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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

Article
Publication date: 5 May 2023

Yann Truong

An important but neglected area of investigation in digital entrepreneurship is the combined role of both core and peripheral members of an emerging technological field in shaping…

Abstract

Purpose

An important but neglected area of investigation in digital entrepreneurship is the combined role of both core and peripheral members of an emerging technological field in shaping the symbolic and social boundaries of the field. This is a serious gap as both categories of members play a distinct role in expanding the pool of resources of the field. I address this gap by exploring how membership category is related to funding decisions in the emerging field of artificial intelligence (AI).

Design/methodology/approach

The first quantitative study involved a sample of 1,315 AI-based startups which were founded in the period of 2011–2018 in the United States. In the second qualitative study, the author interviewed 32 members of the field (core members, peripheral members and investors) to define the boundaries of their respective role in shaping the social boundaries of the AI field.

Findings

The author finds that core members in the newly founded field of AI were more successful at attracting funding from investors than peripheral members and that size of the founding team, number of lead investors, number of patents and CEO approval were positively related to funding. In the second qualitative study, the author interviewed 30 members of the field (core members, peripheral members and investors) to define their respective role in shaping the social boundaries of the AI field.

Research limitations/implications

This study is one of the first to build on the growing literature in emerging organizational fields to bring empirical evidence that investors adapt their funding strategy to membership categories (core and peripheral members) of a new technological field in their resource allocation decisions. Furthermore, I find that core and peripheral members claim distinct roles in their participation and contribution to the field in terms of technological developments, and that although core members attract more resources than peripheral members, both actors play a significant role in expanding the field’s social boundaries.

Practical implications

Core AI entrepreneurs who wish to attract funding may consider operating in fewer categories in order to be perceived as core members of the field, and thus focus their activities and limited resources to build internal AI capabilities. Entrepreneurs may invest early in filing a patent to signal their in-house AI capabilities to investors.

Social implications

The social boundaries of an emerging technological field are shaped by a multitude of actors and not only the core members of the field. The author should pay attention to the role of each category of actors and build on their contributions to expand a promising field.

Originality/value

This paper is among the first to build on the growing literature in emerging organizational fields to study the resource acquisition strategies of entrepreneurs in a newly establishing technological field.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 30 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 April 2024

Ihor Rudko, Aysan Bashirpour Bonab, Maria Fedele and Anna Vittoria Formisano

This study, a theoretical article, aims to introduce new institutionalism as a framework through which business and management researchers can explore the significance of…

Abstract

Purpose

This study, a theoretical article, aims to introduce new institutionalism as a framework through which business and management researchers can explore the significance of artificial intelligence (AI) in organizations. Although the new institutional theory is a fully established research program, the neo-institutional literature on AI is almost non-existent. There is, therefore, a need to develop a deeper understanding of AI as both the product of institutional forces and as an institutional force in its own right.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors follow the top-down approach. Accordingly, the authors first briefly describe the new institutionalism, trace its historical development and introduce its fundamental concepts: institutional legitimacy, environment and isomorphism. Then, the authors use those as the basis for the queries to perform a scoping review on the institutional role of AI in organizations.

Findings

The findings reveal that a comprehensive theory on AI is largely absent from business and management literature. The new institutionalism is only one of many possible theoretical perspectives (both contextually novel and insightful) from which researchers can study AI in organizational settings.

Originality/value

The authors use the insights from new institutionalism to illustrate how a particular social theory can fit into the larger theoretical framework for AI in organizations. The authors also formulate four broad research questions to guide researchers interested in studying the institutional significance of AI. Finally, the authors include a section providing concrete examples of how to study AI-related institutional dynamics in business and management.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 February 2024

Zeeshan Mahmood, Zlatinka N. Blaber and Majid Khan

This paper aims to investigate the role of field-configuring events (FCEs) and situational context in the institutionalisation of sustainability reporting (SR) in Pakistan.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the role of field-configuring events (FCEs) and situational context in the institutionalisation of sustainability reporting (SR) in Pakistan.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses insights from the institutional logics perspective and qualitative research design to analyse the interplay of the institutional logics, FCEs, situational context and social actors’ agency for the institutionalisation of SR among leading corporations in Pakistan. A total of 28 semi-structured interviews were carried out and were supplemented by analysis of secondary data including reports, newspaper articles and books.

Findings

The emerging field of SR in Pakistan is shaped by societal institutions, where key social actors (regulators, enablers and reporters) were involved in the institutionalisation of SR through FCEs. FCEs provided space for agency and were intentionally designed by key social actors to promote SR in Pakistan. The situational context connected the case organisations with FCEs and field-level institutional logics that shaped their decision to initiate SR. Overall, intricate interplay of institutional logics, FCEs, situational context and social actors’ agency has contributed to the institutionalisation of SR in Pakistan. Corporate managers navigated institutional logics based on situational context and initiated SR that is aligned with corporate goals and stakeholder expectations.

Practical implications

For corporate managers, this paper highlights the role of active agency in navigating and integrating institutional logics and stakeholders’ expectations in their decision-making process. For practitioners and policymakers, this paper highlights the importance of FCEs and situational context in the emergence and institutionalisation of SR in developing countries. From a societal point of view, dominance of business actors in FCEs highlights the need for non-business actors to participate in FCEs to shape logics and practice of SR for wider societal benefits.

Social implications

From a societal point of view, dominance of business actors in FCEs highlights the need for non-business actors to participate in FCEs to shape logics and practice of SR for wider societal benefits.

Originality/value

This paper focuses on the role of FCEs and situational context as key social mechanisms for explaining the institutionalisation of SR.

Details

Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, vol. 21 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1176-6093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 February 2024

Swati Chaudhary, Aditi Gupta, Apoorva A., Ranjan Chaudhuri, Vijay Pereira, Sheshadri Chatterjee and Sumana Chaudhuri

This paper aims to examine the evolution of organizational identification (OI) research over the past five decades and its journey through various lenses, such as the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the evolution of organizational identification (OI) research over the past five decades and its journey through various lenses, such as the collaborative network of authors, organizations and countries. The conceptual and intellectual structure of the construct is analysed via keywords and co-citation pattern mapping.

Design/methodology/approach

OI research is rising in popularity, with 118 papers published in 2019, 168 papers in 2020 and 15 publications till February 2021 in the Scopus database. The Scopus database is used to retrieve 55 years of OI studies published between 1965 and 2021. The free bibliometric tools Biblioshiny and VOSviewer are used to analyse 1,034 journal papers.

Findings

The result showed that R. Van Dick is the most influential author and the USA is the most involved country in OI research. As per the findings, the Journal of Organizational Behaviour published most of OI research and “corporate social responsibility” and “organizational commitment” seem to be the most used keywords alongside OI.

Research limitations/implications

This study will be highly beneficial to OI researchers making their understanding about the construct better. It will also encourage social psychologists to understand the construct utility in workplace social welfare programmes. The research could also help governments and funding bodies to evaluate grant requests. Furthermore, researchers from countries with the lowest proportion of OI studies would be encouraged to spend more time and effort in this area. It will offer insight into international marketing and how individuals and stakeholders perceive and connect with an organization globally.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the important research studies carried out in the domain of OI in the international context. This is also one of the few studies which is spread out across different disciplinary areas including international marketing and management. The success of this paper can open avenues and influence future researchers to study in the OI and related cross-disciplinary areas of international management.

Details

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

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 August 2023

Paul Rosenstein

The academic library’s physical capacity and its service obligations to local users structured the traditional print collection. Largely freed of these constraints, the digital…

Abstract

Purpose

The academic library’s physical capacity and its service obligations to local users structured the traditional print collection. Largely freed of these constraints, the digital collection manager enjoys unprecedented freedoms but now contends with a collection susceptible to resource sprawl and scope ambiguity. This exploratory study aims to consider the possibility that intra-field social processes help to structure and routinize digital collection practice.

Design/methodology/approach

Lacking the constraints to which print collections are subject, electronic resource and digital library collections are more likely to reflect idiosyncratic institutional interests and therefore, to demonstrate significant variation. Evidence of homogeneity may suggest the influence of heretofore underexplored social structures. To determine the extent of such homogeneity, the author performed exploratory/descriptive content analyses on ten electronic resource collection development policies and six digital library collection development policies.

Findings

The data reveal among both the electronic resource and digital library collection policies significant uniformity. Content analyses demonstrate consistent themes (e.g. media, audience, selection priorities, etc.) and rhetoric. These findings lend support to the study’s central hypothesis regarding latent social structures. Analyses also reveal a set of unanticipated constraints unique to digital collection management.

Originality/value

Despite the breadth and maturity of literature addressing the Digital Turn in academic librarianship, relatively little attention has been paid to the social dimensions of collection management. This work represents an important corrective and suggests new theoretical approaches to the study of digital collection practice.

Details

Digital Transformation and Society, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2755-0761

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 January 2023

Loai Ali Zeenalabden Ali Alsaid and Charles Anyeng Ambilichu

This study aims to explore the potential dynamics between performance measurement at the organisational level and emerging urban development projects at the macro-institutional…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the potential dynamics between performance measurement at the organisational level and emerging urban development projects at the macro-institutional field level of sustainability governance and accountability.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a theoretical triangulation between three theories, namely contingency theory, institutional theory and social cognitive theory, this study investigates not only the macro-micro dynamics, but also the (recursive) micro-macro dynamics between performance measurement and urban development. Using an Egyptian public sector urban development organisation and its sustainable energy project as an empirical example, interviews, documents and observations were collected.

Findings

The dynamics emerged between field urban development projects and the (unintended) organisational implementation of the performance measurement system, the sustainability key performance indicators (KPIs) reporting system. Contributing to previous literature, these dynamics have been institutionalised through (three) interrelated levels: the (macro-field) urban development contingencies and pressures for sustainability KPIs reporting, the (organisational) institutionalisation of the urban development performance measurement system and then the (micro-organisational) cognitive role of sustainability KPIs reports in (re)making political urban development decisions.

Research limitations/implications

This study faced some limitations that paved the way for future research axes. For political and security reasons, difficulties were encountered in conducting interviews with government actors in the sustainable energy project under study. Also, due to the practical separation of the environmental sustainability system from the sustainability KPIs reporting system in this case study, environmental sustainability is outside the scope.

Practical implications

Sustainability reports may influence public sector decision-making processes in a specific urban development context. These KPIs reports may also increase public sector management opportunities for urban auditing, transparency, accountability and sustainability governance. These KPIs may also guide public sector management to lower prices in poor villages to increase smart energy consumption and improve community health.

Social implications

Sustainability reports may increase decision-makers' understanding of consumer behaviours and societal changes. This may help in making appropriate political decisions to improve their welfare and regular smart energy consumption. Not only urban citizens, but this social advantage may also extend to urban development employees through employees' promotion, training and access to government-funded academic and professional scholarships.

Originality/value

This study is an attempt to develop current public sector performance measurement analyses in the emerging urban development field using a triadic analytical approach. This study also fed the literature with an extended case study that clarified the (multi-level) and (two-way) dynamics between performance measurement and urban development.

Details

Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-1168

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 March 2024

Xian Zheng, Xiao Hu, Chunlin Wu and Ju Bai

Although researchers have long recognized the importance of participating organizations’ (POs) relational behavior for mega construction projects (MCPs) performance, relational…

Abstract

Purpose

Although researchers have long recognized the importance of participating organizations’ (POs) relational behavior for mega construction projects (MCPs) performance, relational behavior may not be executed by POs without effective leadership from project owners. However, little is known about the mechanisms linking owners’ leadership styles to POs’ relational behavior. This study draws on full range leadership theory and role theory to examine the relationships between owners’ leadership styles (i.e. transformational and transactional) and relational behavior. POs’ role orientations (i.e. normative and economic) are considered as potential mediators.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 175 managers deeply involved in MCPs. Hierarchical regression model and bootstrapping methods were performed on the data to examine the direct effects of owners’ leadership on POs’ relational behavior and the mediating effects of POs’ role orientations.

Findings

The results revealed that both owners’ transformational and transactional leadership positively affect POs’ relational behavior, despite the former being higher than the latter, and indirectly influence relational behavior via POs’ normative and economic role orientation, respectively.

Practical implications

This study provides a clear picture of how owners’ leadership can motivate POs’ relational behavior to achieve high-quality inter-organizational relationships in MCPs. The findings can guide owners’ top manager selection by prioritizing those with transformational leadership, which is beneficial to achieving high-level relational behavior of POs. The results also imply that owners should pay greater attention to cultivating POs’ normative role orientation by encouraging teamwork and open communication to enhance their implementation of relational behavior.

Originality/value

Unlike previous research focusing more on intra-organizational leader–follower relationship within one PO, this study is one of the first to empirically confirm owners’ leadership as a critical antecedent of POs’ relational behavior, thus enhancing the theoretical understanding of inter-organizational relationship management in MCPs. Based on role theory, this study considers a novel organizational psychology mechanism, i.e. POs’ role orientations, as the mediator to unravel how owners’ leadership affects POs’ relational behavior, which was rarely invoked in MCP leadership literature.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 April 2023

Nizar Mohammad Alsharari

This paper aims to discuss the interplay between strategic management accounting (SMA) and three organizational change configurations: strategy, structure and restructuring. This…

1039

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss the interplay between strategic management accounting (SMA) and three organizational change configurations: strategy, structure and restructuring. This explication occurs within a context that is characterized by organization restructuring and corporate strategy changes within Jordan Customs Organization (JCO).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a qualitative research approach and presents an interpretive case study of the JCO public sector organization. To collect data, it uses methodological triangulation, which includes interviews, historical and statistical analyses, documents and archival records. It is informed by the theoretical lens of configurational theory and strategic typologies to interpret the influences of organizational change configurations on SMA as it relates to the interplay of strategy, structure and restructuring.

Findings

The study findings agree with the related literature that SMA practices have developed management accounting from important operational transactions to gain a more strategic orientation through integrating customers, human resources, processes and financial departments. This paper concludes that specific SMA techniques have been used for strategizing by organizations in the public sector, providing a valuable counterpoint to the private sector adaptation that has dominated SMA research. This study finds that organizational restructuring has also contributed to decentralization and delegation, which has led to the distribution of tasks and specialization in accounting departments. It also concludes that SMA may facilitate or delay organizational change configurations in JCO. SMA can play a significant role in ensuring that the institution learns in response to organizational changes. On the contrary, this paper also concludes that organizational practices led to changes in SMA rules and routines.

Research limitations/implications

A general criticism of case-study methods is that they lack rigor and provide little basis for generalization. First, case studies tend to be specific and individual, posing significant issues regarding generalization. Therefore, several comparative case studies involving various organizations should be conducted to ascertain if these practices have become more commonplace, especially in the public sector. Second, considering the nature of a government entity and the sensitivity of the information that required confidentiality, certain strategizing imperatives could not be directly examined, such as meetings between top management to make important decisions of strategic significance. This paper has important implications because it highlights the shortcomings of a supercilious singular relationship between strategic choices and the design of SMA practices.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the growing literature by focusing on the relationship between SMA and three organizational change configurations: strategy, structure and restructuring. This paper is informed by the configuration theory perspective commonly used in accounting research. The empirical evidence in this study is provided in an SMA field, where empirical research is needed to be comparable with traditional accounting practices.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1832-5912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 June 2023

Belaynesh Teklay and Belete Jember Bobe

In this study, the authors investigate how institutions influence the adoption and implementation of a quality management practice (QMP) that was originally developed for Western…

Abstract

Purpose

In this study, the authors investigate how institutions influence the adoption and implementation of a quality management practice (QMP) that was originally developed for Western developed countries but is being used in sub-Saharan African firms. The authors’ aim is to contribute to the literature on how local and broader institutions in sub-Saharan African firms impact the adoption of QMP (specifically ISO 9001:2015) and how the firm's situated rationalities shape the associated change in management accounting practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors applied the extended Burns and Scapens framework and employed a case study research approach. The authors collected empirical data through semi-structured interviews and secondary sources and used direct content analysis to analyse the data.

Findings

The authors’ findings suggest that although personal values and commitments to modernising the business are the main drivers of change, the continued dominance of traditional accounting logic restricts the necessary change in management accounting to support effective QMP implementation.

Practical implications

This study emphasises the importance of aligning institutional logics to fully realise the benefits of new strategies and identifies technical competencies, access to information and communication technology, and clarity about the role of management accounting in modernising management practices as critical success factors.

Originality/value

This study is original in that it provides insights into the impact of contextual factors in less developed countries on institutionalising QMP and management accounting change, demonstrating the importance of aligning management accounting change with proposed organisational strategies to fully realise their benefits.

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