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Article
Publication date: 27 April 2020

Helen Yee

This paper examines radical reform of the Chinese public accounting profession in the 1990s. In particular, the paper seeks to provide a more nuanced understanding of the sources…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper examines radical reform of the Chinese public accounting profession in the 1990s. In particular, the paper seeks to provide a more nuanced understanding of the sources, responses and processes of this radical institutional change that effectively paved the way for development of the Chinese accounting profession into the twenty-first century.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical data that inform this study come from both archival materials (mostly in Chinese) and in-depth interviews. These data are analysed and interpreted from a neo-institutionalist perspective, drawing, in particular, on the concept of institutional logics and the concept of institutional work.

Findings

A state logic initially guided the development of the Chinese accounting profession but was seriously challenged in the 1990s following a series of high profile financial scandals. The findings reveal a shift to a new professional logic, which was made possible through multiple forms of institutional works instigated by various state actors.

Originality/value

Research into the radical reform of the Chinese public accounting profession in the 1990s was mostly quantitative in nature, focussing mainly on one reform programme, i.e. the disaffiliation of the accounting firms from their sponsoring agencies. This paper adopts a qualitative approach and is aimed at providing a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the institutional change process within its political and economic contexts.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 33 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 March 2019

Laura Broccardo, Francesca Culasso and Sara Giovanna Mauro

To address the growing pressure to foster effectiveness, sustainability and quality of life, local governments have focused on developing policies and initiatives designed to make…

1643

Abstract

Purpose

To address the growing pressure to foster effectiveness, sustainability and quality of life, local governments have focused on developing policies and initiatives designed to make their cities smarter. Despite the growing attention paid to this issue, an important but under-investigated issue is represented by the smart city governance. In this regard, in light of the claimed need for collaboration, the purpose of this paper is to investigate why and how different institutional works carried out by multiple actors may explain the way in which collaborative governance can be constructed in the context of a smart city.

Design/methodology/approach

A rich in-depth case study has been carried out exploring the experience of a smart city in the north of Italy. The study explores the institutional works done by multiple actors (Lawrence et al., 2013) and their influence on the governance of the smart city.

Findings

Collaboration is perceived to be instrumental in making a city smart, during the design and implementation phase, while generating new challenges that must be overcome by an integration of the political, technical and, especially, cultural work of the collective actors involved.

Originality/value

Despite governance is recognized as a crucial factor for realizing a smartness-orientation, it is scarcely investigated. The main value of the current research is thus its contribution to overcome this gap providing new empirical evidence on the role of multiple actors in the smart city context.

Details

International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 32 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3558

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 26 November 2020

Stuart Middleton, Gemma L. Irving and April L. Wright

The authors contribute to scholarly understanding of the interplay between macro-level institutions and micro-level action by focusing attention on the ways the power of…

Abstract

The authors contribute to scholarly understanding of the interplay between macro-level institutions and micro-level action by focusing attention on the ways the power of institutions works through mundane organizational spaces to constrain individuals as they interact with organizations. The authors explore these macro- and micro-connections between institutions and organizational spaces through a qualitative inductive study of an emergency department in a public hospital in Australia. Analyzing observational and interview data related to a waiting room and a corridor, their findings show how the systemic power of the state and the medical profession impacts micro-level action through organizational spaces. The authors find that the medical profession exerted power in a system of domination over marginalized patients through the waiting room as an exclusion space. At the same time, the state exerted discipline power over professional subjects through the corridor as a surveillance space. Individual resistance to institutional power over the ED was controlled by policing deviance in the surveillance space and ejecting resisters to the exclusion space. Their findings contribute to the literature by opening up new insight into how mundane organizational spaces convey institutional power by dominating and disciplining micro-level actions.

Details

Macrofoundations: Exploring the Institutionally Situated Nature of Activity
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-160-5

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 November 2018

Muhammad Bilal Farooq and Charl de Villiers

The purpose of this paper is to examine the competition between accounting sustainability assurance providers (ASAPs) and non-accounting sustainability assurance providers…

2421

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the competition between accounting sustainability assurance providers (ASAPs) and non-accounting sustainability assurance providers (NASAPs), and how this competition influences the institutionalization of the evolving field of sustainability assurance.

Design/methodology/approach

An interpretivist research methodology, guided by an institutional work perspective, is used to analyze interviews with 15 SAPs and 35 sustainability reporting managers (SRMs) in Australia and New Zealand.

Findings

ASAPs prefer to use International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 (ISAE3000), because it is well recognized in the profession, adheres to ASAPs’ regulatory requirements, and mirrors their financial audit methodologies. This preference influences ASAPs’ institutional work as they compete against NASAPs and how they institutionalize sustainability assurance. ASAPs’ institutional works include presenting sustainability assurance as similar to a financial audit, arguing in support of a single provider for financial audits and sustainability assurance, and undermining NASAPs and their preferred sustainability assurance standard, AA1000 Assurance Standard (AA1000AS), by appealing to senior management. In comparison, NASAPs promote AA1000AS as a specialist standard among SRMs, emphasizing the standard’s sustainability enhancing qualities and its flexibility, while discrediting ASAPs and ISAE3000 as out of touch with sustainability objectives.

Research limitations/implications

A new conceptual model is constructed that can be used in institutional work research.

Practical implications

The accounting profession is encouraged to consider more flexible, innovative methods in new assurance markets. This involves using new assurance standards as well as developing specialist standards for new forms of assurance. Regulation over sustainability assurance could be helpful, but regulators should be careful not to stifle competition in this evolving field.

Originality/value

This paper examines how competition between ASAPs and NASAPs influences the institutionalization of sustainability assurance. The paper offers a new model for the analysis of institutional work, which could be used by researchers, new insights into the emerging field of sustainability assurance, as well as a figure and discussion that clarifies the broader implications of the findings.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2020

A.K. Siti-Nabiha and Teddy Jurnali

This paper aims to investigate the actions and activities undertaken by public managers of a local government to institutionalise an externally mandated performance measurement…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the actions and activities undertaken by public managers of a local government to institutionalise an externally mandated performance measurement and management (PMM) system in a developing country.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative case study of one of the best-ranked early adopters of PMM in a local government in Indonesia was undertaken, with interviews with public officers at various organisational levels, along with an extensive documentary review. An institutional work perspective was used to explain the types of work undertaken to institutionalise PMM at the organisation.

Findings

The PMM change was shown to be centralised and directed from the top and facilitated by other public officers. The Mayors’ instrumental and political view of PMM as a tool for efficiency and societal legitimacy enabled the adoption of PMM. The political and cultural work of the Mayor and the key officers involved constructing new rules pertaining to PMM, specifically in dealing with resource allocation and its associated sanctions and rewards, which encouraged more substantive implementation. The substantive implementation of PMM had a significant influence on the norms and values of the local government.

Research limitations/implications

The case organisation is the local government of a relatively medium-sized city. Therefore, it may be easier to achieve tighter control and coordination as compared to the local government of other larger cities.

Originality/value

The paper highlights the interrelated nature of institutional work in the creation and disruption of institutions. In addition, the three main types of institutional work, i.e. political, cultural and technical work, are not mutually exclusive. The paper also indicates the processes involved in the implementation of PMM, which unfolds from the establishment of a policy, its impact, and the role of the actors in the process.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1832-5912

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 26 November 2020

Brett Crawford and M. Tina Dacin

In this chapter, the authors adopt a macrofoundations perspective to explore punishment within institutional theory. Institutional theorists have long focused on a single type of…

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors adopt a macrofoundations perspective to explore punishment within institutional theory. Institutional theorists have long focused on a single type of punishment – retribution – including the use of sanctions, fines, and incarceration to maintain conformity. The authors expand the types of punishment that work to uphold institutions, organized by visible and hidden, and formal and informal characteristics. The four types of punishment include (1) punishment-as-retribution; (2) punishment-as-charivari; (3) punishment-as-rehabilitation; and (4) punishment-as-vigilantism. The authors develop important connections between punishment-as-charivari, which relies on shaming efforts, and burgeoning interest in organizational stigma and social evaluations. The authors also point to informal types of punishment, including punishment-as-vigilantism, to expand the variety of actors that punish wrongdoing, including actors without the legal authority to do so. Finally, the authors detail a number of questions for each type of punishment as a means to generate a future research agenda.

Details

Macrofoundations: Exploring the Institutionally Situated Nature of Activity
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-160-5

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 July 2020

Yoritoshi Hara

This study aims to examine changes in “network logics” that refer to cognitive views socially accepted by actors about the network. These logics provide organizations with…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine changes in “network logics” that refer to cognitive views socially accepted by actors about the network. These logics provide organizations with templates on how to act in business networks. This study investigates the causes and processes of network logic changes and the phases in the changes.

Design/methodology/approach

This study relies on content analysis using text data from newspaper articles on global retailers entering the Japanese retail industry. Three different logics were found to describe the actions of the retailers. Two of the logics are related to institutional and strategic logics including network logics, while the third is associated with institutional works that mean actions to create, maintain and disrupt institutions.

Findings

With regard to transitions in network logics in the Japanese retail industry, the analysis identified four phases: politicization, reflection, establishment and evaluation. Changes in regulative and normative logics were resulted from institutional works of the global retailers into the Japanese market. The findings also include empirical description about how network changes progress through interactions among business actors. Additionally, compared to the regulative and normative logics, it would be difficult to influence the cultural-cognitive logics.

Originality/value

Business networks often transform with changes in network logics. This study contributes to the literature on industrial network changes by exploring the interactions between macro-level structural states and micro-level events in network logic transitions.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 37 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 March 2023

Sudhanshu Shekhar

Organization studies in India has largely remained insular to the writings of Indian scholars in parent disciplines such as sociology. The lack of engagement with Indian…

Abstract

Purpose

Organization studies in India has largely remained insular to the writings of Indian scholars in parent disciplines such as sociology. The lack of engagement with Indian sociological works has promoted excessive dependence on Euro–American theory. It has further hindered the development of indigenous theories. This paper aims to argue that engagement with the writings of classical and contemporary Indian sociologists can resolve this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper delineates the contribution of Indian sociologists to organizational or sociological institutionalism. It focuses specifically on the contribution of these scholars concerning two subtopics: conceptualization of institutions and fields, and the dynamics of institutional change.

Findings

The paper draws upon the work of Indian sociologists to develop a concept of ecological field. It further delves into the dynamic interplay between ideas and institutional change. More precisely, it draws attention to the role of actors and mechanisms that produce ideas.

Originality/value

Future studies can leverage the contribution of Indian scholars to explicate, elaborate and develop creative theories of organizational institutionalism. Such cumulative efforts can help in building an Indian tradition of organizational institutionalism.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 27 July 2012

Rosemary Batt and Michel Hermans

The purpose of this paper is to bridge the boundaries separating strategic and comparative institutional perspectives on human resource systems and employment relations. Each…

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to bridge the boundaries separating strategic and comparative institutional perspectives on human resource systems and employment relations. Each research tradition has investigated the role and outcomes of corporations as they operate in an increasingly global economy. Researchers in these traditions, however, ask different research questions and draw on distinct social science disciplines, theoretical assumptions, and research methodologies. While they have pursued parallel but separate tracks, we argue that they have important lessons for each other. In this paper, we review the core characteristics and critiques of each research tradition, provide a series of examples of efforts to bridge their differences, and offer suggestions for future integration.

Details

Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-172-4

Article
Publication date: 23 January 2019

Surajit Saha and R.R.K. Sharma

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between the personality and cognitive styles of managers and different types of work.

1813

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between the personality and cognitive styles of managers and different types of work.

Design/methodology/approach

The personality types and cognitive styles of managers were measured, respectively, with the help of the Big Five personality factors and Jung’s cognitive types. Different types of works in an organization were categorized in three ways: identity, institutional and integrative work. A survey questionnaire method was used to collect data from a sample of 107 managers from a diverse range of industries, and these data were used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The study found that intuitive feeling and intuitive thinking types of cognitive styles are suitable for identity and integrative kinds of work, respectively. Openness to experience and conscientiousness positively correlate with identity work. For institutional work, conscientious personality trait is most important for managers; agreeableness has a negative impact on identity work and institutional work.

Practical implications

This study will assist recruitment and staffing professionals, when recruiting managers for an organization, and the paper should be interesting for readers in industry (professionals in HR, managerial career development and managerial competence audit and counseling) and academia (research scholars).

Originality/value

Analysis of theses relationship types is unavailable in the literature of leadership and organizational studies. It can help organizations utilize their human resources efficiently.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 38 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

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