Enablers and barriers to the involvement of accountants in integrated reporting

Purpose Drawing on institutional entrepreneurship theory, this study examines (1) how ride-hailing service markets are created and legitimized and (2) how the involved stakeholders (acting as institutional entrepreneurs) co-evolve to improve city connectivity. Design/methodology/approach Employing qualitative methods, this study engages thirty-one interviewees, including drivers, users, policymakers, and influencers. In addition to interview data, this study uses visual methods, online documents, and participant observation. Findings The findings shed light on policymakers’ struggles in managing the emerging digital technology-induced industry and illuminate the co-evolution of various actors in legitimizing the ride-hailing industry, delineating four distinct phases: introduction, local validation, expansion, and general validation. Originality/value This research enriches the institutional entrepreneurship theory by demonstrating the fluid boundaries between economic, political, and policy entrepreneurs, revealing that roles are more interconnected and overlapping than previously acknowledged. It introduces the concept that collective and adaptive actions by various actors are crucial for driving institutional change, moving beyond the traditional focus on individual entrepreneurs. By examining how ride-hailing platform operators navigate and shape multiple institutional orders to their advantage, the study highlights the dynamic interplay between enabling conditions and entrepreneurial actions within institutional theory.

Purpose– This paper aims to investigate how sports science was institutionalised and rapidly deinstitutionalised within a Premier League football club. Institutional theory has been critiqued for its lack of responsiveness to change, but recent developments within institutional theory such as the focus on deinstitutionalisation as an explanation of change, the role of institutional entrepreneurs and the increasing interest in institutional work facilitate exploration of change within institutions.Design/methodology/approach– The authors deploy a longitudinal case study which ran from 2003-2011. Data was collected via observations, semi-structured interviews and through extensive literature reviews.Findings– Via this longitudinal case study, the authors illustrate that the antecedents of deinstitution can lie in the ways by which an institution is established. In doing so, they highlight the paradoxical role potentially played by institutional entrepreneurs in that they can (unwittingly) operate as agents of institutionalisation and deinstitutionalisation. Their study suggests that the higher the performance imperative within a field, the more likely the institution as a generic concept will be deinstitutionalised and the more likely to be appropriated and customised in order to gain inimitability and thus competitive advantage. Finally, the authors make an additional contribution by integrating the affective aspects of institutional work to their analyses; stressing the role played by emotions.Research limitations/implications– As with many case studies, the ability to generalise from one case, however detailed, is limited. However, it provides evidence as to the paradoxical role that can be played by institutional entrepreneurs – especially in highly competitive environments.Practical implications– The study suggests that the HR function has a potential role to play with regards to institutional continuity through a focus on leader and institutional entrepreneur succession planning.Originality/value– The paper makes an original contribution by highlighting both institutional and deinstitutional work within a single case. It highlights the paradoxical nature of institutional entrepreneurs in highly competitive environments and illustrates the importance of emotion to institutional maintenance and deinstitution.

Purpose This paper aims to demonstrating that the former new institutional theory of isomorphism and decoupling cannot be extended, modified or refuted as it is a closed theory. By analyzing the structure of this former version of institutional theory and its numerous modern competitors (institutional entrepreneurship, institutional work and institutional logics theories) it is argued that these alternative theories demonstrate even less explanatory and predictive power and do not refute or extend their predecessor. The rise of new organizational theories can have no other effect on classic institutional theory than to limit the domain of its applicability. In turn, there are a number of principles and conditions that future theories should meet to be accepted as progressive advancements. Design/methodology/approach The paper provides a review of relevant organizational and philosophical literature on theory construction and scientific progress in organizational research and offers a set of principles and demands for those new theories that seek to challenge new institutionalism. Findings The authors show that the former institutional theory satisfies two main criteria that any scientific theory should conform with following it is useful and falsifiable in term of giving explanations and predictions while, at the same time, clearly specifying what can be observed and what cannot; what can happen and what is not likely to occur. Modern institutional theories cannot demonstrate this quality and they do not satisfy these criteria. Moreover, institutional isomorphism theory is a closed theory, which means it cannot be intervened with changes and modifications and all future theories should develop their theoretical propositions for other domains of applications while they should account for all empirical phenomena that institutional theory successfully explains. Originality/value Adopting instrumental view on organizational theories allowed reconstructing the logic and trajectory of organizational research evolution and defends its rationality and progressive nature. It is also outlined how existing dominant theory should be treated and how new theories should challenge its limitations and blind spots and which philosophical and methodological criteria should be met.

We explore what institutional entrepreneurs do to propagate new organizational forms. Our findings are derived from a longitudinal study of the `Euroregion', an organizational form used by local authorities situated close to European borders for co-ordinating policies across borders. We find that the institutional entrepreneurs behind the Euroregion engaged in several types of institution-building projects, with a changing focus over time. While the initial emphasis was on interactional projects, this was followed by a focus on technical projects and finally cultural projects. The skills that the institutional entrepreneurs deployed changed accordingly. While in a first phase, predominantly political skills were used, later, analytical skills and finally cultural skills were added. Furthermore, the institutional entrepreneurs propagated the organizational form by switching their institution-building projects between different fields. We interpret these findings by outlining a process theory of institutional entrepreneurship that conceptualizes the institutional entrepreneur in light of its development as an innovating organization.

In this article, we address the question of institutional and organizational change through the start-up of new ventures. Following the institutional entrepreneurship theory, we examine the process of divergent change and the kinds of institutional work enabling entrepreneurs operating in a peripheral social position of mature fields to challenge the existing status quo. We argue that the start-up of new organizations can be an opportunity for repositioning existing traditional entrepreneurial capabilities by combining them with additional and complementary competences towards new institutional logics. Building on an in-depth longitudinal case study of a group of Italian small and medium-sized enterprises – acting intentionally as a community for innovation – we highlight the contextual conditions and the implementing factors allowing this type of institutional entrepreneurship. Our study makes two main contributions. First, we try to fill the gap with existing research mostly focused on dominant organizations, by showing how institutional entrepreneurship can be implemented by low-status organizations, within highly institutionalized fields. Second, we shed light on the process implementing new divergent organizational forms, by bridging established mature firms with new innovative fields.

This study determined the skills needed for successful management of small and medium scale manufacturing industries by entrepreneurs in Anambra State. Two research questions guided the study and two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Descriptive survey research design was adopted using a population of 2, 610 entrepreneurs of SMEs in Anambra State. Taro Yamane formula was utilized to select a sample size of 347. A structured questionnaire developed by the researcher was used for data collection. Cronbach Alpha was used to establish the reliability of the instrument. The reliability index obtained was r = 0.79. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test. Mean was used to answer the research questions and standard deviation used to explain how the responses of the respondents varied. t-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significant. The results showed that analytical and interpersonal skills are highly needed for successful management of small and medium scale manufacturing industries by entrepreneurs in Anambra State. The results also showed that there was no significant difference in the mean ratings of entrepreneurs on the extent analytical and interpersonal skills are needed for successful management of small and medium scale manufacturing industries in Anambra State on the basis of size of the business. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended among others, that entrepreneurs need analytical skills in order to visualize, articulate, conceptualize or solve both complex and uncomplicated problems by making decisions that are sensible given the available information. Article visualizations:

To prepare for the transition to management, technical personnel must (1) develop their administrative, communication, and interpersonal skills; (2) learn to delegate, and (3) learn management principles and concepts. This last activity can be accomplished through in-house management training programs, on-the-job training, or formal management degree programs. These activities will help increase the chances for success among technical personnel making the transition into management in a clinical or industrial setting.

Purpose Although the concept of institutional entrepreneurship has been developed in the institutional theory literature to explain change in the normative context of organizations, little attention has been given to understanding what institutional entrepreneurs actually do to create change. The purpose of this paper is to begin to address this gap in the literature by drawing on the process, challenges, successes and lessons learned when a large multilateral organization (the United Nations Development Program) launched a new international multi-stakeholder initiative to facilitate inclusive business development. Design/methodology/approach This case study gathered qualitative data through key informant interviews, participant observation and a review of project documents and e-mail correspondence. Findings Drawing on institutional theory and the literature on dynamic capabilities, the research found that highly institutionalized organizations acting as institutional entrepreneurs need to manage two key tensions – legitimacy management and change process management – in order to influence change in their institutional fields. Originality/value This paper is the first to combine institutional theory and the dynamic capabilities literatures to understand the question What capabilities are required by organizations to succeed in changing their institutional fields?

Institutional entrepreneurship comprises the activities of agents who disrupt existing social institutions or create new ones, often to enable diffusion, especially of radical innovations, in a market. The increased interest in institutional entrepreneurship has produced a large number of scholarly publications, especially in the last five years. As a consequence, the literature landscape is somewhat complex and scattered. We aim to compile a quantitative overview of the field within business and management research by conducting bibliometric performance analyses and science mappings. We identified the most productive and influential journals, authors, and articles with the highest impact. We found that institutional entrepreneurship has stronger ties to organization studies than to entrepreneurship research. Additionally, a large body of literature at the intersection of institutions and entrepreneurship does not refer to institutional entrepreneurship theory. The science mappings revealed a distinction between theoretical and conceptual research on one hand and applied and empirical research on the other hand. Research clusters reflect the structure–agency problem by focusing on the change agent’s goals and interests, strategies, and specific implementation mechanisms, as well as the relevance of public agents for existing institutions, and a more abstract process rather than agency view.

Microfoundational research increasingly strives to examine the interlinkages between various higher- and lower-level structures. To better capture microfounded change processes, I develop the multi-dimensional concept of institutional entrepreneurs' skills that defines actors' abilities to enhance institutional change. By a systematic literature review on institutional entrepreneurship, I identify seven institutional entrepreneurs' skill dimensions: (i) analytical skills, (ii) empathic skills, (iii) framing skills, (iv) translational skills, (v) organizational skills, (vi) tactical skills, and (vii) timing skills. The established concept provides opportunities for future microfoundational research by examining the formation and the application of the seven skill dimensions.

Background While prior studies have emphasized the need for additional surgeon training on interpersonal and communication skills, current communication skills curricula is not guided by evidence correlating specific communication skills with patient satisfaction. To inform the maturation of this curricula, we performed a systematic review to examine the aspects of surgeon communication that have a positive impact on patient satisfaction. Methods A qualitative literature review was conducted across four databases: PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Ovid/Medline. Publications were included if the study both assessed surgeons’ interpersonal/communication skills and correlated surgeon communication with patient satisfaction. Results 26 publications met inclusion criteria and examined a broad range of physician specialties including urology, otolaryngology, and general, breast, vascular, and orthopedic surgery. These studies covered 654 surgeons, predominantly at the attending level, and 16,538 patients. Three major themes were related to patient satisfaction: 1) clear communication, 2) involvement of the patient, and 3) demeanor and interpersonal skills. Specific skills that were associated with increased patient satisfaction include clearly defining care team roles, ensuring patient comprehension, setting expectations, utilizing surgeon-initiated and autonomy-supportive communication, practicing active listening, developing rapport, and providing culturally competent care. Conclusions This systematic review demonstrates that clear surgeon communication, involvement of the patient in clinical decision-making, and demeanor and interpersonal skills are closely associated with patient satisfaction. Our findings present evidence-based recommendations for areas of improvement for practicing surgeons. Furthermore, surgical residency programs may focus their training efforts on development of these aspects of interpersonal and communication skills that directly impact patient satisfaction.

Using institutional entrepreneurship theory, I examine the emergence of a novel partnership model in Scotland between 2002 and 2005 to deliver health and social care services. Utilising a qualitative methodology based on interviews and secondary data, I investigate how health and social care managers in a large urban city area acted as institutional entrepreneurs. By engaging in institutional work at a microlevel, mesolevel, and macrolevel, these managers overcame institutional pressure to implement a centrally mandated partnership model advocated by the then Scottish Executive. The study suggests that institutional entrepreneurship is a specific form of change management that can provide unique insights into the political and negotiative processes involved in implementing divergent change in the face of local and national resistance and offers guidance to policy makers and practitioners in framing and implementing change initiatives.

Informed by institutional entrepreneurship theory and based on the case of waste prevention projects in the City of Göteborg, this paper examines the role of cities in shaping new environmental policies. Structured by the research question, ‘How do cities shape novel environmental policies and practices?’, the paper illustrates how cities become agents of environmental change and institutional entrepreneurship through mobilizing and recombining resources (i.e. human, financial, and spatial), rationales (by reframing symbols, challenging taboos, and transforming waste socio-materialities), and relations (via internal and external collaboration and by creating new institutional arrangements, roles, and expectations). Emerging environmental policies, such as waste prevention, represent the structuring of an incipient environmental policy field. This new generation of environmental policies expands the scope of the public sector (the so-called publicness), reshapes the public/private distinction, and challenges taboos such as the intrusion of publicness into privateness.

This article analyzes the adoption of voluntary environmental management programs by firms operating in Mexico. Mexican firms can obtain national certification (Clean Industry) and/or international certification (ISO 14001). Based on institutional entrepreneurship theory, we posit that the role played by first movers as institutional entrepreneurs is crucial if these programs are to become established with sufficient strength and appeal. This understanding is especially important in an environment where more than one program can be adopted. We tested several hypotheses on the behaviors of 1328 facilities operating in Mexico, half of which (664) had certified environmental management programs. Of the 664 certified facilities, 217 were classified as early adopters. Three variables predicted the likelihood of a facility being an early adopter: (1) connected to international market, (2) in the maquila sector, and (3) linked to an industry association that offers free resources.

Institutional entrepreneurship （IE） is an emerging and relevant topic in the institutional theory. Existing literature has overemphasized the macro phenomenal descriptions but neglected the micro-process of the IE initiation. Individuals were thus reduced to un-reflexive entities that experience institutions as a totalizing set of instrumental prescriptions. Based on the social identity theory and emotion studies in institutional literature, we conduct a qualitative research of the local norm of a township cluster to unpack the micro-process of IE. We find that: （1） efficiency-driven calculation is the basic motivational process that individuals experience before they initiate new institutions; （2） individuals also experience social categorization, threat-focus and closeness-focus social identification processes, which is a new path and necessary precondition for endogenous change-oriented agency; （3） emotional competence performance and emotional sense-making serve as two mechanisms by which agency emerges from the social identification process. This study not only responds to recent calls to study micro-foundations and individual-level affective elements in the institutional theory, but also provides practical implications for managing institutional change processes in the Chinese transition economy.