Evolution Of Institutions Research Articles

Environmental governance of China’s Belt and Road Initiative

ABSTRACTOn the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), we present this special symposium to advance knowledge on environmental governance of China’s overseas engagement. While China’s fast-growing investments across the world have large implications for global and local environmental politics, this phenomenon has so far received insufficient attention of students of environmental politics. Moreover, China has become increasingly proactive in promoting green development in the BRI, but little research has assessed relevant governance initiatives. Recognising this research gap, contributors to the symposium provide rigorous analysis on institutional interactions involving China and host country actors as well as forces driving new governance initiatives aiming to green the BRI. Building on the insights drawn from the symposium, we propose a research agenda to focus on the effects of China-US geopolitical rivalry, institutional evolution, and agency of host countries to understand the evolving system governing environmental impacts of China’s overseas engagement.

От царя до вождя: реконструкция истории православной общины Казанско-Богородицкой церкви села Алексашкино (на материале архивных документов)

The paper offers a reconstruction of the history of the Russian Orthodox parish formed around the church of Our Lady of Kazan in the village of Aleksashkino, Saratov region (formerly Samara province) in the 19th-20th century. The reconstruction is based on the previously unstudied documents from the state archives of Samara and Saratov regions, archives of the Federal Security Service (Saratov region), and “Samara Diocesan Gazette” materials, as well as interviews with village elders.The study aims to recreate the life of the typical Russian Orthodox parish in the Volga region and examine the evolution of the social institutions connected with the church. The parish history appears in a context of interrelations with the secular government that took a dramatic turn in the Soviet period. The evolvement of the village’s educational institutions receives special attention. Another essential part of the proposed reconstruction is tracing the personalities who stood behind the parish activities – priests, churchwardens, and village teachers. Their names and details of their lives are an inseparable part of the suggested reconstruction. The paper offers a periodization of the parish history that includes five stages, starting from the preaching house and finishing with the 1951 fire. Each period is considered within a separate paper section, while the conclusion summarizes the data on the modern village church. References accompanying the data offer vast opportunities for the further investigation of the Orthodox parishes in the Volga region.

Typological evolution of temporary accommodation facilities

Temporary accommodation facilities are largely a reflection of socio-economic processes in the middle of society at a certain stage of its existence. The structure of modern hotels bears the imprint of historical prototypes that were formed in countries with different cultural, social, and architectural traditions. Studying the historical evolution of such institutions makes it possible to determine certain historical stages of their formation, identify modern development prospects and outline futuristic directions for their modernization. The article examines the historical evolution of temporary accommodation facilities, the formation and development of their typology. The peculiarities of the architectural and planning organization of hotel establishments of different periods of construction are established. The impact of socio-economic factors on the formation of temporary accommodation facilities at various stages of human development is monitored. The main stages of the development of hotels are highlighted: the ancient period, the Middle Ages, modern times, the formation of the concept of "hotel" at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. Selected periods of rapid development: the beginning of the 20th century up to the period of the world economic crisis of the 1930s; 1950-60 (the end of World War II, the formation of mass tourism); 1980s - the beginning of the 21st century (the flourishing of international tourism); 2020 - to the present days (the impact of the global pandemic Сovid-19, the war in Ukraine, the general global economic recession). During the last decades, taking into account the climatic, ecological, man-made and socio-political challenges, the hotel business has become characterized by: a certain departure from "internationalization" in the architectural and design solutions of hotel establishments; appeal to national cultural traditions; specialization of hotels; expansion of the network of institutions of medium-low level of comfort; the direction of ecological and energy-efficient construction; the use of "theatrical effects" and futurism in the design of hotel interiors and exteriors; spread of eco-hotels, "green tourism" facilities, "capsule hotels". The article deals with the issues of architectural and figurative transformation of buildings during the reconstruction of historical industrial enterprises (mid-eighteenth century - first half of the XX century). The main principles for the implementation of such a transformation are determined: ensuring urban integrity; preservation of the historical image of industrial architecture; nuances in their general architectural and spatial organization (symbiosis with the environment); contrast between old and new; compliance with national and regional cultural traditions; environmentally friendly solutions. Examples of the application of these principles in the world practice of the reconstruction of industrial buildings for various public functions are analyzed. Techniques that allow to implement these principles in the renovation of historical buildings are defined. These methods include: conservation and restoration of the characteristic elements of industrial architecture; reuse of authentic materials and designs; the inclusion of industrial equipment in the interiors and exteriors of objects of reconstruction; the use of forms, materials, structures, furniture - contrasting with the primary industrial structure while ensuring symbiosis with the environment due to the nuanced solution of the overall composition, the delicate inclusion of new elements, the preservation of rhythmic patterns, the use of building and finishing materials, elements of architectural «camouflage» (grids, perforations, glazing, openwork metal structures, etc.); «absorption» of old buildings or their parts by new structures. In addition, an accentuated appeal to the characteristic features of the national cultural traditions of the construction region, the use of local building and finishing materials, forms, structures, the use of local ornaments, patterns, objects of arts and crafts is proposed. It is recommended to use environmentally friendly materials, landscaping elements in the interiors and exteriors of buildings, the formation of a building area using the natural landscape along with the inclusion of industrial elements of industrial architecture.

The Population of Laodicea ad Mare in Roman Times: The Structure and Vectors of Development

This article considers the social structure of Laodicea ad Mare between the second half of the 1st century A.D. and the 4th century A.D., i.e., from the beginning of the Roman rule in Syria to the time before the Islamic conquest of the region. The study relies primarily on data from epigraphic writings (such as tomb inscriptions, dedicatory texts, and signatures), as well as on narrative materials and the corpus of Roman law, which are used as additional sources. The evolution of the family institution and the property relations within Laodicean families is analyzed. A portrait of the free citizens of Laodicea who were engaged in handicrafts, especially in the textile industry, is compiled. The life of the city’s rabble is traced. The status, structure, and financial capabilities of the propertied aristocracy are described. Its impact on public life is discussed. Information is provided about the residence of Roman citizens in Laodicea and their activities and influence on the civic community of the city. The results obtained show that the social processes in Laodicea correspond to the basic trends of urban development in Late Antiquity and that this was the period when the social conflict within the Laodicean community intensified. The findings may be useful for students of history faculties and for researchers interested in the history of the Roman Empire and the Near East in Antiquity.

Meaning and Replicability of Social Psychological Experiments: A Personal Account

In this paper I describe the gradual evolution of experimental social psychology from a so called “science of discovery”, with invariant findings over time and space, to an art of theatrical reflection with self-made reproductions of social life to so engage in more thoughtful action. I do this by means of a narrative account of my sixty year long personal experience with the various changes in the discipline, from the many cases of non-replicability early in my career, to the splendid discovery by vigilant students at my department of the probably most impressive case of fraud in the history of the social sciences, to the persistent denial of a need for a new logic by orthodox positivists in the discipline, even after more than half of the carefully designed replications of important experiments in the discipline failed. I look at this evolution through the lens of gradual objectification in science as a whole, from the most distant objects, such as stars, to the closer and closer reality of our own existence, namely the production and processing of meaning, and the inevitable recursivity (historicity) and incompleteness (one cannot include one’s own discourse in the discourse one has at that moment) of that endeavour. I also describe moments of institutional evolution, its political besides scientific interest, and encounters with the most influential protagonists in the development of the new logic. I also reflect a moment on the theoretical and methodological implications of that new logic, and end with showing how the theme of social engagement and the move toward cultivated action, rather than by freezing history in the so called truth of invariance, was actually the core idea in the work of Kurt Lewin, and has been used inadvertently in the subsequent use of experiments in the discipline, even by those who pretended to be the astronomers of the mind. But with the clear note that reflection on social life in the form of self-made reproductions of that life, is probably the most human thing we can do, and enables us to create culture, rather than blind evolution in merely physical or biological terms. So, making experimental social psychology a valuable tool of humanization as well, but only when properly used.

Exploring the Neo-Colonial Influence of Chinese FDI and Western Power on the Evolution of Labor Market Policies in a Developing Country

AbstractDespite the influx of Chinese FDI at the dawn of the 21st century and decades of neo-liberal, market-oriented economic policies in Africa, the pervasive nature of institutional voids (particularly in the labor market) has been constantly flagged as an impediment to socio-economic development in the continent. This has prompted calls for more research into the ability of independent African states to pursue viable labor market policy options, from a business system perspective. While institutional theory (specifically the notion of institutional voids) suggests the use of market-supporting and contract-enforcement structures and processes to enable the efficient functioning of the economy, it does not address the effect of strong external ‘powers’ on weak local institutions in developing countries. This study qualitatively explores how the shifting geopolitical landscape (power) from Western to Chinese sources of FDI shaped the nature and evolution of labor market institutions in Cameroon. The findings show that an entrenched parochial and crony Cameroonian institutional context was at the mercy of transnational forces playing a pivotal role, rather than coherent national socio-economic policy options, in shaping labor market institutions in the country. In an act of political complicity, the dynamics that flowed from Chinese FDI have engendered a regressive turn toward the failed nationalistic labor market policies pursued by Cameroon after independence. This article contributes to revealing the debilitating role of Chinese and Western FDI, and the ensuing dynamics, in the creation and sustenance of labor market institutions in a parochial developing economic context characterized by regulative institutional voids.

The evolution of k-shell in syndication networks reveals financial performance of venture capital institutions

Venture capital (VC) is a relatively newly emergent industry that is still subject to large uncertainties in China. Therefore, building a robust social network with other VC institutions is a good way to share information, various resources, and benefit from skill and knowledge complementarity to against risks. Strong evidences indicate that better networked VC institutions are of a better financial performance, however, most of previous works overlook the evolution of VC institutions and only focus on some simple topology indicators of the static syndication network, which also neglects higher-order network structure and cannot give a comprehensive evaluation. In this paper, based on VC investment records in the Chinese market, we construct temporal syndication networks between VC institutions year by year. As k-shell decomposition considers higher-order connection patterns, we employ k-shell as an evaluation of the influence of VC institutions in syndication networks. By clustering time series of k-shell values, the VC institutions in China fall into five groups that are quite different from each other on financial performances and investment behaviors. This, in turn, proves the power of our method that only based on proper sequential network properties, we can reveal their financial investment performance. Compared to other network centrality measurements, k-shell is a better indicator that is indicated by a smaller intra-group distance and a larger inter-group distance.

BANKING INSTITUTIONS AND AGGREGATED INDICATORS FOR FINANCIAL STABILITY ON THE ROMANIAN BANKING MARKET

In times of crisis, the behaviour of the participants in the economic process changes, they being forced to adapt to new times, at a rapid pace. It reflects prudence and a reorganization from all points of view regarding the activities of companies. The scientific research aims to analyse the behaviour of banking institutions in times of crisis, but also in periods of economic growth based on aggregate indicators that reflect the evolution of banking financial institutions over a period of 15 years, starting from the economic crisis from 2008 and ending with 2022. At the same time, the scientific approach makes a brief presentation of Romanian banking sector at the end of 2022 from the perspective of shareholding and market share for the main banks in Romania in order to better understand their position these in the market.

Between stability and crisis: everyday uncertainty in the European Union

ABSTRACT When the European Union is not in active crisis, do we characterise it as experiencing a period of stability? What can scholars learn by studying the EU as it toggles in between the two? This special issue presents some of the best papers from the European Union Studies Association’s 2022 conference in Miami, Florida. Two themes structure this collection. First, by temporally and conceptually locating the EU between stability and crisis, we see these contributions on EU policy, institutional evolution, financial resilience, and identity formation as a substantive reflection of the variety of emergent and ongoing challenges that comprise everyday uncertainty. Second, in showcasing contributions that study the EU in a variety of ways – as both a political actor and context, or site, of politics, this special issue aims to encourage a widening of the EU studies field.

In the beginning: the light, scientific management and Quaker Philadelphia

PurposeThis paper aims to offer a new history of management by tracing a religious dimension of scientific management. The thesis is that the good was foundational for bringing scientific management to success in Taylor’s native Quaker Philadelphia in the 1880s. The paper’s main contribution is to contrast the philosophical origins of Taylor’s ideas in scientific management to his native Quaker roots, and how Taylor, over time, into the 1910s, wrestled with this issue.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is situated in historical interpretivism and subjectivism, leaning on contextual and narrative research on religious morality.FindingsQuaker morality prevented managerial opportunism at Taylor’s Midvale Steel in the 1880s. Conversely, by the 1900s and 1910s, interest conflicts between workers and managers escalated when scientific management moved out of its traditional cultural contexts of Quaker Philadelphia and spread across the USA. The historical implication is, already for Taylor’s time, that scientific management never was the “one-best way” of management.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research needs to deepen and broaden research on scientific management when tracing the significance of religion and culture in management thought.Practical implicationsThe paper has implications for modern studies of business morality by uncovering the practical relevance of religious business ethics at the outset of management studies.Social implicationsThe historic emergence of scientific management points to a theory of institutional evolution and economic growth, when religiously grounded governance of the firm deinstitutionalized, and institutional economic governance, with different but superior economic advantages, progressed by the 1900s.Originality/valueThe paper suggests an alternative version of the intellectual heritage of management studies by tracing the legacy of Taylor’s Quakerism and how religious and cultural ideas contributed to the formation of science in management.

Governing disaster risk in Myanmar: Institutions and policy pathways during 1885–2015

Unlike many disaster-prone countries in Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, there is a lack of study on Myanmar's long-term evolution of disaster policy, governance and institutions. A substantial increase in the Myanmar disaster management policy literature can be observed after Cyclone Nargis 2008. Most researchers treated Myanmar's pre-Nargis period as a monolithic period when disaster policy measures were either a full set of reactive responses or nothing. Furthermore, there is a lack of an appreciative approach to understanding Myanmar's disaster risk management policy, for example, from a historical overview. Using a descriptive research and content analysis, this paper explores the evolution of institutions and policies related to disaster and emergency planning in Myanmar since 1885. This paper employs secondary data collection methods, including historical archives, policies, reports and other documents, to establish a historical trajectory of the evolution of Myanmar disaster and emergency management-related policies in Myanmar from 1885 to 2015. The researchers found that the policy narrative has incrementally shifted from a state-centric and top-down approach (pre-Hyogo period) to a whole-of-government approach (Hyogo period) to a polycentric model where “whole of society” can be involved. However, the research shows that path-dependency theory remains the best predictor for long-term policy pathways: (1) pure endogenous disaster policy-making is often trapped in endless trial and error; (2) Large-scale disasters such as Cyclone Nargis can facilitate disaster policy change provided that there is productive engagement to allow exogenous policy transfers including more opportunity to adopt international disaster governance frameworks.

THE INFLUENCE OF MARKETING MIX ON CUSTOMER SAVING DECISIONS AT BPRS AMPEK ANGKEK CANDUNG WEST PASAMAN BRANCH

The evolution of Islamic financial institutions and the intensifying competition between Islamic and conventional financial entities in garnering public interest for savings and fundraising, it is foreseeable that Islamic financial institutions might encounter challenges. These challenges are intrinsic to the intricate processes of creating, conveying, and delivering value to customers, as well as effectively managing customer relationships for mutual organizational and stakeholder benefits. The objective of this research is to ascertain the impact of the marketing mix on the decision-making process regarding savings at BPRS Ampek Angkek Candung West Pasaman Barat. Employing a quantitative approach along with statistical methodologies, this study investigates the interplay between the Marketing Mix (X) and Customer Decisions (Y), with 96 respondents participating. The outcomes of the hypothesis testing reveal a significance value of 0.017, which is lower than the predefined significance level (α) of 0.05 (0.017 < 0.05). This statistical finding substantiates the existence of a substantial relationship between the marketing mix and the choice to save at BPR Syariah Ampek Angkek Candung West Pasaman Barat. Consequently, it can be inferred that the marketing mix significantly contributes to the decision-making process regarding savings. This research underscores the pivotal role of strategic marketing practices in influencing customers' decisions to engage in savings activities within the context of Islamic financial institutions.

A new deal for the European Central Bank?

The role of the European Central Bank has changed dramatically since 2010. These changes parallel the evolution of federal government institutions in the US following the New Deal, argues Dr Christakis Georgiou.

Market or clan: A comparative study of risk sharing institutional evolution in China and Europe

AbstractIn the psychological and sociological framework of risk, we establish a static and dynamic equilibrium model for risk‐sharing institutional evolution. Particularly, through a comparative study of marine insurance development in China and Europe, we address a wide set of research questions concerning why China and Europe relied on different social organizations for risk sharing.

Institutional Inertia and Change: Explaining the Czech and Portuguese Engagement in European Defence Market Integration

AbstractThe Permanent Structured Cooperation in Defence (PESCO) and the European Defence Fund (EDF) constitute another attempt to consolidate the European defence market. In this article, we explain the different engagements of Czechia and Portugal in the two initiatives until 2021 through the evolution and reform of the domestic institutions governing their defence industrial policies. We trace how the institutions were established, how they contributed to the national position on PESCO and EDF and how the two countries' defence industries became involved. The article shows how the different institutionalisation of the defence sector allowed Portugal and its companies to participate more than their Czech counterparts. We contribute to historical institutionalist scholarship by evidencing the critical role of ideas in promoting and preventing policy change. We also offer an insight into the practice of European defence co‐operation and identify processes that challenge further integration.

A Comprehensive Research Workshop on Artificial Intelligence in Parliaments

Abstract Disruptive technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (ai), currently dominate the debate on the future of societal organisations and structures and this trend has intensified since the emergence of ChatGPT in late 2022. Naturally, such topics are related to the opportunities and challenges that arise when utilising ai-based approaches and cannot be omitted from the discussion about the evolution of parliamentary institutions. This report describes the content and conclusions of a two-day international workshop on artificial intelligence in parliaments that took place from 3–4 July 2023 in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

State ownership in liberal economic governance? De-risking private investment in the electricity sector in Mexico

Abandoning some neoliberal reform tools, but not the goals, liberal policymakers have devised forms of economic governance to support private investment through, paradoxically, the use of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The article builds on a pragmatist perspective of institutional evolution by describing the syncretism in Mexico's 2013 electricity reform as an exemplary case of structural reforms for de-risking investment through the strategic use of the national SOE. The case shows that the technical and legal segmentation of electricity supply can accommodate different risk distribution arrangements in which state ownership is useful to (1) rein-in the capacity of the dominant company to exercise market power, (2) shoulder the costs of maintaining a subsidised tariff structure for retail consumers, and (3) underwrite the expansion of infrastructure with an uncertain economic future. Structural reforms can use SOEs to relocate private risk in the state's ledger and making state de-risking the most important mechanisms to drive investment, and not market competition. The article argues for the need to develop a sector-specific understanding the role of SOEs within liberal economic programs, but also the need to develop a critical perspective, for instance, through Daniela Gabor's Wall Street Consensus concept, to focus on the historical distributional consequences of these arrangements which can result in the progressive private control over the electricity sector.

The evolution of the judicial recovery institute: an analysis of impacts after the COVID-19 pandemic

The main objective of this article is to present the relationship between the judicial recovery institute and the consequences generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The development of this study was carried out from the perspective of the principles of Law No. 14,112 of December 24, 2020. The methodology employed is a bibliographic study (based on classical literature of bankruptcy, insolvency, and corporate law) and documentary (relevant legislation). The method used also involves a descriptive and exploratory research approach, with a qualitative data analysis. It was observed that the restrictions and economic impacts generated by the pandemic affected the restructuring of debts contracted by companies, thus having the potential to worsen the economic and financial crisis faced by debtors undergoing restructuring. Furthermore, the consequences of the pandemic directly impacted the possibility of non-compliance with obligations that were assumed by the debtors. Finally, upon analyzing the impacts of the legal changes that occurred in light of the recent pandemic context, it is possible to perceive that these changes have shown modest results, with no substantial increase in the number of requests for judicial recovery, even during a crisis. This leads to the conclusion that many companies ended up ceasing their activities irregularly.

Mapping trade, risk and extreme weather in the first globalization: The AveTransRisk database

This research note introduces the award-winning AveTransRisk database, the result of an extensive project capturing data on early modern maritime trade, specifically in the Mediterranean region. It focuses on the concept of General Average, where shipmasters voluntarily sacrificed cargo to save their vessels from peril. General Average procedures, including accident reports and damage calculations, provide valuable information for economic and maritime historians. The AveTransRisk database offers detailed insights into routes, cargo, weather conditions, ships, seafarers and transaction costs. It enables scholars to examine broader topics such as comparative maritime economies, the evolution of legal institutions and risk management. Fully relational and equipped with advanced search functions and mapping capabilities, the database facilitates comprehensive analysis. As it expands to include voyages from other European archives, its usability and resilience increase. Supported by the University of Exeter's digital infrastructure, the AveTransRisk database contributes to the sustainability of digital resources in historical research.

Culture and Corporate Decarbonization Efforts: A Time-Varying Analysis and Topology Approach

This study examines the influence of culture on corporate responses to climate change. Given the inherent uncertainty associated with climate change, cultural values, as a non-market force, are expected to impact corporate’s decision making regarding decarbonization.To investigate this, a sample of large firms from 23 societies participating in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) survey was analyzed, along with cultural measures assessed by the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) study. The findings of this study reveal that cultural values have diverse effects on corporate decarbonization efforts. Specifically, a preference for avoiding uncertainty and a future-oriented perspective tend to foster decarbonization, while a strong focus on performance appears to hinder such efforts. Additionally, the relationship between culture and decarbonization demonstrates a time-varying characteristic, indicating the influence of culture on carbon performance is contingent upon the evolution of carbon-related institutions over the study period.