The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)
01 Jan 2008-
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them, and describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative.
Abstract: 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.
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01 Jun 2014
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate whether the principal-agent approach is applicable to four Icelandic media companies and how the theory manifests itself in the management practices of these companies, and the results indicated that it is, indeed, possible to analyze management practices in media organizations from the perspective of agency theory.
Abstract: It has previously been maintained by Napoli (1997) that agency theory (principal‐agent approach) might be applied to media organizations to understand how media owners make sure that their companies are managed according to their wishes. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to investigate: a) whether the agency theory is applicable to four Icelandic media companies, and b) how the theory manifests itself in the management practices of these companies. The media companies that were examined were: the Icelandic State Broadcasting Service (RÚV), and three privately owned companies, i.e. 365 miðlar ehf., Árvakur hf. and DV ehf. Qualitative interviews were conducted with four editors‐in‐chief, two CEOs/publishers, the director general of RÚV and the news director of RÚV in May of 2012. Three of the interviewees were also part owners of the media companies. The results indicated that it is, indeed, possible to analyze management practices of media organizations from the perspective of agency theory. However, it varies how much the companies are driven by profit maximization, for instance; on which agency theory places an optimum emphasis. Also, the companies differ in their view towards other stakeholders like the public. The media house 365 ehf. turned out to be the best example of how the underlying constructs of agency theory are incorporated into the management practices of a media organization. Agency theory and stakeholder theory have generally been treated in the literature as being dichotomous. It is proposed in the present thesis that agency theory and stakeholder theory are not incompatible but rather should be reconceptualized as polar forces on the same continuum.
6 citations
01 Jan 2014
TL;DR: This book discusses the relationship between Electronic Monitoring and Turnover, and the relationships between Turnover and Safety, and their applications in the context ofrugged-vehicle accident prevention and public safety.
Abstract: ii Dedication iv Acknowledgements v Vita vi List of Tables viii List of Figures ix Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Does Electronic Monitoring Make Us Safer 6 Chapter 3: Reevaluating the Relationship between Electronic Monitoring and Turnover 53 Chapter 4: Testing the Competing Relationships between Turnover and Safety 92 Chapter 5: Conclusion 135 References 139
6 citations
15 Jun 2016
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reflechit aux fondements theoriques qui peuvent aider a elaborer une approche morphologique de la construction sequentielle de the personnalite des journalistes aujourd’hui, ainsi qu’aux outils methodologiques susceptibles de contribuer a depasser les limites des donnees existantes and a produire d’autres donnes for une telle entreprise.
Abstract: A partir du constat, opere a plusieurs niveaux, de la difficulte a etudier les trajectoires professionnelles des journalistes sur la base des bases de donnees disponibles, cet article reflechit aux fondements theoriques qui peuvent aider a elaborer une approche morphologique de la construction sequentielle de la personnalite des journalistes aujourd’hui, ainsi qu’aux outils methodologiques susceptibles de contribuer a depasser les limites des donnees existantes et a produire d’autres donnees pour une telle entreprise. Le reseau professionnel LinkedIn peut etre mobilise pour reconstituer, a partir d’une enquete indirecte et sequentielle, les parcours d’un grand nombre de journalistes grâce aux donnees que ceux-ci rendent publiques sur des reseaux socio-professionnels. En conclusion, cet article s’interesse aux relations que l’on peut identifier entre analyse du travail des journalistes et analyse de leurs trajectoires personnelles. Article publie le 24/10/2016
6 citations
01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the contribution of Peter Sloterdijk's theory of spheres to organization theory and apply it to organizations, arguing that a foam-theoretical approach provides a simultaneous focus on organizational dynamics of affective imitation, on spatial and architectural dimensions of organizations and, finally, on the politics of organizational atmospheres.
Abstract: This article discusses the contribution of Peter Sloterdijk’s theory of spheres to organization theory. Specifically, I apply Sloterdijk’s sphereological notion of foam to obtain a new perspective on organizations. It is argued that a foam-theoretical approach provides a simultaneous focus on organizational dynamics of affective imitation, on the spatial and architectural dimensions of organizations and, finally, on the politics of organizational atmospheres. The article opens with a brief introduction to Sloterdijk’s sphere theory and then proceeds by applying his notion of foam to organizations. This includes a comparison between the foam-theoretical angle and existing perspectives in organization theory. Next I discuss Sloterdijk’s analyses of the spatiality of foam. In the final part of the article, I argue for taking seriously the politics and management of organizational atmospheres.
6 citations
01 Jan 2014
TL;DR: In this article, the authors set out the results of research commissioned by the Royal Society as part of their BIS-funded programme entitled "Leading the way: increasing diversity in the scientific workforce" and explored whether there is a business case for diversity in STEMM occupations and whether diverse teams are more likely to do good science.
Abstract: This report sets out the results of research commissioned by the Royal Society as part of their BIS-funded programme entitled ‘Leading the way: increasing diversity in the scientific workforce’. The research explored whether there is a business case for diversity in STEMM occupations (scientific, technical, engineering, mathematical and medical roles) and whether diverse teams are more likely to do ‘good’ science. The research focused on three of the nine protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010: gender, ethnicity and disability.
6 citations
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TL;DR: This article synthesize the large but diverse literature on organizational legitimacy, highlighting similarities and disparities among the leading strategic and institutional approaches, and identify three primary forms of legitimacy: pragmatic, based on audience self-interest; moral, based upon normative approval; and cognitive, according to comprehensibility and taken-for-grantedness.
Abstract: This article synthesizes the large but diverse literature on organizational legitimacy, highlighting similarities and disparities among the leading strategic and institutional approaches. The analysis identifies three primary forms of legitimacy: pragmatic, based on audience self-interest; moral, based on normative approval: and cognitive, based on comprehensibility and taken-for-grantedness. The article then examines strategies for gaining, maintaining, and repairing legitimacy of each type, suggesting both the promises and the pitfalls of such instrumental manipulations.
13,229 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a theory of stakeholder identification and saliency based on stakeholders possessing one or more of three relationship attributes (power, legitimacy, and urgency) is proposed, and a typology of stakeholders, propositions concerning their saliency to managers of the firm, and research and management implications.
Abstract: Stakeholder theory has been a popular heuristic for describing the management environment for years, but it has not attained full theoretical status. Our aim in this article is to contribute to a theory of stakeholder identification and salience based on stakeholders possessing one or more of three relationship attributes: power, legitimacy, and urgency. By combining these attributes, we generate a typology of stakeholders, propositions concerning their salience to managers of the firm, and research and management implications.
10,630 citations
TL;DR: The authors applied the convergent insights of institutional and resource dependence perspectives to the prediction of strategic responses to institutional processes, and proposed a typology of strategies that vary in active organizational resistance from passive conformity to proactive manipulation.
Abstract: This article applies the convergent insights of institutional and resource dependence perspectives to the prediction of strategic responses to institutional processes. The article offers a typology of strategic responses that vary in active organizational resistance from passive conformity to proactive manipulation. Ten institutional factors are hypothesized to predict the occurrence of the alternative proposed strategies and the degree of organizational conformity or resistance to institutional pressures.
7,595 citations
TL;DR: This article conducted a meta-analysis of 52 studies and found that corporate virtue in the form of social responsibility and, to a lesser extent, environmental responsibility is likely to pay off, although the operationalizations of CSP and CFP also moderate the positive association.
Abstract: Most theorizing on the relationship between corporate social/environmental performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP) assumes that the current evidence is too fractured or too variable to draw any generalizable conclusions. With this integrative, quantitative study, we intend to show that the mainstream claim that we have little generalizable knowledge about CSP and CFP is built on shaky grounds. Providing a methodologically more rigorous review than previous efforts, we conduct a meta-analysis of 52 studies (which represent the population of prior quantitative inquiry) yielding a total sample size of 33,878 observations. The meta-analytic findings suggest that corporate virtue in the form of social responsibility and, to a lesser extent, environmental responsibility is likely to pay off, although the operationalizations of CSP and CFP also moderate the positive association. For example, CSP appears to be more highly correlated with accounting-based measures of CFP than with market-based ...
6,493 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider structural inertia in organizational populations as an outcome of an ecological-evolutionary process and define structural inertia as a correspondence between a class of organizations and their environments.
Abstract: Considers structural inertia in organizational populations as an outcome of an ecological-evolutionary process. Structural inertia is considered to be a consequence of selection as opposed to a precondition. The focus of this analysis is on the timing of organizational change. Structural inertia is defined to be a correspondence between a class of organizations and their environments. Reliably producing collective action and accounting rationally for their activities are identified as important organizational competencies. This reliability and accountability are achieved when the organization has the capacity to reproduce structure with high fidelity. Organizations are composed of various hierarchical layers that vary in their ability to respond and change. Organizational goals, forms of authority, core technology, and marketing strategy are the four organizational properties used to classify organizations in the proposed theory. Older organizations are found to have more inertia than younger ones. The effect of size on inertia is more difficult to determine. The variance in inertia with respect to the complexity of organizational arrangements is also explored. (SRD)
6,425 citations