Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@@The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration.
TL;DR: Giddens as mentioned in this paper has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade and outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form.
Abstract: Anthony Giddens has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade. In "The Constitution of Society" he outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form. A particular feature is Giddens' concern to connect abstract problems of theory to an interpretation of the nature of empirical method in the social sciences. In presenting his own ideas, Giddens mounts a critical attack on some of the more orthodox sociological views. "The Constitution of Society" is an invaluable reference book for all those concerned with the basic issues in contemporary social theory.
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TL;DR: A review of the existing entrepreneurship literature that employs institutional theory to understand the current status of the field, its current shortcomings, and where we need to move in the future can be found in this article.
Abstract: Institutional theory is an increasingly utilized theoretical lens for entrepreneurship research. However, while institutional theory has proven highly useful, its use has reached a point that there is a need to establish a clearer understanding of its wide-ranging application to entrepreneurship research. Therefore, we will initially review the existing entrepreneurship literature that employs institutional theory to both understand the current status of the field, its current shortcomings, and where we need to move in the future. We then summarize and discuss the articles in this special issue and how they contribute to this process of advancing institutional theory and its application in entrepreneurship research.
1,206 citations
Cites background from "Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@..."
...…and practices, and institutional 428 ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY and PRACTICE entrepreneurs can work to form the institutions that define the field and, at the same time, these institutions shape the ongoing patterns of interaction from which they are produced (DiMaggio & Powell; Giddens, 1984)....
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...Through repeated interactions, groups of organizations develop common understandings and practices, and institutional 428 ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY and PRACTICE entrepreneurs can work to form the institutions that define the field and, at the same time, these institutions shape the ongoing patterns of interaction from which they are produced (DiMaggio & Powell; Giddens, 1984)....
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...The cognitive pillar may operate more at the individual level in terms of culture and language (Carroll, 1964; Scott), and other taken-for-grantedness and preconscious behavior that people barely think about (DiMaggio & Powell; Meyer & Rowan, 1991)....
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Book•
01 Jan 1995TL;DR: Webster as discussed by the authors examines what thinkers mean by an information society, and looks closely at different approaches to informational developments, concluding that, while there has undoubtedly been an information explosion, it is premature to conceive of an Information Society.
Abstract: From the Publisher:
This book sets out to examine and assess the variety of theories of information in society currently available. Frank Webster sceptically examines what thinkers mean by an information society, and looks closely at different approaches to informational developments. He provides critical commentaries on the major postwar theories: Daniel Bell's ideas on a post-industrial information society, Anthony Giddens' thoughts on the growth of surveillance and the expansion of the nation state, Herbert Schiller's insistence that information both expresses and consolidates the interests of corporate capitalism: Jurgen Habermas' account of the diminishment of the public sphere; Jean Baudrillard's thoughts on postmodernism and information, and Manuel Castells' depiction of the 'informational city'. Each theorisation is subjected to close scrutiny and is tested against empirical evidence to assess its worth. The author concludes that, while there has undoubtedly been an information explosion, it is premature to conceive of an information society. We should rather emphasise the 'informatisation' of established relations.
1,199 citations
TL;DR: This work conceptualizes the emergent process of path dependence along three distinct stages of self-reinforcing mechanisms and uses the model to explore breakouts from organizational path dependence and discuss implications for managing and researching organizational paths.
Abstract: To enable a better understanding of the underlying logic of path dependence, we set forth a theoretical framework explaining how organizations become path dependent. At its core are the dynamics of self-reinforcing mechanisms, which are likely to lead an organization into a lock-in. By drawing on studies of technological paths, we conceptualize the emergent process of path dependence along three distinct stages. We also use the model to explore breakouts from organizational path dependence and discuss implications for managing and researching organizational paths.
1,196 citations
Cites background from "Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@..."
...Because of the circumstances, this lock-in may be of a predominantly cognitive, normative, or resource-based nature (Giddens, 1984)....
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...Eventually, a dominant solution emerges in terms of recursive action patterns (Giddens, 1984)....
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...Actors in the final phase do not simply experience the path; rather, as “knowledgeable agents” (Giddens, 1984), they have scope in interpreting the organizational patterns....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that we need to conceptualize gender as a social structure, and by doing so, we can better analyze the ways in which gender is embedded in the individual, interactional, and institutional dimensions of our society.
Abstract: In this article, the author argues that we need to conceptualize gender as a social structure, and by doing so, we can better analyze the ways in which gender is embedded in the individual, interactional, and institutional dimensions of our society. To conceptualize gender as a structure situates gender at the same level of general social significance as the economy and the polity. The author also argues that while concern with intersectionality must continue to be paramount, different structures of inequality have different constructions and perhaps different influential causal mechanisms at any given historical moment. We need to follow a both/and strategy to understand gender structure, race structure, and other structures of inequality as they currently operate while also systematically paying attention to how these axes of domination intersect. Finally, the author suggests we pay more attention to doing research and writing theory with explicit attention to how our work can indeed help transform as w...
1,194 citations
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: For example, the authors show that when exposed to models of differing styles of thinking and behaving, observers vary in what they adopt from the different sources and thereby create new blends of personal characteristics that differ from the individual models.
Abstract: and Creative Modeling Modeling is not simply a process of response mimicry as commonly believed. Modeled judgments and actions may differ in specific content but embody the same rule. For example, a model may deal with moral dilemmas that differ widely in the nature of the activity but apply the same moral standard to them. Modeled activities thus convey rules for generative and innovative behavior. This higher level learning is achieved through abstract modeling. Once observers extract the rules underlying the modeled activities they can generate new behaviors that go beyond what they have seen or heard. Creativeness rarely springs entirely from individual inventiveness. A lot of modeling goes on in creativity. By refining preexisting innovations, synthesizing them into new ways and adding novel elements to them something new is created. When exposed to models of differing styles of thinking and behaving, observers vary in what they adopt from the different sources and thereby create new blends of personal characteristics that differ from the individual models (Bandura, Ross & Ross, 1963). Modeling influences that exemplify new perspectives and innovative styles of thinking also foster creativity by weakening conventional mind sets (Belcher, 1975; Harris & Evans, 1973).
1,192 citations
Cites background from "Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@..."
...For the most part, social structures represent authorized social practices carried out by human beings occupying designated roles (Giddens, 1984)....
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