized In order to test the model, partial least square structural equation modeling is applied for a sample of 746 German manufacturing companies from five industry sectors The results show that strategic, operational, as well as environmental and social opportunities are positive drivers of Industry 40 implementation, whereas challenges with regard to competitiveness and future viability as well as organizational and production fit impede its progress Moreover, it is shown that the perception of Industry 40-related opportunities and challenges as antecedents to Industry 40 implementation depends on different company characteristics

What Drives the Implementation of Industry 4.0? The Role of Opportunities and Challenges in the Context of Sustainability

The eclectic paradigm as an envelope for economic and business theories of MNE activity

The Uppsala internationalization process model revisited: from liability of foreignness to liability of outsidership

This article proposes a model to measure tourism cluster impact on local development with a view to assessing tourism cluster interaction, competitiveness and sustainability impacts on the economy, society and the environment. The theoretical basis for this model is founded on cluster concept and typology adapting and integrating the systemic competitiveness and sustainability concepts within economic, social, cultural, environmental and political dimensions. The proposed model shows a holistic, multidisciplinary and multi-sector view of local development brought back through a systemic approach to the concepts of competitiveness, social equity and sustainability. Its results make possible strategic guidance to agents responsible for public sector tourism policies, as well as the strategies for competitiveness, competition, cooperation and sustainability in private companies and institutions.

/pdf/tourism-cluster-competitiveness-and-sustainability-proposal-1qnp6vyzae.pdf

Tourism cluster competitiveness and sustainability: proposal for a systemic model to measure the impact of tourism on local development

Challenges and opportunities for the growth of solar photovoltaic energy in Brazil

Este artigo apresenta uma proposta de medida de impactos de um cluster turistico no desenvolvimento local, com o objetivo de avaliar, de forma sistemica, o grau de interacao, competitividade e sustentabilidade do cluster turistico e seus impactos em termos economicos, sociais e ambientais. O modelo tem como fundamentacao teorica o conceito e a tipologia de cluster, adaptando e integrando os conceitos de competitividade sistemica e de sustentabilidade nas dimensoes economicas, sociais, culturais, ambientais e politicas. O modelo proposto apresenta uma visao holistica, multidisciplinar e multissetorial do desenvolvimento local, resgatando, por meio da abordagem sistemica, os conceitos de competitividade, equidade social e sustentabilidade. Os resultados possibilitam orientar estrategicamente agentes responsaveis pelas politicas publicas do setor de turismo, bem como as empresas e instituicoes publicas e privadas em suas estrategias de competitividade, competicao, cooperacao e sustentabilidade.

/pdf/competitividade-e-sustentabilidade-de-um-cluster-de-turismo-1my0t3zck5.pdf

Competitividade e sustentabilidade de um cluster de turismo: uma proposta de modelo sistêmico de medida do impacto do turismo no desenvolvimento local

This study analyzes the production of knowledge in the field of eco-innovation, checking its state of the art in order to discuss topics of future research. Specifically, it assesses the pulp, paper, and paper products industry in Brazil in order to examine the drivers of the adoption of eco-innovation strategies. The study is essentially a review of the literature, with a methodology based on exploratory research, and using the documental and bibliographical qualitative method. The empirical research was based on a quantitative approach using the strategy of a cross-sectional survey by means of a self-administered online questionnaire. It was verified that the studies related to eco-innovation are still preliminary and that the subject lacks specific research with empirical data from survey and in-depth case studies. The following topics were checked for studies on innovation in environmental issues on conceptual and theoretical discussion; models and indicators for evaluating the eco-innovation...

Drivers of the Adoption of Eco-Innovations in the Pulp, Paper, and Paper Products Industry in Brazil

Economic activities, and more intensely the business environment, are being pressured to direct their actions towards sustainable performance, more specifically in its social and environmental facets. One of the alternatives to deal with these pressures is innovation. In this paper, we present results of a study conducted on the electrical and electronics industry operating in Brazil in order to examine the relationship between innovation and sustainable performance. The methodology adopted was the strategy of cross-sectional survey, conducted in 112 electrical and electronic manufacturing companies of all sizes and from all regions of Brazil. Data analysis was carried out mainly through Cronbach’s Alpha reliability analysis of scales, descriptive analysis of measures, and especially cluster analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The main results categorise the companies into more sustainable, less sustainable and relatively sustainable, according to their performance profiles. The study shows that the companies in the sample categorised as more sustainable are more prone to innovation and to be collaborative to innovation than the others. These results indicate the importance of the relationship between innovation and sustainable performance, as highlighted by Barbieri (2007), Barbieri et al. (2010), Carvalho and Barbieri (2010), Scandelari (2011) and Scandelari and Cunha (2011). But of greater relevance is the relationship between collaboration and sustainable performance. This fact has not yet been demonstrated empirically, but has been highlighted by Hartman, Hofman and Stafford (1999), Fadeeva (2004), Petzel, Archer and Fei (2010), Bos-Brouwers (2010), Murray, Haynes and Hudson (2010) and especially by Sarkis, Lamb and Brust (2010). The study contributes to the advancement of knowledge of the relationship between innovation and sustainable performance from empirical evidences, providing information on this relationship in Brazilian companies.

Sieglinde Kindl da Cunha

Papers

Tourism cluster competitiveness and sustainability: proposal for a systemic model to measure the impact of tourism on local development

Challenges and opportunities for the growth of solar photovoltaic energy in Brazil

Competitividade e sustentabilidade de um cluster de turismo: uma proposta de modelo sistêmico de medida do impacto do turismo no desenvolvimento local

Drivers of the Adoption of Eco-Innovations in the Pulp, Paper, and Paper Products Industry in Brazil

Relationship between innovation and sustainable performance