Institutional Change Research Articles

Teacher’s World : Paving the Path to Educational Advancement by Nurturing Knowledge in Bangladesh Education (Editorial, Vol. 49, and Issue 1)

The editorial aims to introduce Teacher’s World: Journal of Education and Research (TWJER) Volume 49 (1) and highlight its contribution to nurturing knowledge for the Bangladesh education system. The upcoming issue focuses on the ever-evolving landscape of education in the 21st century, emphasizing the significance of knowledge in education. Twelve original research articles are set to be published, covering diverse topics such as teachers' attitudes towards ICT integration, factors affecting accessibility for children with disabilities, sex education, TPCK, student participation, motivation, Facebook use, professional development, and global citizenship education. The articles are organized chronologically according to education levels—primary, secondary, and tertiary. The issue underscores the critical role of cultivating knowledge amid rapid advancements and employs various approaches and methodologies, including innovative pedagogical practices and technology integration. TWJER serves as a platform for dialogue and collaboration, encouraging reflection on adapting methodologies to diverse learner needs, the role of technology, and ensuring equitable access to quality education. The editorial anticipates that the shared knowledge will inspire actionable changes in classrooms, institutions, and educational policies. It positions the issue not just as an academic repository but as a catalyst for change, aiming to present research that not only analyzes the current state of education but also envisions possibilities for growth and improvement. Teacher’s World: Journal of Education and Research, 49 (1), 1-17

The Cultural Consequences of Market Transition: An Empirical Examination of Rising Materialism in Twenty-First-Century China

This study examines how markets affect personal culture in the context of postsocialist China. Drawing on several bodies of literature, I argue that China’s transition to a market economy promotes materialist values via two causal pathways. First, market transition entails a process of economic liberalization, which accentuates economic incentives and exacerbates existential insecurity. Second, market transition also entails a process of commodification that, by immersing individuals in market relations, crowds out intrinsic motives and normalizes the pursuit of material self-interests. My empirical analysis uses repeated cross-sectional data from a large-scale national survey to demonstrate the effect of market transition through the lens of work values. Taking advantage of China’s regional variations in the pace of institutional change, I show that, between 2005 and 2015, provinces where market transition had made greater progress tended to experience a sharper rise in materialist work values. Additional analyses reveal significant differences in work values between state-sector employees and workers in the market sector, and that the relationship between market transition and materialist values extends beyond the work domain. These findings contribute to the theoretical literature on the cultural consequences of markets and the empirical knowledge on cultural change in contemporary China.

Why do Institutions Change? Case Studies of Changes in the Local Government Finance System in Japan

This article discusses why and how institutional change occurs, incorporating power and resources into the analysis, using the example of the relationship between the central government and local governments in Japan before and after World War II. Institutional change is not the result of “rational” choices made by the institutional designers, but the “unintended consequences” of deviant behavior of the agents under their control that deviates from the guidance of the institutional designers.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Institutional Change

From the perspective of an individual country, it is necessary to implement a series of policy measures and strategies to achieve long-term multiple goals and targets. As a result, whether adjustments or changes in institutions can be timely aligned from the short term to the long term becomes vital. Since “[p]romote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth” and “[e]nsure sustainable consumption and production patterns” have been clearly stated in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 12, respectively, it is necessary to make an institutional transition from the conventional linear economy to a circular and sustainable economy. This transition involves substantial changes in the value structure of society’s institutions. For instance, the mainstream curricula have little relevance to the subject matter of sustainability and should be revised to accommodate more socio-economic elements of sustainability in the original institutional economics (OIE) tradition.

In the Shadows of Great Men: Retired Leaders and Informal Power Constraints in Autocracies

Abstract Autocratic leaders differ considerably in how they consolidate power, but what gives rise to these variations remains under-theorized. This article studies how informal political constraints associated with retired leaders shape intra-elite power dynamics. We argue that ageing leaders' efforts to manage the succession problem create an important yet impermanent check on the power of subsequent leaders. To test this argument, we use the massive text corpus of Google Ngram to develop a new measure of power for a global sample of autocratic leaders and elites and employ a research design that leverages within-incumbent variations in former leaders' influence for identification. We show that incumbent leaders' ability to consolidate power becomes more limited when operating in an environment where influential former leaders are present. Further analyses suggest that the presence of former leaders is most effective in reducing incumbents' ability to appoint or remove high-level military and civilian personnel unilaterally. These findings have implications for our understanding of the dynamics of power-sharing and institutional change in autocracies.

Inflation in France Since the 1960s: A Post-Keynesian Interpretation Using the Conflict-Inflation Model

This paper analyses inflation in France since the early 1960s based on a standard conflicting-claims approach. Applying an empirical version of the conflict-inflation framework, we adduce evidence suggesting the theory is sound and can explain variations in inflation over the long run. We provide a method for estimating indicators of workers’ and firms’ bargaining power as well as their respective distributional aspirations. Based on the literature we identify four periods: the Fordist regime, the Neoliberal regime, and two transitional periods. Our results cast light on institutional regime changes. It is shown that the evolution from the Great Inflation to the Great Moderation was the consequence of a collapse in the bargaining power of workers (and of firms to a lesser extent); but the narrowing of the aspirations’ gap because of workers’ renouncement was also significant. This analysis allows us to highlight differences between the stagflation observed during the 1970s and the inflationary surge in the post-pandemic period (2021–2023).

The homily as a way to the synodal Church.The possibility of building a responsible laity

The first Church was formed during the Pentecostal speech of the apostles. The first forms of evangelization were narratives of personal experiences with Jesus. With the formation of structures in the Church, the role of authority in official proclamation in worship also developed. We will try to show how a communal sharing of God's word is necessary for a communal participation in Christ's sacrifice on the way to synodality. Pope Francis encourages everyone to bear witness to Christ. We would follow the words that Pope Francis wrote in The Joy of the Gospel: “We are not asked to be flawless, but to keep growing and wanting to grow as we advance along the path of the Gospel; our arms must never grow slack.” The fear of losing touch with the sources of Revelation and from the diversity of faith experiences must not stop us from seeking a word that would, as at the first Pentecost, inspire people to live the gospel. The primary responsibility for more believers to participate in the sacrifice of the Word in our liturgy lies with those who can speak today. We will point out guidelines on how to educate for greater participation and open the possibility for institutional change through the homily as we know it today. We will also point out some good practices that reflect the possibility of education for the testimony of all believers needed for a synodal Church.

The American ‘doc fix’: Incremental policy change and the growth of US healthcare spending

The extraordinary growth of healthcare spending in the United States necessitates an incremental model of institutional change. Efforts to reduce social spending in the 1980s introduced strict cost controls on healthcare, yet this regulation was annually abated with temporary legislation known as ‘doc fixes’. We show that the institutions set up to control spending were slowly undermined through three mechanisms: the transformation of wider political and economic problems into technical ones, the ‘layering’ effect of repeated budgetary appropriations, and the moral arguments that sustained incremental spending growth. This case illustrates how creative responses to budget constraints may produce incremental change, driven by ideas about how markets and welfare should work.

Exploring the stability of the gender gap in faculty perceptions of gender climate at a rural regional university.

Increasing awareness of gender barriers and biases in academic institutions is an essential component of institutional change strategies to promote equity and inclusion. There is an established perception gap in recognizing gender inequities in the workplace, whereby men faculty under acknowledge the stressors, barriers, and biases faced by their women faculty colleagues. This study explored the gender gap in faculty perceptions of institutional diversity climate at a rural comprehensive regional university in the United States. In addition to gender, differences across academic discipline and time were explored using 2 (men and women) x 2 (STEM and other) x 2 (2017 and 2022) between-groups ANOVAs. Results revealed a gender gap that persisted across time and perceptions of stressors, diversity climate, student behavior, leadership, and fairness in promotion/tenure procedures, with marginalized (women) faculty consistently reporting greater barriers/concern for women faculty relative to the perceptions of their men faculty colleagues. These findings are largely consistent with the extant literature and are discussed both with regard to future research directions and recommendations for reducing the perception gap and addressing institutional barriers to gender equity.

Role of China in the Transition of Globalization: Fostering or Preventing a More Just and Stable World?

In this article, I first recap the major downsides of globalization which clearly inhibit the development of a more just and stable world, hence setting the stage for its transition (re-globalization). Then, I examine the changing role and influence of China in the course of globalization and its current transition by following an analytical framework of institutional change. Specifically, I describe the process where China has evolved from a selective follower/imitator of international criteria/orders to an active innovator in proposing alternatives like the Belt and Road Initiative and internationalization of the yuan to the Global South. These actions have unarguably accelerated the process of re-globalization. Nevertheless, while the initial results are positive, whether a more just and stable world could be ultimately realized will be determined by whether the compatibility of the economic culture of China with other societies could be sustained through recognition by their mass communities, and also consensus from the other world powers.

A Neighbourhood Unit for Equitable Resilience

The early twentieth-century concept of the neighbourhood unit aimed to use spatial planning to redress problems associated with that era of urbanization in the US and Europe, including car traffic, pollution, and social alienation. We ask how this influential and controversial concept might be adapted to address today's most vexing urban challenges: climate change hazards and widening inequality. Drawing on a diverse array of global case studies, we argue that the neighbourhood can be a unit for 'equitable resilience', but only if we reconceptualize neighbourhoods in significant ways. First, 'neighbourhood' must be defined more capaciously to include not just the middle-class enclaves envisioned by Clarence Perry and other early neighbourhood planning advocates, but also places that are home to disadvantaged residents, from mixed-income communities to public housing, informal settlements, and manufactured home parks. Second, for neighbourhood interventions to bring lasting equitable resilience, they must be linked to analysis and action on wider spatial and political scales. Finally, to ensure resilience will be equitable, neighbourhood scale interventions must link built environment changes to institutional changes that improve conditions in the domains of livelihoods, environmental safety, governance, and security from displacement. In short, to be units for equitable resilience, neighbourhoods must help residents build the power to act in the face of climate change and other threats.

Global Governance in Time: Institutional Sequences, International Regime Complexes, and the Politics of Global Governance

abstract: Will China's rise fundamentally change global governance? Answering this question requires grasping how sequences shape the development of institutions across time. The books that we review adapt the standard historical institutional (hi) conceptual toolkit—path dependence, reactive sequences, and gradual institutional change—to explain institutional persistence and change in global governance. We argue that international regime complexity (irc) scholarship is a necessary complement because the international institutional context differs from the domestic context in important ways. irc generates two sequencing mechanisms that the standard hi toolkit misses. Disjointed sequences occur when actors relocate their efforts to other parts of the regime complex, creating changes that reverberate across parallel international institutions. International nondecisions are stymied efforts to adapt global institutions to address pressing concerns, in which the nondecision pushes the construction of substitutes outside of global institutions. The standard hi toolkit, plus the two irc sequence types, compose a helpful framework for thinking about what China's rise portends for the politics of global governance.

Japan for Example – National Character as the Driving Force of National Progress in Thai Conservative Writings about Japan

Abstract Japan has been considered a role-model for the successful pursuit of ‘progress’ or national development in Siam/Thailand since the late 19th century. As this article shows, the Japanese exemplar played a significant role in Siamese/Thai political discourse, with three of the kingdom’s most important conservative thinkers – King Vajiravudh, Luang Wichit Wathakan, and Mom Ratchawong Kukrit Pramoj – writing in detail about Japanese history and interpreting Japanese battlefield and economic successes as the outcome of the national character of the Japanese. In contrast, the role of political institutions and institutional change in shaping human decisions and actions has been largely ignored by them. The message of these works is that to pursue national ‘progress’, the Siamese/Thai need to be more like the stereotypical Japanese, and become more disciplined, and patriotic, as well as cooperating for the national good rather than pursuing particular interests.

Advocacy in Scientific Research: Advancing Community Outreach and Institutional Change

Advocacy in Scientific Research: Advancing Community Outreach and Institutional Change

Change in a project-based organization: The mutual shaping of institutional logics and change programs

Modern organizational transformations increasingly rely on change programs led by the introduction of new information technology. Managing these information technology-based change programs within project-based organizations presents unique challenges due to the division between ongoing business processes and temporary project activities. This study uses an institutional logics perspective to understand how a project-based organizational context shaped and was shaped by an information technology-based change program. Through a three-year longitudinal case study on the interaction between a project-based organization and its information technology program, our findings reveal that institutional logics prevailing in the project-based organization significantly influenced the program's implementation. In turn, the information technology program acted as a catalyst for change, creating a competitive environment where two primarily segmented logics—a project organizing logic and an asset management logic—competed for dominance. The conflict between these logics led to new beliefs, values, and practices being dominant, marking a shift in balance between the two logics. Our findings contribute to increasing understanding of the dynamic interplay between project-based organizations and information technology-based change programs, shedding light on their mutual evolution over time and offering a deeper understanding of transformative change within project-based organizations.

Towards meaningful institutional change: Responsive bureaucracy and the governance of anthropological ethics

This article advocates for a deeper engagement with the organizational structures that shape the governance of research ethics in anthropology. The authors argue that anthropological critiques of bureaucracy often sidestep the kinds of knowledge needed to pursue meaningful institutional change. They show how different regulatory dynamics and organizational arrangements across jurisdictions produce more or less responsive bureaucracies, comparing Institutional Review Boards in the United States with a case study of a European university's Ethics Review Committee. The authors suggest that such organizational understandings of bureaucratic processes can more meaningfully inform their redesign and contribute to developing more appropriately scaled ethics governance. In so doing, ethics review promises greater responsiveness to the particular demands of ethnographic research while remaining legible to regulatory stakeholders.

Addressing complexity and diversity in the sustainable transitions of spiny lobster fisheries in Quintana Roo, Mexico

This study articulates five dimensions of territorial governance (social capital, leadership, transparency, accountability, socioenvironmental innovations, and commercialization routes) to construct a tripartite typology that helps explain the diverse sustainable transitions of small-scale fisheries in specific territorial contexts. The types are: 1) participative-inclusive governance expressed in solid institutions dedicated to environmental conservation; 2) exclusive-conflictive governance which generates institutions that are fragile for environmental conservation; and 3) transitional governance toward inclusion and responsible fishing, seen in communities that are implementing social and organizational changes to reduce overexploitation of fishing resources. Intensive fieldwork was conducted in localities devoted to spiny lobster fishing along the coast of Quintana Roo. We also held 106 interviews with key actors in governance. Results show that articulating intra- and extra-territorial networks is vitally important in developing the kinds of socioenvironmental innovations that can help local fishermen respond to the multiple environmental, economic, and political contingencies that affect their territories. We conclude that it is necessary to articulate institutional changes on various territorial scales to propel sustainable transitions that are realistic and feasible for small-scale fishers in marginalized communities in countries of the Global South.

Governance of the circular economy in the canned fish industry: A case study from Spain

Spain is the leading country in production, 305,403 tons in 2022, of canned fish in Europe. Part of its success is because this industry is one of the leading sectors in innovation and technology transfer within the agri-food chain in Spain. At the beginning of the 21st century, its research center created a line of product valorization, the seed of current research on circular economy. This article aims to analyze, from the New Institutional Economics (NIE) approach, the process of institutional change and the evolution of the Spanish canned fish sector. The evolution of the legal framework, as well as the internal organization of the sector and its strategies, have modified the governance relationships, altering the incentives and transaction costs of the industry actors. The results show the existence of two distinct stages, 2007–2015 and 2016–2022. In the first stage, most of the research projects were regional in nature and institutional relations were more limited. In the second stage, the creation of a solid legal framework together with the inauguration of a new research center, the incorporation of new equipment, the increase in the number of partners and the increase in relations with agents in the sector reinforced the implementation of the circular economy in the canning industry. In both periods, the high degree of associationism in the Spanish canned fish industry is key to creating economies of scale, increasing public and private collaborations and participating in research projects.

The deficiency of democratic principles in the evolution of the inflexible structure of albanian society during the 1990s uprisings: An examination through the lens of Rancière

This paper presents an exploration of democracy, a recurrent theme in political discourse, particularly amid socio-economic shifts in Europe and political transitions in Albania. Although the complexities of this subject, the paper was conceived, acknowledging the challenge of navigating subjective interpretations. The paper does not aim to assert absolute truths but rather offers an alternative perspective on the 1990s events in Albania. The thesis posits that the political movement of that era lacked democratic essence and was politically manipulated. Drawing heavily from Jacques Rancière's conceptual framework of democracy, the paper argues that the movements of the 1990s did not align with Rancière's notion of a "field of battle", but rather transpired at the negotiation table. Moreover, the actors lacked consciousness of their roles, did not pursue socio-political equality, and remained oblivious to institutional change. Ultimately, the paper suggests that this lack of awareness allowed the oligarchy to exploit the movement to perpetuate power without altering its fundamental composition.

HR directors in India: navigating institutional incoherence for HRM stability and change

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the strategic and evolving role of human resource management (HRM) directors within the context of underdeveloped institutional arrangements. The study focuses on India and conducts a comparative analysis of the roles of HRM directors in both multinational enterprises (MNEs) and domestic firms.Design/methodology/approachSurvey-based data from the HRM directors of 252 enterprises were gathered for the comparative analysis, including both multinational and domestic enterprises.FindingsHRM directors in MNEs lack the proficiency required to effectively fulfil their strategic role. In addition, there has been a notable shift in the responsibilities of HRM directors in MNEs, with increased emphasis on labour movements and trade union negotiations, as opposed to traditional human resource (HR) activities. This shift suggests that the role of HRM in MNEs operating in India has been influenced by local isomorphic forces, rather than following a “pendulum swing” between home and host country institutional pressures. The prevalence of informality in the Indian institutional arrangements may act as a strong counterforce to integrating the strategic agency of MNEs' home country HRM directors into the organizational structure. Despite facing resistance from the local institutional context, HRM directors in MNEs are responding with a pushback, prioritizing labour movements and trade union negotiations over core HRM activities.Research limitations/implicationsThe study highlights the broader implications for theory and practice, shedding light on the challenges faced by HRM directors in navigating incoherent institutional arrangements. It emphasizes the need for a deeper understanding of local forces in shaping HRM practices within multinational settings.Originality/valueWe contribute to the comparative HRM literature by elaborating on power struggles that HRM directors face amid the dichotomies of formal power and authority that are encoded in the organizational structure versus culturally contingent power that can be accrued from engaging in informality. We also highlight their engagement in prolonged institutional mediation and change, which serves as a compensatory mechanism for the institutional shortfalls they encounter within the context of emerging markets.