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1 – 10 of over 1000Innocent Senyo Kwasi Acquah, Dacosta Essel, Charles Baah, Yaw Agyabeng-Mensah and Ebenezer Afum
The need to engage in manufacturing practices that promote environmental sustainability has shifted from being optional to mandatory. From the perspectives of institutional and…
Abstract
Purpose
The need to engage in manufacturing practices that promote environmental sustainability has shifted from being optional to mandatory. From the perspectives of institutional and stakeholder theories, this paper captures the efficacy of isomorphic pressures on the adoption of green procurement, green product and process innovations and their respective influence on organizational legitimacy and financial performance in the context of an emerging economy and from the perspective of manufacturing small-and medium-sized enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted a survey research design, a quantitative approach and partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique in making data analysis and interpretations due to its suitability for predictive research models.
Findings
Analysis of the results highlighted the fact that the composite impact of coercive, mimetic and normative isomorphic pressures robustly influenced the adoption of green procurement, green product and process innovations. Simultaneously, green procurement, green product and process innovations significantly influenced organizational legitimacy. Green procurement and green product innovation also significantly influenced financial performance unlike green process innovation that had an insignificant yet positive impact on financial performance. Based on the results, theoretical and practical implications are explained for policy makers, managers, government authorities and owners.
Originality/value
The study is among the first to expose isomorphic pressures on the adoption of green manufacturing practices specifically, green procurement, green product and process innovations and their influence on organizational legitimacy and financial performance in the context of Ghana, an emerging economy and from the perspective of small-and medium-sized enterprises. As such, the study provides guidance to relevant industry authorities and stakeholders in further promoting green manufacturing practices that preserve the environment by producing safer consumer products through efficient green procurement, green product and process innovative practices.
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Mahade Hasan and Shah Md Taha Islam
The purpose of this study is to examine the role played by coercive, normative and mimetic pressures in stimulating timeliness of corporate internet reporting (TCIR).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the role played by coercive, normative and mimetic pressures in stimulating timeliness of corporate internet reporting (TCIR).
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses content analysis technique to track the TCIR practices of top 100 non-financial companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange. A disclosure index of 14 items is developed to capture the extent of TCIR. The authors collected the relevant data from multiple sources, such as corporate websites, monthly review reports and corporate annual reports for the year-end 2019. This study uses Poisson regression models to explore the association between institutional pressures and TCIR.
Findings
Consistent with the predictions of institutional isomorphism theory, the authors find that coercive isomorphic pressures through ownership by foreign investors, government, general public and connection with parent multinational corporations have positive associations with TCIR. The authors also find that normative pressures resulting from cross-directorships have positive influence on TCIR. The authors provide evidence of mimetic pressures through industry memberships (i.e. companies operating in technology-based industry) positively impacting TCIR. The additional analysis suggests that institutional pressures are rather associated with the extent of voluntary TICR and to a lesser extent to regulatory TICR.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to show the positive impacts of coercive, normative and mimetic isomorphic pressures on TCIR in an emerging economy characterized by weak institutional environment and mixed prospects for TCIR.
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Abdullahi B. Saka, Daniel W.M. Chan and Saheed O. Ajayi
Although there has been a surge in the adoption of building information modelling (BIM) in the construction industry, the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are still…
Abstract
Purpose
Although there has been a surge in the adoption of building information modelling (BIM) in the construction industry, the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are still struggling and perceive its adoption as risky. The SMEs in developing economies are especially on the disadvantaged side of the digital divide. Extant studies have focused on large firms and there are scanty studies on the influence of the external environments on BIM adoption in SMEs. Thus, this study espouses institutional theory (INT) to examine the influence of coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures on BIM awareness and adoption in SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative approach was employed, and data were collected from the Nigerian construction SMEs via an empirical questionnaire survey using a sequential stratified and convenient sampling method. Hypothesized relationships between the coercive, mimetic, and normative pressure and BIM in SMEs were empirically tested using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique and the model was validated with the “PLSpredict” procedure.
Findings
The results revealed that coercive and mimetic pressures significantly influence BIM adoption in SMEs while normative pressures have the strongest influence on BIM in SMEs. Also, BIM awareness is an important predictor of BIM adoption. The findings also shed light on the influence of firmographics on BIM awareness and adoption in Nigerian SMEs.
Originality/value
The study empirically validates the applicability of INT and highlights that BIM adoption is not only influenced by internal responses to the need for efficiency but also by external pressures. It implies a clear need for intentional isomorphic pressures in driving BIM adoption in SMEs. The study employs the INT to explain a phenomenon that has not been theoretically explored in the context of SMEs in developing economies. Lastly, the study provided valuable insights into driving BIM adoption, together with the effective practical implications for implementation and potential research areas for further studies.
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– The purpose of this paper is to explain the emergence of CSR in Afghanistan as a novel context in the South-Asian CSR debate.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explain the emergence of CSR in Afghanistan as a novel context in the South-Asian CSR debate.
Design/methodology/approach
The findings of the paper are based on case studies of four corporations in the Afghan mobile telecommunications industry. Multiple sources of qualitative data are coded according to the analytical framework of the paper to generate the findings.
Findings
The findings highlight that the Afghan national setting can be conceptualised as an “area of limited statehood” indicating the weak national institutional setting, which enables space for manoeuvring for non-state actors to play a pivotal role in business-society relations. The paper highlights that the CSR practices are driven by the multi-level organisational field that through a unique blend of global coercive, mimetic and normative pressures lead to convergence around explicit CSR themes.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are based on CSR practices that are explicitly stated and do not include informal and/or implicit business-society practices in such contexts.
Originality/value
This paper combines the literature on areas of limited statehood and the neo-institutional theory to explain the emergence of CSR the Afghan mobile telecommunications industry. The paper advocates for a shift from a national setting focus to a multi-level institutional field lens in providing contextualised explanation of the emergence of CSR in developing countries.
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Soyoung Joo, Ben Larkin and Nefertiti Walker
The purpose of this paper is to explore the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of three major professional sport leagues in South Korea to investigate the general…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of three major professional sport leagues in South Korea to investigate the general beliefs, values, and norms influencing the institutional isomorphism of CSR engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with three league chiefs of CSR initiatives and senior managers of related divisions to explore the general beliefs, values, and norms that are institutionalized in their CSR practices. The Gioia method of inquiry and data analysis was employed.
Findings
Using institutional theory, the current research found evidence of all three institutional pressures of institutional isomorphism that contribute to the institutionalization of CSR practices in professional South Korean sport. The data revealed that CSR has been institutionalized in these leagues through isomorphic pressures – coercive, mimetic, and normative – as antecedents to their CSR practices.
Practical implications
The current research identified that conforming to the institutional norms may not only act as a force causing the organization to behave in a socially responsible manner, but also to provide the organization with competitive advantages.
Originality/value
The authors extend the current literature in sport CSR by using institutional theory as a framework to uncover organizational CSR motives. In particular, this is the first study to provide evidence of how three isomorphic pressures work to institutionalize CSR practices in South Korean professional sports leagues.
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This paper aims to achieve a better understanding about the competitive and institutional pressures that can determine socially responsible corporate behaviours of organisations…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to achieve a better understanding about the competitive and institutional pressures that can determine socially responsible corporate behaviours of organisations that operate in an organisational field.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on New Institutional Sociology to analyse pressures on Spanish electricity companies to behave in socially responsible ways. Data collection covers the period 1997‐2008 and the data sources were the following: semi‐structured interviews, industrial regulation, documents, websites of organisations and associations, and informal discussions.
Findings
Socially responsible corporate behaviours of Spanish electricity companies were due not only to internal decisions based on economic rationality, but also to various institutional (coercive, normative and mimetic) pressures.
Research limitations/implications
The study covers a specific organisational field, the Spanish electricity sector. Further research would be necessary in order to analyse other organisational fields and to compare the results.
Practical implications
Conditions under which organisations behave in socially responsible ways are contrasted in the case of Spanish electricity companies, for instance, the healthy economic environment, the monitoring of their behaviour and their participation in associations that promote Corporate Social Responsibility.
Originality/value
Generally, pressures of the environment on organisations to behave in socially responsible ways have received little attention and the specialised literature has focused on the individual organisation level of analysis. So, a contribution of the paper is to analyse the pressures of the competitive and institutional environment on a specific organisational field so that organisations adopt socially responsible corporate behaviours.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the sharing of sustainability and social responsibility-centric values along the export-oriented organic dry food supply chain (ODFSC…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the sharing of sustainability and social responsibility-centric values along the export-oriented organic dry food supply chain (ODFSC) using an institutional lens.
Design/methodology/approach
To understand the perceptions of the shared ethos of the organic food industry along the entire supply chain, the research employed a multi-tier qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews and observations. The study focussed on supply chain actors including farmers and traders from the Indian sub-continent, and traders and retailers based in Europe and North America.
Findings
Isomorphism, brought about by the vertical channelling of consumer preferences and values resulted in a higher degree of responsibility within the industry. The responsibility-centric ethos of the supply chain affected the responsibility-orientation of the supply chain actors and their operations.
Research limitations/implications
The research focused mainly on the ODFSC actors in Kerala, a state in India, and this focus of the research could be a significant limitation in generalizing the findings to the rest of the emerging economy context because of cultural and educational differences.
Originality/value
Literature lacks in the studies of sharing of responsibility-centric values in supply chains through an institutional lens and this investigation contributes to the scant literature on isomorphism, shared values and responsible supply chain management.
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Herman Aksom and Inna Tymchenko
This essay raises a concern about the trajectory that new institutionalism has been following during the last decades, namely an emphasis on heterogeneity, change and agentic…
Abstract
Purpose
This essay raises a concern about the trajectory that new institutionalism has been following during the last decades, namely an emphasis on heterogeneity, change and agentic behavior instead of isomorphism and conformist behavior. This is a crucial issue from the perspective of the philosophy and methodology of science since a theory that admits both change and stability as a norm has less scientific weight then a theory that predicts a prevalence of passivity and isomorphism over change and strategic behavior. The former provides explanations and predictions while the latter does not.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper offers an analysis of the nature, characteristics, functions and boundaries of institutional theories in the spirit of philosophy and methodology of science literature.
Findings
The power of the former institutional theory developed by Meyer, Rowan, DiMaggio and Powell lies in its generalization, explanation and prediction of observable and unobservable phenomena: as a typical organizational theory that puts forward directional predictions, it explains and predicts the tendency for organizations to become more similar to each other over time and express less strategic and interest-driven behavior, conforming to ever-increasing institutional pressures. A theory of isomorphism makes scientific predictions while its modern advancements do not. Drawing on Popper's idea of the limit of domains of explanation and limited domains of theories we present two propositions that may direct our attention towards the strength or weakness of institutional theories with regard to their explanations of organizational processes and behavior.
Practical implications
The paper draws implications for further theory building in institutional analysis by suggesting the nature of institutional explanations and the place of institutional change in the theoretical apparatus. Once institutional theory explains the tendency of the system towards equilibrium, there is no need to explain the origins and causes of radical change per se. Institutional isomorphism theory explains and predicts how even after radical changes organizational fields will move towards isomorphism, that is, institutional equilibrium. The task is, therefore, not to explain agency and change but to show that it is natural and inevitable processes that organizational field will return to isomorphic dynamics and move towards homogenization no matter how much radical change occurred in this field.
Originality/value
The paper discusses the practical problems with instrumental utility of institutional theories. In order to be useful any theory must clearly delineate its boundaries and offer explanations and predictions and it is only the former 1977/1983 institutional theory that satisfies these requirements while modern advancements merely offer ambiguous theoretical umbrellas that escape empirical tests. For researchers therefore it is important to recognize which theory can be applied in a given limited domain of research and which one has little or no value.
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Louis Raymond, Sylvestre Uwizeyemungu, François Bergeron and Stéphane Gauvin
This study aims to propose an integrative conceptual framework of e‐learning adoption and assimilation that is adapted to the specific context of small to medium‐sized enterprises…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to propose an integrative conceptual framework of e‐learning adoption and assimilation that is adapted to the specific context of small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
The literature on the state of e‐learning usage in SMEs and on the IT adoption and assimilation factors that can be specifically applied to e‐learning adoption and assimilation in this context are reviewed. These factors are then integrated within a research framework, and a set of 20 propositions formulated.
Findings
The paper identifies the technological, organizational and environmental factors that are likely to favor or hinder e‐learning adoption and assimilation in SMEs, as well as the interaction among these factors.
Research limitations/implications
The integrative framework and the 20 propositions that emanate from it constitute the conceptual foundation for a research program and hypotheses on the adoption and assimilation of e‐learning in SMEs.
Practical implications
This study offers managers a frame of reference to analyze their firm's situation before initiating an e‐learning program by highlighting key adoption and assimilation factors in the specific context of SMEs.
Originality/value
This study proposes an integrative conceptual framework of e‐learning adoption and assimilation that is adapted to the specific context of SMEs.
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Waqar Ahmed, Arsalan Najmi and Farhana Khan
With the challenge of ecological business sustainability, concepts like green design, eco-friendly products, sustainable technologies and efficient processes have compelled the…
Abstract
Purpose
With the challenge of ecological business sustainability, concepts like green design, eco-friendly products, sustainable technologies and efficient processes have compelled the organizations to adopt change. The purpose of this paper is to focus on understanding the impact of green supply chain (GSC) management practices and institutional pressures on economic and environmental performances of organizations in an unstable developing economy.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from the supply chain specialists working in manufacturing firms through a questionnaire. Valid data of 101 respondents were used for analyzing the relationship among the constructs with the help of structural equation modeling.
Findings
The result of this study reveals that internal GSC practices and institutional pressure have a negative insignificant impact on economic performance, whereas all the constructs are the significant contributors toward improving environmental performance.
Practical implications
This study will help the supply chain decision makers to make a strategy that is beneficial for improving both economic and environmental dimensions of the performance of a firm.
Originality/value
An environmental management study under a rapidly changing scenario is always helpful to understand the behavior and its impact. This study is very useful and need of a time in the context of any developing country facing an economic and environmental crisis.
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