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Article
Publication date: 24 May 2011

Kimberly Stoltzfus, Cynthia Stohl and David R. Seibold

The purpose of this paper is to examine how paradox emerges during a planned change initiative to improve and dramatically transform inter‐agency information sharing. Based on…

9771

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how paradox emerges during a planned change initiative to improve and dramatically transform inter‐agency information sharing. Based on interviews with key decision makers, the authors interrogate the relationships among institutional contradictions, emergent dualities, the communicative management of related organizational stakeholder paradoxes, and the consequences of enacted solutions.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews with government leaders serve as the data source. These decision makers are from justice agencies participating in planning an information‐sharing program to better protect citizens and their agencies' workforce.

Findings

The data suggests that Seo and Creed's institutional contradiction “isomorphism conflicting with divergent interests” gave rise to three interdependent dualities: stakeholder self‐interest/collective good, stakeholder inclusion/exclusion, and emergent stakeholder consensus/leader driven decision making. These dualities were implicated in the enactment of paradox and its management. No matter what strategy the managers used, the consequences themselves were paradoxical, rooted in the same dualities that were originally present.

Research limitations/implications

The authors sought to trace the outcomes of how leaders managed the poles of dualities, and found evidence of unintended consequences that were intriguing in their own right and were linked to stakeholder considerations. The paper underscores the importance of communication in the representation of paradoxes and how they were managed, and the unintended consequences of the solutions.

Practical implications

Leaders' articulations of paradox can be tapped for improving change efforts.

Originality/value

Whereas, institutional contradictions have been examined in reference to emerging paradox, and while paradoxical solutions have been studied widely, little research has investigated how institutional contradictions become simultaneously embedded in the process and the outcomes of organizational change.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 24 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 May 2018

Akiebe Humphrey Ahworegba

The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the dilemma of institutional duality (ID) confronting multinational corporations and to propose a workable solution…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the dilemma of institutional duality (ID) confronting multinational corporations and to propose a workable solution for this problem.

Design/methodology/approach

The author has searched the literature using several terms directly related to the dilemma of ID and multinational firms.

Findings

The findings reveal that to attain “legitimacy”, subsidiaries strive to balance institutional pressures stemming from external environments in the host country and their parent organizations. Understanding institutional theories of multinational corporations enables the subsidiaries to manage external pressures. ID impact varies among subsidiaries, depending on institutional contexts and internal strategies of subsidiaries.

Originality/value

An “institutional duality incidence model” portraying how dual institutions make “legitimacy” problematic for subsidiaries is proposed. A framework for identifying factors generating ID dilemma and their management approach is also proposed. It is concluded that a multinational corporation that recognizes ID as a central concern is more likely to achieve and maintain a higher level of harmony with its subsidiaries and host countries.

Book part
Publication date: 12 August 2009

John W. Mohr and Brooke Neely

The work of Michel Foucault is taken as inspiration for a study of the organizational field of asylums, prisons, orphanages, and other carceral organizations operating in New York…

Abstract

The work of Michel Foucault is taken as inspiration for a study of the organizational field of asylums, prisons, orphanages, and other carceral organizations operating in New York City in 1888. Foucault argues that institutional power is organized into dually ordered system of truth and power. Using text data describing the clients and institutional technologies (organizational “power signatures”) of 168 organizations, we apply structural equivalence methods to unpack speech activity, showing that as Foucault suggests, there may be dually ordered sub-domains of truth and power that help define the underlying logic of this institutional field.

Details

Institutions and Ideology
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-867-0

Article
Publication date: 5 October 2021

Helmi A. Boshnak

This study examines the impact of board composition and ownership structure variables on dividend payout policy in Saudi Arabian firms. In particular, it aims to determine the…

1320

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the impact of board composition and ownership structure variables on dividend payout policy in Saudi Arabian firms. In particular, it aims to determine the effect of board size, independence and meeting frequency, in addition to chief executive officer (CEO) duality, and state, institutional, managerial, family, and foreign ownership on both the propensity to pay dividends and dividend per share for Saudi-listed firms over the period 2016–2019.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper captures dividend policy with two measures, propensity to pay dividends and dividend per share, and employs a range of regression methods (logistic, probit, ordinary least squares (OLS) and random effects regressions) along with a two-stage least squares (2SLS) model for robustness to account for heteroscedasticity, serial correlation and endogeneity issues. The data set is a large panel of 280 Saudi-listed firms over the period 2016 to 2019.

Findings

The results underline the importance of board composition and the ownership structure in explaining variations in dividend policy across Saudi firms. More specifically, there is a positive relationship between the propensity to pay dividends and board-meeting frequency, institutional ownership, firm profitability and firm age, while the degree of board independence, firm size and leverage exhibit a negative relation. Further, dividend per share is positively related to board meeting frequency, institutional ownership, foreign ownership, firm profitability and age, while it is negatively related to CEO duality, managerial ownership, and firm leverage. There is no evidence that family ownership exerts an impact on dividend payout policy in Saudi firms. The findings of this study support agency, signalling, substitute and outcome theories of dividend policy.

Research limitations/implications

This study offers an important insight into the board characteristic and ownership structure drivers of dividend policy in the context of an emerging market. Moreover, the study has important implications for firms, managers, investors, policymakers, and regulators in Saudi Arabia.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the existing literature by providing evidence on four board and five ownership characteristic drivers of dividend policy in Saudi Arabia as an emerging stock market, thereby improving on less comprehensive previous studies. The study recommends that investors consider board composition and ownership structure characteristics of firms as key drivers of dividend policy when making stock investment decisions to inform them about the propensity of investee firms to pay dividends and maintain a given dividend policy.

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. 18 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 November 2019

Hitoshi Iwashita

The purpose of this paper is to extend the understandingof how family logic is transferred through mundane practices across the subsidiaries of a Japanese multinational…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to extend the understandingof how family logic is transferred through mundane practices across the subsidiaries of a Japanese multinational corporation (MNC) in different national contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to fulfil this purpose, a comparative qualitative case study was adopted with emphasis on actors’ interpretations.

Findings

Through qualitative data analysis, three findings and their theoretical significances can be summarised. First, it was found that the constellations of family, market and religion logics were transferred differently. This is significant for Japanese management scholars since it illuminates the importance of actors who perceive the (non-) necessity of logics in a Japanese MNC facing institutional dualities. Second, it was found that the family logic is enacted at different levels and with different boundaries. This is significant for both institutionalists and international business scholars since it highlights the strong influence of language and religion in the transfer of logics from one country to another. Third, it was found that the enactment of the family logic greatly affects the acceptability of Japanese management practices. This is significant for business managers since it further proposes an intimate relationship between Japanese management practices and the meanings attached to the family logic.

Originality/value

The originality of this work stems from an updated comparative qualitative study of the management of a Japanese MNCs’ subsidiaries across different countries, providing in-depth insights for international business, Japanese subsidiary management and institutional logics perspectives.

Details

Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, vol. 26 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5794

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 November 2020

George Varghese and Aghila Sasidharan

Corporate governance plays a decisive role in the financial performance of a firm. While the majority of the firms in China and India are owned and managed by its promoters, the…

Abstract

Corporate governance plays a decisive role in the financial performance of a firm. While the majority of the firms in China and India are owned and managed by its promoters, the present study attempts to examine the impact of ownership structure and board characteristics on firm value for these two economies. The study employs panel data methodology with industry and time fixed effects on a sample of 1,042 firms listed in National Stock Exchange of India and 450 firms listed in Shanghai Stock Exchange of China. The study finds promoter ownerships to positively impact a firm’s value creation process, while institutional investors exert a negative influence. Although CEO duality enhances firm value in China, the results show otherwise for Indian firms. Additionally, while board independence is positively correlated to firm value in India, it has a negative effect on firms in China. Finally, the study finds that larger board size contributes favorably toward better decision making.

Details

Financial Issues in Emerging Economies: Special Issue Including Selected Papers from II International Conference on Economics and Finance, 2019, Bengaluru, India
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-960-6

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2013

Päivi Karhunen and Riitta Kosonen

This paper seeks to discover whether and how a subsidiary located in a high‐corruption host country can pursue its parent's corporate non‐corrupt strategy, rooted in a…

1362

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to discover whether and how a subsidiary located in a high‐corruption host country can pursue its parent's corporate non‐corrupt strategy, rooted in a low‐corruption home country. Theoretically, it aims to apply the construct of institutional duality. It also aims to argue that the subsidiary's strategic response is contingent to the relative strength of two sets of institutional demands: the articulation of the multinational company's (MNC's) corporate policy towards corruption; and the direct influence of the host country corruption on the subsidiary's daily business.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative analysis of interviews with executives of 27 Finnish companies (15 large MNCs and 12 small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs)) with subsidiaries in Russia was conducted.

Findings

The subsidiary's strategic response to host country corruption is contingent to the firm size and the respective resources. Large MNCs can implement their non‐corrupt policy also in their Russian subsidiaries due to their financial and relational resources. SMEs, which lack such resources, need to adapt to the demands from the corrupt environment. This is usually done by “outsourcing” situations prone to corruption to a local intermediary.

Research limitations/implications

The empirical analysis is limited to one pair of countries (Russia and Finland) and selected locations in Russia (Moscow and St Petersburg).

Practical implications

The paper provides examples of business strategies that help to mitigate the negative consequences of host country corruption without giving up one's moral and ethical principles.

Originality/value

The paper enriches the literature on corruption in international business by identifying the firm size as a key determinant for strategic responses to host country corruption.

Details

Critical perspectives on international business, vol. 9 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 January 2014

Shaomin Li and Ajai Gaur

How should a multinational corporation (MNC) from a mature democracy deal with the human rights issues in a country with a poor human rights standard? The paper aims to discuss…

1297

Abstract

Purpose

How should a multinational corporation (MNC) from a mature democracy deal with the human rights issues in a country with a poor human rights standard? The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors develop a mathematical model to depict MNC's behavior in response to human rights violations in the host country.

Findings

The authors show that, first, in a country with a high level of human rights abuses, a firm will have to lower its human rights standards to survive; but, second, a collective effort by all firms is essential to improve the human rights conditions in the host environment; and third, a firm's human rights practices may have a multiplicative effect that can significantly affect the momentum of human rights development in a host country.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first attempts to provide a theoretical framework on the issue of MNCs and human rights in host countries.

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 November 2012

Jasper J. Hotho and Torben Pedersen

Purpose – The purpose of this contribution is to clarify some of the institutional approaches in international business research and to identify opportunities to extend research…

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this contribution is to clarify some of the institutional approaches in international business research and to identify opportunities to extend research on the role of institutions in international business.

Design/methodology/approach – Building on Douglas North's (1990) analogy of institutions as the rules of the game, we illustrate some of the differences between different institutional approaches in international business (IB) through a discussion of the rules and institutions surrounding the world of association football. We then briefly revisit the recent review by Hotho and Pedersen (2012) and compare and contrast three dominant institutional approaches in international business: new institutional economics, new organizational institutionalism and comparative institutionalism.

Findings – Our discussion illustrates that different institutional approaches address and explain different facets of international firm behaviour. The ways in which institutions matter for international business are therefore greatly dependent on how institutions are conceptualized and measured.

Originality/value – We highlight two recent developments in the literature on institutions which we believe offer important implications and opportunities for international business research. The first development is a move towards less deterministic approach to institutions. The second development is the recognition of institutional plurality and complexity, in the sense that organizations are often exposed to multiple logics with potentially contradictory prescriptions. These notions, we believe, offer important opportunities to advance our understanding of the relations between institutions and multinational enterprises (MNEs).

Details

New Policy Challenges for European Multinationals
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-020-8

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 17 February 2017

Abstract

Details

Multinational Corporations and Organization Theory: Post Millennium Perspectives
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-386-3

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