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In this study the aim is to analyze multiple decisions in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) strategy to verify whether isomorphism appears in these decisions when a firm imitates others and to determine under what conditions the link between imitation and the degree of similarity in M&As is weakened.

With a sample of 4,881 completed M&As in the financial service industry, the authors adopt the generalized multivariate regression model to test the hypothesized effects of the independent variables on the degree of similarity in M&As.

Support is found for the mimetic isomorphism argument. Furthermore, firm experience and local market segmentation weaken the positive relationship between imitation and the degree of similarity in M&As.

This study enhances the understanding of mimetic isomorphism by not only verifying the relationship between imitation and isomorphism, but also integrating the role of organizational active agency (firm experience) and the extent to which local market competitors affect imitation and isomorphism within the industry as a whole.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the criminogenic nature of isomorphism and groupthink in business organisations with a view to developing a conceptual model of the criminalisation process leading to criminal behaviour within businesses.

This paper draws on institutional theory and social psychology theory to discuss how isomorphic and groupthink processes may lead to criminal behaviour in the corporate world. The paper is based on a rigorous review of the relevant literature and theoretical frameworks regarding isomorphic dynamics, processes, factors, forces and mechanisms in the business context. The review was guided by a question of how isomorphic and groupthink processes can transform business organisations and its members into offenders. The approach applied was to transfer the existing theories of isomorphism and groupthink into the field of criminology, in order to devise a new model of the process of criminalisation.

The effects of isomorphic and groupthink processes can have a criminogenic effect on businesses and individuals in organisational settings which may coerce agents to engage in criminal behaviour. In crime-facilitative circumstances, isomorphism and groupthink foster criminal activity by cultivating homogeneous behaviour, conformity, resemblance, shared values and identical ways of thinking across and within firms. This herd behaviour can be regarded as one of the explanations for the pervasiveness of criminal and unethical behaviour in the corporate world, the consequences of which could be devastating.

This is a theoretical analysis, not one based on empirical findings, though it does suggest a model for future testing.

This study explains the criminogenic nature of isomorphic and groupthink processes and contributes to the debate on the casualisation of corporate crime. This has important implications for the deterrence of illegal and unethical activities at both the organisational and institutional levels.

This study provides a conceptual model of the criminalisation process in businesses fostered by criminogenic isomorphism and groupthink.

This paper aims to identify the relationships of both organizational isomorphism and knowledge search with the innovation performance of cluster enterprises. It also specifies the mechanism by which organizational isomorphism affects innovation performance, through knowledge search.

Firm-level data were collected with questionnaires distributed to cluster enterprises in Zhejiang Province, China, which produced 165 usable responses for the analysis. Both multiple regression analyses and structural equation modelling were used to test the hypotheses.

Normative isomorphism and mimetic isomorphism have inverse U-shaped effects on the innovation performance of cluster enterprises, as does exploratory knowledge search. Exploitative knowledge search and the balance between two types of knowledge search have positive effects on the innovation performance of cluster enterprises; exploratory and exploitative knowledge searches exert partial mediation effects between the organizational isomorphism and innovation performance of cluster enterprises. The mediating effect of knowledge search transforms the inverse U-shaped effect of normative isomorphism and mimetic isomorphism on innovation performance into a positive effect.

This study provides new insights into the effects of organizational isomorphism on innovation performance by showing the indirect influence of organizational isomorphism in clusters. The study proposes a strategic logic of moderate isomorphism, clarifies the innovative effect of different knowledge search modes and reveals the construction and management mechanisms of organizational isomorphism and knowledge search strategy of firms in clusters.

Neo-institutional theory (NIT) has strengthened its position as one of the theories and frameworks used to investigate accounting as organizational, legislative, social and policymaking phenomena. This study aims to review how aspects of NIT are used and understood by accounting researchers. As a growing body of accounting and auditing articles in recent years has used NIT as a theoretical framework, this paper reviews and analyzes articles using NIT.

This study develops a comprehensive synthesis of current academic knowledge about NIT in accounting and auditing regulation literature. Further, it reveals areas requiring further examination.

The findings of this study indicate that prior studies have found evidence that accounting and auditing regulation is associated with all forms of isomorphism (coercive, mimetic and normative). For instance, institutional pressures influence the accounting and auditing standards adoption in different environments. Therefore, the synthesis of the literature suggests that coercive, mimetic and normative pressures have played a significant role in the harmonization of accounting and auditing practices worldwide. To conclude, NIT has become one of the relevant alternative approaches used to explore accounting and auditing regulation as a complex phenomenon.

Accounting has often been referred to as a “narrow” and “technical” topic. In a way, NIT broadens the research field by extending, for instance, the approach of which external and internal pressures are associated with accounting standards adoption and why different accounting practices are adopted.

This study informs accounting scholars as to how NIT has been applied, and can be applied, in the accounting and auditing regulation literature. This benefits accounting researchers if they are considering whether to use NIT in their research. This study evaluates the contribution of NIT within this research field. It can be suggested that accounting researchers need to become more aware of the debates within the NIT literature, particularly as the theory is seen as conceptually ambiguous. To conclude, the synthesis highlights that NIT has offered a range of important contributions and has drawn attention to the link between accounting and auditing regulation research and the institutional environment.

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the interrelationships between corporate social responsibility (CSR) isomorphism of headquarters (HQs) and their subsidiaries as well as corporate social performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP) at the subsidiary level.

This study tested these relationships through canonical correlation analyses. The data used were drawn from corporate HQ and 63 subsidiaries, which were publicly listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange in 2007. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used in the study.

The results generally indicated that the isomorphism between the CSR practices of the HQ and those of their subsidiaries could impact both the CSP, especially the product and employee dimensions, and the CFP. No relationship was found to exist between the CSP and CFP.

Despite extensive interest by scholars and practitioners in the subject area, relatively little is known about the management of CSR by the multinational enterprises (MNEs) (Meyer, 2004), as the literature does not systematically examine the effects that occur on employee performance following the diffusion of CSR among the MNEs subsidiaries. Extending earlier literature on CSR, by integrating the effect of the CFP, the present study focuses on the effects of isomorphism between the CSR practices of the MNEs and those of their subsidiaries on both CSP and CFP. Further, the study examined the interrelation of CSP and CFP from the perspective of international management. Given the increased interest in corporate governance matters at the international level, CSR plays a central and fundamentally important role in the corporate governance of the MNEs because of both globalization forces and the pressures exerted by stakeholders. In this context, this paper is one of the first to explore the transfer of CSR practices from the MNEs to their subsidiaries. The effect of CSR on performance is an important research question, especially for emerging markets (Ibrahim and Angelidis, 1995; Waddock and Graves, 1997; Ghazali, 2007; Johnson and Greening, 1999). Despite the importance of this issue, however, until recently, only a limited discussion has been evident in the literature on CSR in the international arena with particular reference given to the emerging economies. Studying the effects of the CSR isomorphism on the performance in Turkish context is justified in three ways. First, Turkey is the largest emerging economy in Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East (Tatoglu et al., 2003, p. 7). It presents the emerging nature of the market and the transitional characteristics of the institutional environment (Cavusgil et al., 2002). Second, the drivers for CSR in Turkey, such as the other emerging markets whose institutional characteristics and economic fundamentals is similar, are exogenous and institutional rather than endogenous factors (Ararat and Gocenoglu, 2006, p. 11). Excluding the philanthropic activities, the very first manifestations of CSR were observed in the business conduct of MNEs in Turkey (Ararat and Gocenoglu, 2006, p. 11). MNEs have a dominant and leader role in Turkey for CSR practices. Finally, the subsidiaries operating in Turkey are less likely to resist the transfer of the organizational policies and practices such as human resource management policies (Sayim, 2010, 2011) and organizational culture (Ilhan, 2008). In fact, they want to even transfer the policies and practices from MNEs (Sayim 2010, 2011; Ilhan, 2008). Therefore, Turkish context provides a good case to test the effects of the CSR isomorphism on the performance.

This paper aimed to test a proposed framework highlighting strategic green marketing initiatives and how they drive new technology implementation towards green corporate performance, underpinned by institutional isomorphism.

The study used a quantitative method and convenience sampling approach in gathering data using adapted questionnaires to solicit first-hand information from 225 employees of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism and hospitality sector underpinned by the theory of institutional isomorphism.

The study shows that green communication and green strategy alignment have significant predictive effects on new technology implementation. Cultural isomorphism significantly moderated the effects of implementing new technology (i.e. green communication and strategy alignment). In addition, “new technology implementation had a significant predictive effect on green corporate performance”. Meanwhile, the moderation effect of “green creative behaviour on the new technology-green corporate performance dyad was positive but insignificant.”

The study’s novel framework confirms how green communication strategy and green strategy alignment complement cultural isomorphism to explain the impact of new technology implementation on green corporate performance, underpinned by institutional isomorphism.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This paper aims to explore the complete process and underlying mechanism that social enterprises obtain legitimacy during interactions with stakeholders from theoretical integration of institutional theory and organization ecology perspective.

Based on theoretical classification, this paper selects six typical Chinese social enterprises and conducts a multi-case analysis.

The study finds that social enterprises aim at legitimizing single entity or industry and shaping stakeholders’ cognitive boundary simultaneously. Therefore, by adopting constrained cooperation and competition activities, social enterprises use normative isomorphism to achieve personal legitimation and combining ecological niche construction, social enterprises achieve organizational legitimation. By adopting fragmented cooperation-dominant or competition-dominant activities, social enterprises use mimic isomorphism supplemented by competitive isomorphism or population structure creation to obtain industry legitimation. By adopting dynamically integrated coopetition activities, social enterprises use mimic isomorphism and reflexive isomorphism to reach field legitimation.

This paper proposes a mechanism model that the coopetition with stakeholders influences the legitimation process, identifies four stages of social enterprise’s legitimation process and the types of legitimacy obtained in each stage and fills the gap of Chinese indigenous social enterprise research.

The purpose of this paper is to discern the impact of main behavioral factors that could affect the decision of adopting IFRS in developing countries (DCs). In other words, this work looks to identify the different variables that are likely to influence the adoption of IFRS in these countries.

The methodological orientation of this research is to highlight and analyze the correlation between the cited factors and the IFRS adoption in DCs. Tested models are functions of logistic regression. To assess the parameters of these functions, the commonly used method is not that of ordinary least square but the maximum likelihood technique. In short, this study followed a hypothetical-deductive methodology by referring to the application of a logistic regression for each of the variables presumed to be analyzed. The authors implement this empirical model by using the neo-institutional approach and basing on a sample of 108 DCs.

The empirical results show that there exists a bidirectional causal relationship between the majority of the developed behavioral variables and the decision of whether adopting or unadopting IFRS by DCs. They also indicate through multivariate analysis that the selection of IFRS by DCs is primarily legitimized by institutional and social pressures (institutional isomorphism).

It is essential to indicate that some limits might be assigned to the study. They are attached principally to the use of a dichotomous dependent variable which presents a restriction in a sense where the robust inequality at the level of the numbers of the countries of sub-samples can relatively weaken the findings. There are also few studies that jointly analyze the behavioral dimensions within a country and the adoption of IFRS. Institutional theory emanated from the research has proved useful in escaping this limit.

These empirical insights are of particular interest to local accounting standard setters of the selected countries since they can provide a better discernment of factors that can encourage the adoption of IFRS. Indeed, the research can be a reference for governments to better identify the economic, political and institutional obstacles that have an impact on behaviors which could compel countries to flee the adoption of IFRS. This paper will also be helpful for future research studying the links between human behavior and accounting in a general way. It should be noted that the results will be significant for future studies looking for real behavioral factors that drive a country to adopt an accounting framework. The studies will be able to use the empirical variables as a starting point and then they can extract new measures to identify the impact of behavior on decisions to adopt any standards.

At the present study, the authors strive to provide input to the literature by focusing on the determinants of the choice of an accounting practice in a DC reverberating to a new dimension which is the behavioral attribute.

This paper aims to dynamically analyze the opportunities and challenges of AI in the defense sector in Lebanon or any security agency or any organization with sensitive data through a resource-based view perspective, the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI)/narrow AI applications in the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and to diagnose the current strategic orientation toward innovation and technology within the LAF while avoiding isomorphism.

The methodology is based on a qualitative interpretive case-study approach collected from several departments of the LAF. In fact, there is a developing convention to use qualitative research approaches among which case studies to study information technology phenomena (Trauth and Jessup, 2000; Benbasat et al., 1987; Klein and Meyers, 1999). Data were collected through centered semi-structured in-depth interviews (two to three hours each) with an interview guide coded abductively between the researchers and the interviewees conducted in numerous departments of the LAF with their top officials and generals (O1, O2, O3…); the anonymity of the interviewees was kept due to the sensitivity of the data collected, which took place between September 2018 and March 2019. Data consolidation and processing were conducted using NVivo.

This paper shows that the LAF is undeniably facing many challenges among which isomorphism caused by the lack of resources; it also shows that narrow AI applications provide new avenues for the LAF to avoid such institutional isomorphism.

The role of narrow AI in limiting isomorphism in the defense sector.