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 Jan 2011
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the consumption of three films that triggered for their audiences intense controversies that included topics belonging to the blurry crossroad where spirituality, science, and religion intersect: Whatleep do We (k)now!? (USA 2004), The Da Vinci Code (USA 2006), and The Passion of the Christ (usa 2004).
Abstract: This work inquires about the subjectivity construction
individuals perform in our contemporary media culture. It examines
the structure of believing that can be inferred from the narrative
elaboration of beliefs exerted in social conversations when
pop-media related to spirituality or transcendency are used as
inputs for conversation. For this purpose, I investigate the
consumption of three films that triggered for their audiences
intense controversies that included topics belonging to the blurry
crossroad where spirituality, science, and religion intersect: What
The Bleep do We (k)now!? (USA 2004), The Da Vinci Code (USA 2006),
and The Passion of the Christ (USA 2004). My approach departs from
the sociology of spirituality perspective, and draws on some
insights developed by ritual studies, sociology of religion, social
psychoanalysis, consumer studies, and visual studies. Based on a
multi-method strategy of inquiry, formal film analysis, focus and
discussion groups, and interview data collected from the audience,
this dissertation finds that the burgeoning of a media driven
popular culture spirituality in Mexico is creating a wave of
Pop-Esotericism. As a rational narrative with consumption and
conversational drives, Pop-Esotericism is not only a resonant
media-reference, but also constitutes a pre-text in the
construction of ephemeral and collective conversational spaces
wherein the belief system is engaged and refurnished. To give a
full account on the pop-esoteric phenomenon and on overall
contemporary belief systems, I propose a theoretical model aimed to
uncover the dynamics and strategies we engage to articulate
spirituality, identity, and reality in our current global media
context.
17 citations
Dissertation•
26 Jun 2018
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the relation entre the vision strategique des dirigeants and the RSE dans les PME, ainsi que les raisons del'integration strategiques des principes de responsabilite sociale dans the different structures a travers le concept of la visionstrategique.
Abstract: Cette these s'interesse a la Responsabilite Sociale des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises en contexte particulier, a savoir leMaroc.Elle vise a explorer la relation entre la vision strategique des dirigeants et la RSE dans les PME, ainsi que les raisons del'integration strategique des principes de responsabilite sociale dans lesdites structures a travers le concept de la visionstrategique. L'interet de mobiliser ce dernier se justifie par sa capacite a eclairer l'aspect implicite et peu formel quicaracterise les strategies des PME, y compris la strategie RSE.La premiere partie de cette these est consacree a l'elaboration du cadre conceptuel de la recherche, articulant lesfondements de la vision strategique, des PME et de leur RSE et analysant l'apport du concept de la vision strategiquepour apprehender la strategie RSE des PME. La deuxieme partie de la these aborde empiriquement la problematique denotre recherche. La relation etroite liant les PME a leurs contextes influence aussi bien leur perception que leurdemarche RSE. Avant d'entamer notre etude de cas, une demarche de contextualisation s'est donc averee necessaireadapter notre grille de lecture a la realite marocaine. Notre etude qualitative exploratoire porte sur quatre cas de PMEmarocaines labellisees RSE. Elle met en evidence la relation entre RSE en PME et vision slrategique du dirigeant ainsique les facteurs qui construisent cette vision strategique integrant la RSE. Enfin, nous proposons une typologie de quatrevisions strategiques de dirigeants de PME marocaines labellisees.
17 citations
15 Aug 2006
TL;DR: This article examines a set of transboundary marine programs to uncover what the important dimensions of differentiation are and focuses on one specific program, the SSME, to closely trace how its specific form and organization came about.
Abstract: While much of the literature on environmental regimes has focused on effectiveness, this article takes a new look at a lesser-studied topic, the evolution of regime design. Understanding how regimes differ in design, and how various factors and processes shape such design, is important if we are to more carefully craft these regimes. We should also pay close attention to the formative role of social construction and context. Focusing on transboundary marine programs, we see that their designs basically follow a common template, namely that of the UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) Regional Seas Programme. However, the action of context (i.e., local actors and political processes) can modify these designs away from the common template. The extent to which these programs begin to differentiate from each other may be an important sign of program maturity and responsiveness to context. In this article, we examine a set of transboundary marine programs to uncover what the important dimensions of differentiation are. Then, we focus on one specific program, the SSME (Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion) and closely trace how its specific form and organization came about. The analysis is informed by a model of institutional coherence that portrays institutions as the product of multiple generative mechanisms (e.g., social construction, ecological fit, and others). While it is premature to make definite judgments about the relative merits of competing regime designs, the work provides us with a new mode of analysis that can provide helpful directions for institutional assessment.
17 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the use of qualitative research methods to gain a better understanding of the performance management system (PMS) of one of the largest retailers in North America.
Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to focus on the use of qualitative research methods to gain a better understanding of the performance management system (PMS) of one of the largest retailers in NorthAmerica. The motivation for the research was to assess whether the PMS at one of the world’s largest retail companies was congruent with the most recent thinking and research in the management accounting literature. Design/methodology/approach – Using open-ended interviews, the paper seeks to develop relevant hypotheses emerging from the dimensions of the Strauss and Corbin’s qualitative research methodology (1998). A qualitative methodology was used because it provides a structured approach and analytical techniques that can build upon existing theory and literature. Findings – The qualitative evidence collected during the course of the research indicates that financial measures were predominantly used by the company in its PMS, and that this reliance on financial measures may be an artifact of the industry in which the company operates. The retail industry is highly competitive, and it is very sensitive to changes in customer tastes and behavior, as well as shareholder and financial market pressures. In addition to financial measures, it was found that operational management developed certain non-financial performance measures and that this development may have been a response by operational managers to wider stakeholder pressures and external influences. However, these performance measures appear to be not fully integrated in the PMS and are therefore de-coupled and relatively unimportant in, or entirely absent from, top-level decision-making. Research limitations and implications – The conclusions of the paper provide support for the concepts of isomorphism and de-coupling as found in the literature of new institutional theory. Originality/value – The case study approach has enabled to explore and gain further understanding of management accounting practices, particularly performance measurement and management, in their natural setting. Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) grounded theory methodology was adopted because it provides a structured set of analytical steps and systematic analytical techniques for handling and interpreting data and theory building.
17 citations
References
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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