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21 – 30 of over 3000
Article
Publication date: 1 September 2004

Jesse F. Dillard, John T. Rigsby and Carrie Goodman

Institutional theory is becoming one of the dominant theoretical perspectives in organization theory and is increasingly being applied in accounting research to study the practice…

10157

Abstract

Institutional theory is becoming one of the dominant theoretical perspectives in organization theory and is increasingly being applied in accounting research to study the practice of accounting in organizations. However, most institutional theory research has adequately theorized neither the institutionalization process through which change takes place nor the socio‐political context of the institutional formations. We propose a social theory based framework for grounding and expanding institutional theory to more fully articulate institutionalization processes. Specifically, we incorporate institutional theory and structuration theory and draw on the work of Max Weber in developing a framework of the context and the processes associated with creating, adopting and discarding institutional practices. We propose that the expanded framework depicts the socio‐economic and political context better and more directly addresses the dynamics of enacting, embedding and changing organizational features and processes. Expanding the focus of the institutional theory based accounting research can facilitate a more comprehensive representation of accounting as the object of institutional practices as well as provide a better articulation of the role of accounting in the institutionalization process.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 17 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 September 2013

Alma Whiteley, Christine Price and Rod Palmer

The purpose of this paper is to present adaptive culture structuration, a new approach for theorizing and analyzing culture change and for creating an “adaptive cultural…

4681

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present adaptive culture structuration, a new approach for theorizing and analyzing culture change and for creating an “adaptive cultural structurated learning environment”.

Design/methodology/approach

Incorporating a case study in the financial sector the paper explores 12 employees' narrated accounts of living through a culture change initiative. A constructivist, interpretive, qualitative research study followed grounded theory principles. Organizational documentation provided secondary data. Semi structured interview data were analyzed using content analysis, constant comparison and theoretical sensitivity and were managed by ATLAS.ti software.

Findings

Three themes emerged: respondents' investment of self, accepting the culture change initiative and its values; employees' epistemic analyses of the embedded value promises including experiencing a critical incident that interrupted managers' enactment of values; employees' resulting “received practice” which represented the enacted (versus the espoused) values and was not visible to managers.

Practical implications

An adaptive culture structurated learning environment fosters a relationship of “negotiated practice” instead of “received practice” between managers and employees in the constitution of corporate culture change. In this space, employee interpretations and assessments, which may otherwise remain hidden from managers and thereby prevent workplace learning opportunities, can be drawn upon, shared meaning co-produced and psychological contract issues explained.

Originality/value

While much has been written on espoused culture change, this is the first theoretical model to examine the process from an employee perspective through an adaptive culture structurated lens.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 25 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 June 2008

John C. Dumay

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the manner and impact of intellectual capital (IC) disclosure. To frame the discussion, elements of Giddens' “structuration” theory and…

1719

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the manner and impact of intellectual capital (IC) disclosure. To frame the discussion, elements of Giddens' “structuration” theory and narrative theory are used to analyse change from within an organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a case study approach, this paper explores the impact of the narrative disclosure of IC by an Australian public sector organisation, the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Lands (Lands), which is the first Australian government organisation to externally disclose IC.

Findings

By taking a structuralist approach to analysing the narrative disclosure of IC this paper moved beyond attempting to quantify or identify the wealth created by IC, and thus account for IC. By investigating the narrative disclosure of IC, initially in the form of the IC statement as a supplement to the annual report, it was shown how at Lands the use of narrative became routinized in the activities of management. Thus narrative was no longer used to only provide understanding of the IC measures and the reasoning behind the use of IC, but to provide a mechanism that engendered further management action and subsequent organisational change.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of this paper is that it provides a lone example of a particular organisation from which generalisations are not possible. But it is possible to extend this research, using the structuration framework, to other organisations that have engendered the use of narrative to disclose IC to both internal and external stakeholders. Doing so will further question the domination of “accounting” within the IC paradigm and provide additional insights that allows practitioners and academics to develop additional tools for understanding and utilising IC.

Originality/value

This paper investigates the manner and impact of IC disclosure from within an organisation by use of “structuration” and narrative theory to analyse change as a result of the implementation of IC practices.

Details

Management Research News, vol. 31 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0140-9174

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 June 2010

Madeleine E. Pullman and Jesse Dillard

The purpose of this paper is to describe an emergent supply chain management system that supports a sustainable values based organization (VBO) using a structuration theory‐based…

5136

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe an emergent supply chain management system that supports a sustainable values based organization (VBO) using a structuration theory‐based framework.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study of a sustainable beef cooperative employing a structuration theory framework provides insights into sustainable supply chain management models.

Findings

The supply chain design and management afford the key to the VBO's success. In order to attain the necessary price premium, the unique product attributes acquired through the natural beef production process must be sustained along the entire supply chain and communicated to the end customer. Structuration theory is useful in understanding supply chain management in VBOs.

Research limitations/implications

The paper has implications for studying VBOs, particularly those prioritizing sustainability values. The descriptive model presented is useful in settings where organizational structure and the supply chain are needed to support sustainable products and processes and whose success is facilitated by establishing strategic partners, especially those that make possible economies of scale. The study is limited to one, privately owned firm, operating in a specialty industry sector.

Practical implications

The paper has implications for those entities with an identified values set that endows the product with unique characteristics that must be conveyed to their end consumer in order to command a price premium and/or differentiate the product from a commodity. The case study provides an example of how a unique product as well as a facilitating organizational structure and supply chain emerge out of the application of a set of core values.

Originality/value

Little previous research focuses on implications of supply chain management in VBOs. In addition, the paper contributes to both the supply chain management and sustainability literature by relating supply chain management to a more comprehensive sustainability agenda including social, environmental, and long‐term economic sustainability and by a theoretically based structuring.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 30 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 May 2007

Ali E. Akgün, John Byrne and Halit Keskin

This paper aims to unify the fragmented views on organizational intelligence from the perspective of Giddens' structuration theory.

5454

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to unify the fragmented views on organizational intelligence from the perspective of Giddens' structuration theory.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper used a case study of a firm, which is a small electronics manufacturing group located in the New England area of the northeast USA. Data were collected by observation, oral histories and through discussion and interviews with organization members.

Findings

It was observed that a structuration view of organization intelligence removes the individual/organization level intelligence dichotomy, and integrates the fragmented studies on the epistemology of intelligence, e.g. cognitive, behavioral and social/emotional.

Research limitations/implications

Propositions for further research are formulated. However, findings are derived on the basis of a substantive case study in a particular country. Further, research needs to expand this base to encompass other organizations in a wider range of countries across different cultures.

Practical implications

This paper helps managers to assess and to operationalize organizational intelligence.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a more comprehensive understanding of intelligence in organizations.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 20 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 August 2024

Khalil Rahi, Mira Thoumy and Muhammad Saqib

This paper explores the impact of multiple team membership (MTM) on the productivity of team members in engineering consulting firms. MTM refers to employees participating…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores the impact of multiple team membership (MTM) on the productivity of team members in engineering consulting firms. MTM refers to employees participating concurrently in multiple teams, a concept closely linked to projectification. Despite the fact that this concept can enhance collaboration, it also introduces coordination challenges that may negatively affect productivity.

Design/methodology/approach

Through an inductive approach involving 12 semi-structured interviews with engineering consulting professionals specializing in water and energy infrastructure projects, this paper examines the factors affecting team member productivity in an MTM setting. Following the interviews, a Delphi technique was employed, engaging 16 experts to rank the factors and sub-factors identified from the interview data. This two-stage approach ensured a comprehensive and validated assessment of productivity factors.

Findings

This study develops 8 factors process model grounded in structuration theory to explain the socio-technical mechanisms by which multiple team membership shapes productivity outcomes in engineering consulting firms specialized in water and energy infrastructure projects. Key findings surface micro-foundations, tensions in technology provisions, planning processes, and career development that inform theoretical advances and practical improvements.

Originality/value

This research contributes empirically insights into managing MTM in expert service contexts. Applying Giddens' structuration theory, this study reveals how agency and structures shape productivity across organizational, team, and individual levels. In practice, this study provides recommendations for improving productivity within projectified environments, mainly for team members working in an MTM environment in engineering consulting firms specializing in water and energy infrastructure projects.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 21 December 2010

Alexandre Schwob and Kristine de Valck

Purpose – The first purpose of this chapter is to better understand, and to propose a means to understand the ways selves are constructed in daily contingencies during consumption…

Abstract

Purpose – The first purpose of this chapter is to better understand, and to propose a means to understand the ways selves are constructed in daily contingencies during consumption experiences. To do so, the second purpose, which aims to bring an additional contribution, is to investigate the materiality of consumer experiences in a technological context.

Methodology/approach – We have investigated materiality (as conceptualized by Miller) of experiences in online discussion forums in a community of video games enthusiasts. Grounded theory is elaborated from an ethnography mixing interviews and nonparticipative online observation. The focus is on consumers' perceptions of their constructions as subjects in relationship to the various objects and practices they face.

Findings – The process through which subjects are contingently constructed follows three intertwined logics. Each of these logics, namely (1) finding a position, (2) building “appropriation logics” and accomplishing practices, and (3) enacting meaning empowerments, is detailed in its specific contingencies and modalities.

Research limitations/implications – Contribution of this research relies mostly on findings from one online community.

Practical implications – This research opens new ways to understand technological consumption experiences as they are lived by consumers, and it allows for an understanding of structuration in experiences characterized beforehand by their indeterminacy.

Originality/value of chapter – This chapter belongs to the few ones that propose a methodological approach to tackle with the construction of the self in daily contingencies and with dynamic materiality. It also opens new ways to de-essentialize ordinary consumption activities.

Details

Research in Consumer Behavior
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-444-4

Book part
Publication date: 25 June 2012

Bo Edvardsson, Per Skålén and Bård Tronvoll

Purpose – The aim is to introduce a sociological perspective on resource integration and value co-creation into service research using a service systems…

Abstract

Purpose – The aim is to introduce a sociological perspective on resource integration and value co-creation into service research using a service systems approach.

Methodology/approach – Conceptual and a case study of the service system a Telecom Equipment and Service Provider is embedded in is reported.

Findings – The service practice of the service system is framed by social structures of signification, legitimation, and domination. However, the practice is also independent of the structures since it is embedded in and shapes the structural realm.

Research implications and limitations – Drawing on structuration and practice theory, the chapter offers a new framework describing how social and service structures and practices can inform and reveal mechanisms of service system dynamics. Based on the framework, three propositions are developed focusing on the mechanisms of resource integration and value co-creation. The implications need to be generalized in future research by studying other empirical contexts.

Practical implications – The chapter provides some tentative guidelines on how organizations can design service systems that enable and support customers and other actors in their resource integration and value co-creation processes by paying attention to social structures and forces and not only resources as such.

Originality – The chapter explicates how social structures have implications for value co-creation and resource integration in service system. It makes systematic use of structuration and practice theory to understand the social dimensions of service systems. A distinction between intended and realized resource integration is made.

Details

Special Issue – Toward a Better Understanding of the Role of Value in Markets and Marketing
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-913-4

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 June 2023

Sandra Sun-Ah Ponting and Alana Dillette

The purpose of this study is to explore the development and implementation of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices in hospitality and tourism organizations through the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the development and implementation of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices in hospitality and tourism organizations through the lens of structuration theory.

Design/methodology/approach

This study deployed a three-stage Delphi technique involving DEI experts in hospitality and tourism organizations to build a consensus. Specifically, individual agency, development and implementation of DEI practices and best DEI practices were explored through the Delphi technique.

Findings

The findings of this study feature a framework for DEI practices and the intersection between individual agency and organizational structure. The results of this study further showcase the theoretical importance of structuration theory in understanding how organizations develop and implement DEI practices.

Originality/value

This study reveals unique perspectives on DEI within hospitality and tourism organizations, pointing to the imperative need for leadership in initiating, developing and implementing change. This study also extends previous research by highlighting how DEI practices are initiated, developed and implemented through individual agency and organizational structure.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 35 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 July 2023

Julianna Faludi

Social hackathons are events designed to craft social change using technology that enables citizen empowerment or addresses societal issues by deploying data. Hackathons provide a…

1041

Abstract

Purpose

Social hackathons are events designed to craft social change using technology that enables citizen empowerment or addresses societal issues by deploying data. Hackathons provide a framework for organizing to help create prototypes and business models through interaction with technology. The relevance of the sociomateriality of the emergent technology (prototype) and organizational structure raises the question if viable and impactful solutions can be developed within such frames.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applies an inductive research methodology based on ethnographic participant observation, interviews with participants and event organizers, and qualitative insights from surveys.

Findings

Events such as social hackathons are centered around technology and share a vision of creating opportunities for change. The materiality of prototypes may define their interaction patterns. The differentiation of the embodiment and emergent structuration of technology may be a breaking point for in-group dynamics and a barrier to social innovation. The emergent structuration of technology with a longer initial phase of problem definition and ideation within a group was found to have more potential for impactful embodiment with the technological artifact. Some cases reveal that “expert” participants who shared visions of change enabled by technology were constrained by other members.

Originality/value

The paper suggests an extended view on the connection of sociomateriality, organizing and social impact.

Details

Journal of Organizational Ethnography, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6749

Keywords

21 – 30 of over 3000