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Article
Publication date: 1 April 1994

Robert Hooijberg, Richard H. Price and Akkeneel Talsma

We propose that institutional actors do not just ceremonially comply with the cultural values in their environment, as institutional theorists have suggested. Instead, we argue…

Abstract

We propose that institutional actors do not just ceremonially comply with the cultural values in their environment, as institutional theorists have suggested. Instead, we argue that institutional actors can use conflicting cultural values as tools to further their interests and, in doing so, affect significant social problems and cause unanticipated changes in their core goals and policies. To present support for that proposition, we describe an epidemic of work disability that occurred in the Netherlands between 1967 and 1988. The epidemic is examined in light of conflicting Dutch cultural conceptions of the meaning of work and the meaning of economic security in the welfare state. The behavior of key institutional actors, including the government, medical institutions, employers, and labor unions, is examined to identify their roles in the epidemic. We assert that, by pursuing its own interests while upholding Dutch cultural values, each institutional actor produced conditions in which the work disability epidemic could occur.

Details

The International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 2 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1055-3185

Article
Publication date: 7 June 2013

Ifeanyi J. Ezema

This study seeks to examine the management of local content materials for open access institutional repositories in Nigeria.

1708

Abstract

Purpose

This study seeks to examine the management of local content materials for open access institutional repositories in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 85 librarians from seven government funded universities in South East Nigeria were used for the study.

Findings

From the findings 15 local content materials were identified as relevant for publication in institutional repositories. Similarly a major method of acquiring these local contents is by encouraging staff to deposit their publications in the university libraries. It was also found out that providing a subject index to the local contents and their digitization were effective methods of organizing the materials for the institutional repository. The findings also showed that an increase in the visibility of the authors, promotion of university ranking and efficient dissemination of research findings were among the benefits of publishing in institutional repositories. The problems and strategies of publishing in institutional repositories were also identified through the findings.

Practical implications

This study will serve as a useful guide for university administrators and librarians who are interested in developing their institutional repositories using local contents available to them. It will also be of great value to project managers who are engaged in the digitization of their local contents.

Social implications

Research works generated in Nigeria and other developing countries are poorly disseminated and therefore lack global visibility. The publication of these research findings in institutional repositories of individual universities will not only improve the visibility and utilization of the research but will also increase the global ranking of the universities and researchers who have published the works in the repository.

Originality/value

This paper is on the use of local content information resources in building institutional repositories in Nigerian university libraries. These studies will be useful for university libraries, particularly in developing countries, that intend to build their institutional repositories.

Article
Publication date: 11 June 2019

Jaroslaw Plichta

The development of tourism is emerging in some places of the world’s destinations and the problem of overtourism is an expression of the mechanisms and behaviours of entities in…

1002

Abstract

Purpose

The development of tourism is emerging in some places of the world’s destinations and the problem of overtourism is an expression of the mechanisms and behaviours of entities in the public space that is a city or region. For many years, on the practical and theoretical ground, various ways of describing these phenomena have been sought. These include the theory of stakeholders that combines approaches that refer to strategic management, value-chain theory, resource-based theory, CSR concepts or those embedded in the institutional concept, game theory and the theory of property rights. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper discusses the overtourism problem from the point of view of selected aspects of stakeholder theory on the example of one of the most popular cities in the world – Krakow, where for several years there has been a discussion about overtourism and the effects of this phenomenon for residents, enterprises and other stakeholders. It can be hypothesised that the stakeholder theory and co-management can be an inspiration to seek a solution to this growing problem.

Findings

The result of the discussed problems is the indication of the role of stakeholders in the appearance of the ovetourism phenomenon and the protection of activities aimed at implementing the co-management concept at the local and international level.

Research limitations/implications

Here are not many research results and the empirical data describing the problem from point of view stakeholder theory connected with overtourism. It is also the problem of overlapping different approach and theories. This shows possibilities to grow of research in this field.

Practical implications

Stakeholders theory help to solve many problems in corporate management as well as in public institutions. It gives the possibilities to include in analysis different social groups and entities. This kind of research and approach could be used for creating of the regional policies and sustainable development. An important role to play in the process of creating co-operative structures between stakeholders has co-managerial and academic environments. They can be a place for both discussions, conducting research and a meeting place for thematic groups solving specific problems.

Social implications

Overtourism is a problem concerning various areas of functioning of historical cities. They are obliged to provide and protect the cultural heritage of all humanity. The theory of stakeholders and the co-management concept create the possibility of managing the ovetourism phenomenon. They have, therefore, an important social aspect. Their goal is to cooperate and integrate activities around key social and economic problems at the local, national and international levels.

Originality/value

It is an adaptation and searching of methods for describing the new phenomena in tourism and cities development. It is an attempt at a holistic approach to problems related to the common space and resources owned by various stakeholders.

Details

International Journal of Tourism Cities, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-5607

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 July 2022

Herman Aksom

Once introduced and conceptualized as a factor that causes erosion and decay of social institutions and subsequent deinstitutionalization, the notion of entropy is at odds with…

Abstract

Purpose

Once introduced and conceptualized as a factor that causes erosion and decay of social institutions and subsequent deinstitutionalization, the notion of entropy is at odds with predictions of institutional isomorphism and seems to directly contradict the tendency toward ever-increasing institutionalization. The purpose of this paper is to offer a resolution of this theoretical inconsistency by revisiting the meaning of entropy and reconceptualizing institutionalization from an information-theoretic point of view.

Design/methodology/approach

It is a theoretical paper that offers an information perspective on institutionalization.

Findings

A mistaken understanding of the nature and role of entropy in the institutional theory is caused by conceptualizing it as a force that counteracts institutional tendencies and acts in opposite direction. Once institutionalization and homogeneity are seen as a product of natural tendencies in the organizational field, the role of entropy becomes clear. Entropy manifests itself at the level of information processing and corresponds with increasing uncertainty and the decrease of the value of information. Institutionalization thus can be seen as a special case of an increase in entropy and a decrease of knowledge. Institutionalization is a state of maximum entropy.

Originality/value

It is explained why institutionalization and institutional persistence are what to be expected in the long run and why information entropy contributes to this tendency. Contrary to the tenets of the institutional work perspective, no intentional efforts of individuals and collective actors are needed to maintain institutions. In this respect, the paper contributes to the view of institutional theory as a theory of self-organization.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 31 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 November 2018

Saqib Amin

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between ethnic diversity, social exclusion and institutional quality of Pakistan. Pakistan is enlisted among those…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between ethnic diversity, social exclusion and institutional quality of Pakistan. Pakistan is enlisted among those countries that are suffering from bad institutional quality, which may be due to the less economic growth along with multifarious ethnic problems, higher misery and social exclusion. This study is an attempt of how ethnic diversity and social exclusion are encompassed to affect the institutional quality.

Design/methodology/approach

This study covers time series data from 1970 to 2015 and uses autoregressive distributed lags modeling approach to explore the underlying nexus among variables.

Findings

The finding of this study reveals that ethnic diversity and social exclusion are the enormous obstacles and deteriorate the institutional quality of Pakistan. In case of Pakistan, ethnic diversity is playing a fundamental role in the deterioration of institutional quality. Ethnic diversity has adverse effect on institutional quality which leads to hamper the economic prosperity; therefore, it has to be managed in efficient way by establishing a dense social network needed for growth promotion. This study also shows that socially excluded people are more involved in breaking the institutional rules (formal and informal) because they are not treated equal in society in all of aspects.

Practical implications

This study suggests that governments should play a vital role in creating secure and peaceful society through strong institutional quality and shaping the economic life of a country in a variety of ways such as to promote society toward more cohesiveness.

Originality/value

This study fills a significant gap in the literature as there is limited research on ethnic diversity and social exclusion in relation with institutional quality of Pakistan.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 39 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 December 2014

Lia Ahonen and Jürgen Degner

Institutional staff encounter juveniles with complex problems (externalizing and internalizing) which calls for adequate formal education/training and professional experience to…

Abstract

Purpose

Institutional staff encounter juveniles with complex problems (externalizing and internalizing) which calls for adequate formal education/training and professional experience to deliver quality treatment, contributing to an effective organization and increasing public value. The purpose of this paper is to investigate staff's formal education, professional experience and the institutions’ organizational strategies providing knowledge and clinical training to staff.

Design/methodology/approach

The study includes staff questionnaires from eight wards (n=102). In addition, 39 in-depth interviews were conducted with management and staff members.

Findings

Results show that institutions lack clearly defined target groups, 70 percent of staff members lack college education, 30 percent has never been offered education within the organization, and the vast majority of staff does not feel competent in performing their daily work.

Practical implications

The results from this study shed light on an overlooked area in institutions, detention centers and prison settings, and are important to policy makers and governmental organizations responsible for coercive care of juveniles.

Originality/value

Unlike previous studies, treatment and detention organizations are emphasized as similar to manufacturing industry and profit organizations, and the results are discussed with departure in organizational theory.

Details

International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-9200

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2019

Maurice Yolles

Agency involves dynamic socio-cultural processes that facilitate development. This paper is written in three parts. In Part 1, there are two purposes, the first purpose is to…

Abstract

Purpose

Agency involves dynamic socio-cultural processes that facilitate development. This paper is written in three parts. In Part 1, there are two purposes, the first purpose is to intimately connect agency and institutional theory, and the second purpose is to explore the relationship between agency development and growth and globalisation. In Part 2, the purpose will be to explore development with respect to the political context by explaining in terms of culture under what conditions political groups may come to power. Using political frames intended to define their nature and realities, political groups seek to attract agents in their political sphere to gain administrative power. In Part 3, the purpose will be to model, using cybernetic agency theory, the nature of development and its reduction to instrumentality.

Design/methodology/approach

In this part of the three-part paper, development theory is explained as a multidisciplinary field in which research and theories are clustered together and set within an adaptive institutional activity system framework. An adaptive activity system has a plural membership of agents represented by agency. Agency represents an activity system that will be argued to operate through its institutional metasystem. This enables activity system development to be explained as a process of institutional evolution. In Part 1, the problem will be addressed of how the relationship between agency and institution enables institutional change. To resolve this agency will be shown to be institutional in nature, and agency development as a process of institutional evolution. To distinguish between development and growth/globalisation, agency will be taken to have an internal and external context. Distinction will then be made between development as an internal attribute of agency and its consequences, which may include the external attributes of growth/globalisation. It will also be explained that development may have a less desirable condition when it becomes liquid.

Findings

The three-part paper develops a political development theory that identifies the conditions under which formal political groups are able to promote frames of policy to attract support from autonomous agents that constitute the membership of the activity system, and hence gain agency status. Furthermore, Bauman’s theory of liquid modernity is connected to Sorokin’s theory of socio-cultural dynamics and cultural stability. One result is the notion of liquid development, an unstable condition of development in adaptive activity systems.

Research limitations/implications

The implication of this research is that, given additional appropriate measurement criteria, it will allow conceptual and empirical methods to be used that will potentially enable political outcomes in complex socio-political environments to be anticipated.

Social implications

The implication of this research is that it will allow empirical methods to be used that potentially enables political outcomes in complex socio-political environments to be anticipated, given additional appropriate measurement criteria.

Originality/value

The synergy of agency and institutional theories to explain the process of development is new, as well as its application to the political development process in a political landscape. As part of this synergistic process, Bauman’s concept of liquidity is shown to relate to Sorokin’s ideas of socio-cultural change.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 49 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 August 2019

Ahmed Abdelnaby Ahmed Diab and Abdelmoneim Bahyeldin Mohamed Metwally

The purpose of this study is to investigate in depth how an organisation is able to achieve its economic objectives in a situation of institutional complexity through being…

1395

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate in depth how an organisation is able to achieve its economic objectives in a situation of institutional complexity through being institutionally dexterous. The study also investigates how this is done through overriding formal controls and concentrating on socio-political and communal-based controls.

Design/methodology/approach

Theoretically, the study draws on the perspectives of institutional complexity and ambidexterity to link higher-order institutions with mundane labour control practices observed at the micro level of the case company. Methodologically, the study adopts an interpretive – case study – approach. Empirical data were solicited in an Egyptian village community, where sugar beet farming and processing constitutes the main economic activity underlying its livelihood. Data were collected through a triangulation of interviews, documents and observations.

Findings

The study concludes that, especially in socio-political contexts such as Egypt, the organisational environment can better be understood and perceived as institutionally complex situation. To manage such complexity and to effectively meet its economic objectives, the organisation needs to be institutionally dextrous. Thereby, this study presents an inclusive view of management control (MC) which is based not only on rational economic practices, but also on social, religious and political aspects that are central to this institutional environment.

Originality/value

The study contributes to MC and logics literature in a number of respects. It extends the institutional logics debate by illustrating that logics get re-institutionalised by the “place” through its cultural, political and communal identities that filter logics’ complexities to different ends. Further, it extends the cultural political economy of MC by illustrating that MC in socio-political settings is also an operational manifestation of the logics prevailing in the context. These logics produced an informal MC system that dominated the formal known MCs.

Details

Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1176-6093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 August 2022

Recai Coşkun, Liridon Kryeziu and Besnik A. Krasniqi

Kosovo has experienced a radical shift from a centrally planned economy to a market economy and built institutions from scratch. During the institutional building process, due to…

Abstract

Purpose

Kosovo has experienced a radical shift from a centrally planned economy to a market economy and built institutions from scratch. During the institutional building process, due to inconsistencies in institutional reforms, firms faced several challenges in competing in the domestic market and engaging in exporting activities. The purpose of the study is threefold. First, to examine how institutional settings influence family firms’ success; second, how and which types of strategic behaviours family firms pursue in response to institutional deficiencies and third, whether and how internationalisation helps the firms overcome the difficulties resulting from deficiencies of the institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs a qualitative document analysis technique using secondary and primary data to examine the impact of institutional settings on firm internationalisation and related firm reactions.

Findings

Findings suggest that fiscal policy, weak protection of property rights and contractual enforcement negatively influenced family firms because of unfair competition, unpredictable business environment and additional costs due to deficient institutions. The authors found that internationalisation provided benefits for the firms in handling the problems posed by the institutions. The firms focused on three main strategies to respond to weak institutions: improving product quality, diversifying and differentiating products and setting competitive prices.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature and explains how and which economic institutions influence firm internationalisation and how engagement in international business activities provides an advantage in responding to deficient institutions in the home country.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, vol. 11 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2045-2101

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1995

Lee Hanson

Economic globalization is making Strategic Management researchers increasingly aware of the important extent to which international business strategies are shaped by national…

Abstract

Economic globalization is making Strategic Management researchers increasingly aware of the important extent to which international business strategies are shaped by national, regional, and international institutions — by differing business‐state and management‐labor regimes, industrial organization, and capital allocation systems, techno‐economic processes, etc. As yet, however, relatively limited attention to the “institutional embeddedness” of corporate strategy has developed within Strategic Management education. This paper seeks to encourage debate on incorporating analysis of the institutional shaping of corporate strategies by discussing four issues recommended to be systematically addressed in Strategic Management texts, lectures, and case work. The topics are: (1) the transition from the “Fordist” to “Post‐Fordist” global economy; (2) comparative business systems analysis; (3) political forces of the global economy; (4) global warming and environmental management.

Details

International Journal of Commerce and Management, vol. 5 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1056-9219

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