Field-configuring Events Research Articles

Challenging Institutional Path Dependence Through Field Configuring Events: Exploring the Collective Institutional Entrepreneurship of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative

ABSTRACTResearch Question/IssueHow can a global social movement, mobilized through a multi‐stakeholder initiative, promote the uptake of novel governance practices in distinct national institutional environments?Research Findings/InsightsUsing data from all 114 of the world's stock exchanges, covering over 99% of global stock market capitalization as of 2018, I find that exchanges in common‐law countries were more likely to become early partners of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSEI) after its launch in 2012. However, exchanges based in civil‐law countries experienced a higher likelihood (i.e., risk) of adoption, as measured by the hazard ratio, particularly during a series of sustained field‐configuring events (FCEs) promoted by the SSEI. Over time, this increased hazard ratio indicated a rising likelihood of adoption for civil‐law‐based exchanges, eventually surpassing that of their common‐law counterparts.Theoretical/Academic ImplicationsWhile institutional environments' path dependency can facilitate or hinder the adoption of governance practices, collective institutional entrepreneurship (CIE) can moderate this path dependency and reveal new information regarding the structural fit between promoted governance practices and their institutional environments.Practitioner/Policy ImplicationsThe insights provided by this study can help practitioners understand why some practices face resistance in specific institutional environments, while others are more readily accepted. These insights also help practitioners communicate the elements of governance practices that implicitly align with the institutional environments in which they are seeking adoption.

Field-configuring events and the failure to standardise accounting for carbon emissions

PurposeSince the withdrawal of IFRIC 3 in 2005, there has been a regulatory freeze in accounting for emission rights that contrasts with the international momentum of climate-related financial disclosures. This paper explores how different narratives and institutional dynamics explain the failure to produce guidance on accounting for emission rights.Design/methodology/approachThis paper mobilises the notion of field-configuring events to examine a sequence of six events between 2003 and 2016, including four public consultations and two dialogues between standard setters. The paper presents a qualitative analysis of documents produced in this space that investigates how different practices and narratives configured the field's positions, agenda, and meaning systems.FindingsAccounting for emission rights was gradually decoupled from climate change and carbon markets, relegated to the research pipeline, and forgotten. The obstacles that the IASB and EFRAG found in presenting themselves as central in the recurring events, the excess of representations, and the increasingly technical and abstract debates eroded the 2003 momentum for regulation, making the different initiatives to revitalise the project vulnerable and open to scrutiny. Lukes (2021) refers to nondecision-making to express that some issues are suffocated before they are expressed.Originality/valueThe regulation of accounting for emission rights, an area that has received scant attention in the literature, provides some insights into the different narrative mechanisms that, materialising in specific times and spaces, draw regulatory attention to particular accounting issues, which are problematised and, eventually, forgotten. This study also illustrates that identifying interests is problematic as actors shift from alternative positions over a long period. The case examined also raises some doubts about the previous effectiveness of international standard setters in dealing with matters of connectivity between the environment and finance, as is the case for accounting for emissions rights.

Institutionalisation of sustainability reporting in Pakistan: the role of field-configuring events and situational context

PurposeThis 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/approachThis 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.FindingsThe 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 implicationsFor 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 implicationsFrom 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/valueThis paper focuses on the role of FCEs and situational context as key social mechanisms for explaining the institutionalisation of SR.

Producing and sustaining field-configuring events: the role of prizes in a Swedish Book Fair

ABSTRACT We approach field-configuring events (FCEs) as gatherings that engender formative moments in the trajectory of technologies, professions, or industries. Previous research has focused on the field-level consequences of FCEs, implying we still know little about how these events are produced and sustained. Our aim in this paper is concomitantly to theorize the particular role of prizes as elements that help produce and sustain FCEs. Drawing on a qualitative case study of awards allocated at the 2018 Gothenburg Book Fair, we show how prize givers arduously attempt to raise issues and celebrate accomplishments in ways that are packaged for dissemination through media outlets. And these awards generate occasional visibility for prize givers and – by extension – for event organizers. Our paper contributes by highlighting how FCEs and prizes co-construct each other, and how such co-construction regularly unfolds in relation to a media logic that favors simplification and standardization.

DEVELOPING INDICATORS OF OPEN INNOVATION EVENT OUTCOMES

Open innovation (OI) events are potent instruments for the development of dynamic ecosystems. However, the literature analyses the structure and mechanisms of OI events insufficiently to demonstrate their efficacy, making it difficult to justify the investments necessary for their success. With better data confirming their impact, funding for OI events should improve by becoming more accessible and, therefore, more conducive to efficient value creation. This regional study contributes to the literature on innovation ecosystems and field-configuring events by responding to the call for more effective measures of OI events to coordinate and improve the ecosystems’ overall competitiveness. Based on an analysis of six in-depth case studies, 28 semi-structured interviews, and secondary sources, we identify 54 best practices and 34 indicators of an event’s success for various actor types. Moreover, we suggest 11 measures of the short- and long-term impacts of an event on its ecosystem.

Field-Configuring Events as Structuring Mechanisms: How Conferences, Ceremonies, and Trade Shows Constitute New Technologies, Industries, and Markets

In this introductory article to the Special Issue we make a case for the study of ‘field-configuring events’ (FCEs). We begin with a discussion of the nature and character of FCEs. We next situate the study of FCEs in the context of ongoing research addressing the growth and evolution of institutional, organizational, and professional fields. We follow this with an overview of the relationship between FCEs and the evolution of fields, paying particular attention to how FCEs link field evolution at the macro level with individual action at the micro level. We then examine the unique methodological advantages that the study of FCEs offers to researchers who are interested in studying dynamic field processes. We conclude with a summary of the five papers that make up this Special Issue.

UTILISING FIELD THEORY TO EXAMINE MEGA-EVENT LED DEVELOPMENT

Scholars and practitioners have long been analysing and evaluating the way events, particularly mega-events, serve as a mechanism of change. Powerful descriptions are typically brought to life via event impact and legacy case studies: yet, I argue such work can remain a-theoretical – or – conceptually disorganised. I draw on Bourdieu’s field theory and the management study of Field Configuring Events to develop a new analytical framework: the ‘Cognitive and Relational Mapping of Field Configuring Events’ – augmenting and offering a set of concepts to strengthen analysis and conceptual consistency between studies, whilst affording latitude to overlay different disciplinary perspectives. I detail methodological and conceptual advantages afforded alongside six ways the framework could be applied-and-extended across various cases and contexts.

Utilizing Field Theory to Examine Mega-event-led Development

Scholars and practitioners have long been analyzing and evaluating the way events, particularly mega-events, serve as a mechanism of change. Powerful descriptions are typically brought to life via event impact and legacy case studies: yet, I argue such work can remain atheoretical—or—conceptually disorganized. I draw on Bourdieu's field theory and the management study of Field Configuring Events to develop a new analytical framework: the "Cognitive and Relational Mapping of Field Configuring Events"—offering a set of interrelated concepts to strengthen analysis and conceptual consistency between studies, while providing latitude to overlay different disciplinary perspectives. I detail methodological and conceptual advantages afforded alongside six ways the framework could be applied and extended across various cases and contexts.

Framing third places for universities' third mission – Field Configuring Events as collaborative learning and transfer formats

AbstractThe paper uses the heuristics of a spatial perspective of so‐called Field Configuring Events (FCE) to investigate the question of how these new educational and project‐related transfer and collaboration courses in higher education context can capture the fundamentally changed institutional role – often called “third mission” or transfer competencies – fostering regional development. In doing so, the paper applies the concept FCE to an empirical case and aims at reconsidering the conceptual perspectives of this concept. The conceptual goal is to further refine the heuristic FCE and to align it more appropriately to understand dynamic knowledge production as an expression of new temporary (micro‐) geographies.

Power and Meaning in Genomic Medicine: Processes of Field Emergence and Evolution

While fields are central concepts in institutional theory, our understanding of them is largely theoretical and we have limited empirical evidence explaining the processes by which they emerge. In this study, set in the emerging field of genomic medicine, I explore the relationships through which power flows between field members, constructing a new field through their interactions. In the context of the nascent field of genomic medicine, I draw on extensive interviews with members of the genomic medicine field and its progenitors, four years of observational study of a field-convening organization shaping field standards, and a rich trove of historical data spanning the period of 1864 to 2020 to ask how genomic medicine evolved as a field and the role of power in shaping the interactions and meanings that constructed the field. My preliminary findings show that socio-political conflict, new technologies and shifting societal norms led to meaning-making that stigmatized genetic research, gave rise to divergent scientific fields and later reunified genomic research in new power relations that established the cultural meanings and institutions evident at the beginning of modern genomic medicine’s emergence. Subsequent analysis of industry news coverage during the emergent period (1990-2000) is anticipated to reveal the power-based interactions that show the clustering of organizations around emergent practices that indicate shifts in meaning, practices, and ultimately the power relations that shape the field’s emergence. These findings make a significant contribution to the dynamics of network emergence, by amassing rare empirical data on pre-emergent structures and interactions, while also explaining how and when heterogenous organization types and forms collaborate, potentially yielding new understandings of complex systems marked by flexible boundaries and changing compositions of organizations and types of ties. I also contribute to the institutional literatures where there is need for clearer understanding of field-to-field interactions that ultimately create opportunity for new fields and institutions to emerge. Lastly, I anticipate these findings contributing to the institutional literature on field-configuring events, as the deep inclusion of context provides evidence that may cause us to reconsider new forms of field-configuring events as individuals, organizations, communities and fields convene and negotiate new norms and structures in entirely new ways.

Editorial: Creative industries at the intersection between local agglomeration, national regulation, and global networks

Editorial: Creative industries at the intersection between local agglomeration, national regulation, and global networks

Field-configuring projects: How projects shape the public reflection of electric mobility in Germany

Organising in the context of projects has been extensively investigated with a focus on project-level processes. However, the industry and market impact, i.e. the field influencing potential of this temporary form of organizing, is still poorly understood. By using concepts derived from the literature on field-configuring events (FCE), we analyse the influence of two projects on the field of electric mobility in Germany. To capture the role of projects within fields, we apply a longitudinal mixed-methods approach combining interpretative qualitative methods with a topic modeling machine learning research strategy. The results highlight how projects can shape fields by opening and closing public debates and narratives in the sense of discursive institutional work. Additionally, we offer concepts that enable a more complete understanding of the sequential entanglement between projects and events, based on three scenarios: the project-by-itself, project-follows-event, and event-follows-project scenarios. With these insights, our empirical study contributes to the project management and institutional literature.

The emergence and adoption of digitalization in the logistics and supply chain industry: an institutional perspective

PurposeDespite increasing interest in digital services and products, the emergence of digitalization in the logistics and supply chain (L&SC) industry has received little attention, in particular from organizational theorists. In response, taking an institutionalist view, the authors argue that the emergence and adoption of digitalization is a socially constructed phenomenon.Design/methodology/approachThis paper shows how actor-level frameshifts contribute to an emergence of an overarching “digitalization logic” in the L&SC industry at the field level. Building on a longitudinal analysis of field actors' frames and logics, the authors track the development of digitalization over the last 60 years in the L&SC sector.FindingsThe authors classify specific time periods by key field-configuring events, describe the relevant frameshifts in each time period and present a process that explains how and why digitalization has emerged, been adopted and manifested itself in the L&SC industry.Originality/valueThe findings of the study provide insights about the evolution of a digitalization logic and thus advance the institutional view on digitalization in the L&SC industry.

Field-configuring events as temporary sites for institutional change in sport: a case study of the Lausanne conference on anti-doping

ABSTRACT Research question Institutional work by actors (e.g. organisations or individuals) to create, maintain or disrupt institutions requires redefining what is considered legitimate behaviour. Furthermore, research indicates that field-configuring events (FCE), such as conferences, which temporarily unite actors, are important junctures for institutional processes. Research is yet to address how FCE intersect with the effectiveness of institutional work. The aim of this paper is to explore how (i) the legitimacy of an actor at the time of an FCE, and (ii) the co-location of actors at an FCE impact institutional work effectiveness. Research methods The 1999 Lausanne Conference is used as a case study because it led to significant institutional disruption in the field of anti-doping through the creation of the Lausanne Declaration. To analyse these institutional processes, a qualitative thematic analysis of 624 newspaper articles and archival documents from the conference was conducted. Results and Findings Firstly, we demonstrate that institutional maintenance can fail if an actor’s legitimacy is under challenge at the time of an FCE. Secondly, the co-location of likeminded actors can create a consensus that acts as a cue to enable institutional disruption. Implications Based on the findings, suggestions are made to inform decision-making processes about institutional work. Initial categorisation of FCE conditions are presented and five propositions are made for future exploration.

Making Space for Emotions: Empathy, Contagion, and Legitimacy’s Double-Edged Sword

Legitimacy is critical to the formation and expansion of nascent fields because it lends credibility and recognizability to once overlooked actors and practices. At the same time, legitimacy can be a double-edged sword precisely because it facilitates field growth, attracting actors with discrepant practices that may lead to factionalization and undermine the coherence of the field’s collective identity. In this paper, we investigate how organizations can mitigate the downside of legitimation by eliciting emotions that align increasingly discrepant actors and celebrate an inclusive collective identity. We leverage fieldwork and computational text analysis to examine the relationship between legitimation, collective identity coherence, and emotions in the context of the Makers, a nascent field of do-it-yourself hobbyists and technology hackers. In our quantitative analysis we show that legitimation was associated with increased field heterogeneity, but that collective events countered the diluting effects of legitimation. In the qualitative analysis of our interview data we demonstrate that activities at these events—demonstrations and hands-on experiences—elicited emotional contagion and empathy among actors. These emotions reconciled tensions among increasingly heterogeneous actors and bolstered the coherence of the Maker collective identity. We conclude by discussing our contribution to research on legitimacy, collective identity, and field-configuring events.

Field-Configuring Events: An Important Mechanism Shaping the Institutionalization of Chinese Volunteering

Major events can and do play an important role in the development of volunteering in China. This article employs organizational neo-institutionalism as a lens to examine and interpret the meanings of major events for the development of Chinese volunteerism. We consider the Wenchuan earthquake and the Beijing Olympics as “Field-Configuring Events” that influenced the process of institutionalizing volunteering. The article’s findings highlight that these major events shaped the public’s culture and cognition of volunteering and the network-governance structure of volunteering, thereby opening a window of opportunity for volunteerism policy decision-making.

Educational Potential of Animated Films in Poland

The paper describes events which are focused on Polish animation, with special regards to their educational values. The thesis refers to the importance of the Polish Film Institute, higher education, film workshops and film festivals for Polish animations. The most important part of the paper describes animation film festivals. Film festivals are portrayed as the most extensive educational platform, because of which the whole paper centres on an understanding of the issue through festival studies. The author evokes theories of the field configuring events by Bernard Leca, Charles-Clemens Rüling and Dominique Puthod. In the paper the Polish animation film scene is described as heterogeneous, however, filmmakers who make animations are evolving a coherent vision of it. Helpful in this process is the Polish Animation Producers Association. In the final part of the paper the author focuses on O!PLA. The Festival of Polish Animation. This event can be interpreted as a something more than a field-configuring event, and described as a communicator of the convergence of expertise (term of Grzegorz D. Stunża and associates).

Field-configuring events and action research: A case study from Sparta

Abstract FCE theory was developed within neo-institutional theory, the aim of which is to understand how institutions and organisations function and change. In this paper, we match this theory with another theoretical tradition: that of action research. We use this theoretical framework to analyse and reflect upon the SpARTathlo event in the Greek town of Sparta. We demonstrate how the framework enables both a more multifaceted and more comprehensive understanding of the event, and how this has practical implications for the improvement of such events. Keywords: field-configuring events, action research, innovation, regional development. ----- Usando el pasado democratico para acabar con el neoliberalismo en las universidades: Investigacion-Accion, Diseno de Sistemas Socio-tecnicos y el Futuro Global Resumen La teoria de eventos de configuracion de campo (FCE, por sus siglas en ingles) fue desarrollada dentro de la teoria neo-institucional, cuyo objetivo es comprender como funcionan y cambian las instituciones y las organizaciones. En este articulo, comparamos esta teoria con otra tradicion teorica: la de la investigacion-accion. Utilizamos este marco teorico para analizar y reflexionar sobre el evento SpARTathlo en la ciudad griega de Esparta. Demostramos como el marco permite una comprension mas multifacetica y mas amplia del evento, y como esto tiene implicaciones practicas para la mejora de tales eventos. Palabras clave: Eventos de configuracion de campo, investigacion-accion, innovacion, desarrollo regional. ----- Bibliography: Svare, Helge/Vathakou, Eugenia: Field-configuring events and action research: A case study from Sparta, IJAR, 3-2017, pp. 240-260. https://doi.org/10.3224/ijar.v13i3.04

Diversity and (In)equality in the Global Art World: Global Development and Structure of Field-Configuring Events

AbstractThere is a boom of art historical studies on the globalisation of the arts or global art world. Sociological accounts are, despite the rise of cultural and art sociology in recent years, almost complete absent from this discussion. This paper makes a contribution to the globalisation of the arts, but from a sociological and quantitative perspective. The focus of this paper is on particular type of global institution – biennials and other types of art festivals or large-scale exhibitions. These institutions are seen being major places of exchange and formulation of norms and standards. They define what is hip and new. However, theories of globalisation, in combination with accounts from professionals of the field, claim that these institutions propagate only Western values or have a homogenising quality, because they only show caste works from artists of the Western hemisphere or that they repeat the same works and artists across the globe. However, based on a large-scale quantitative survey, this paper will demonstrate that picture is more complex and that we find tendencies to homogenisation and heterogenisation existing at the same time or that the locality of these events acts as a source of uniqueness and innovativeness. The paper proposes a new theoretical framework that interprets these findings as based on Niklas Luhmann’s idea of second-order observation and Bruno Latour’s and Harrison C. White’s conception of the network.

Divided We Stand: The Policy Bifurcation of Fields in the Aftermath of Critical Events

The growing literature on fields and especially on field-configuring events have drawn attention to significant discontinuities in firm-level corporate social responsibility (CSR). It also revealed...