Institutional Conflict Research Articles

The Politics of the European Minimum Wage: Overcoming Ideological, Territorial and Institutional Conflicts in the EU Multi‐level Arena

AbstractUntil recently, the idea of a European minimum wage (EMW) policy had never taken concrete shape, due to the heterogeneity of national wage‐setting and collective bargaining institutions, uncertain EU competence on the matter, and widespread scepticism amongst political actors. In 2022, however, the EU adopted a directive on adequate minimum wages. How did this make it to the EU agenda, despite the many political, territorial and institutional tensions? What coalitions supported and opposed it? Based on a reconstruction of the policy process substantiated by an analysis of news media data and 14 interviews, this article investigates the multi‐level politics of the EMW. It shows that, despite enduring ‘euro‐social scepticism’ in northern Europe, the emergence of pro‐minimum wage coalitions in key member states and the increase of party‐competition dynamics at the EU level were crucial in overcoming the lines of conflict that had long hindered EU initiatives on minimum wage co‐ordination.

FAKTOR – FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHI KONSERVATISME AKUNTANSI DENGAN LEVERAGE SEBAGAI MODERASI

This study aims to observe the effect of institutional ownership, company size, and conflict of interest on accounting conservatism in manufacturing industry that was listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange during the research period. The study period starts from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2020. The research finds that fixed effect model is the best model used in this study. Independent variables which are institutional ownership and conflict of interest were found not affect accounting conservatism significantly. However, this study found that company size had positive and significant effect to the accounting conservatism level. Leverage as a moderating variable was found not able to moderateeach independent variables on accounting conservatism.

Divided Opposition, Fragmented Statebuilding: Elite Bargaining in Pre- and Post-2003 Iraq

ABSTRACT Elite cohesion structures interethnic bargaining and institutional design in post-conflict divided societies. Although works have explored how interethnic elite bargaining affects institutional design and conflict and cooperation in multiethnic states, less attention has been paid to historical antecedents that precondition bargaining strategies and outcomes in post-conflict spaces. This article explores elite bargaining dynamics among Iraqi dissident and exiled elites prior to 2003 to explain fractionalization and incongruent institutional design following regime change. Treating elite interactions as antecedent conditions for explaining statebuilding outcomes, it situates Iraq’s informal consociational power-sharing institutional design, muhassasa, within preceding patterns of interethnic fragmentation of the anti-Ba‘thist opposition movement prior to 2003. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with dissident elites from Iraq’s pre-2003 opposition and exiled groups and American policymakers, this paper illustrates how ethnic elite competition for control and state capture impeded the adoption and design of consensual and durable power-sharing institutions following regime change. Thus, although collective grievances with Ba‘thist-era exclusion and repression facilitated interethnic mobilization among disparate elite, expedient statebuilding and the reliance on fractionalized opposition groups obstructed the development and evolution of a cohesive, durable, and inclusive conflict mitigating institutional design after 2003.

The “Free Trade” South versus The Mercantilist-Keynesian North during the Civil War

Since acquiring money is not, and is not intended to be, directly in the social interest, the economic principles suitable for capitalism must, in the long run, resolve the possible institutional conflicts between acquiring money for the business enterprise and producing real output for the benefit of society-at-large. Mainstream economic theory since Adam Smith has suppressed this structural quarrel by presuming the capitalist monetary economy operates as if it were a barter economy. Ironically, money as an institution of capitalism is presumed neutral with respect to both employment and output, but President Lincoln never believed this, and in the Mercantilist tradition of Hamilton-Adams-Clay-Carey (“The American System”), his Greenbacks institutionally effectuated the National Capitalism of the(se) United States. At issue had been whether to concentrate capital (North) or disperse it westward (South), whether to create a national bank to finance internal growth (North) or whether to oppose the system of finance-capital and paper credit (South). Throughout the Civil War, the North’s non-neutral view of money versus the South’s (orthodox commodity-exchange) neutral view of money proved critical to this embattled national decision of societal production (North) versus State’s rights. Ultimately, the North’s instituting the monetary-economic insights of the National Capitalist via Abraham Lincoln proved decisive

Civil-Military Relationship in a Democratic Pakistan

The paper explores the futuristic calibration of Pakistan’s constitutional development and its interpretation through precedents in the face of multiple sociopolitical, socioeconomic, and legal challenges. In particular, it analyzes the essential normative characteristics of constitutional legal framework based on separation of powers between pillars of the state vis-à-vis civil-military relationship. The article attempts to assess the constitutional direction from a broader legal and jurisprudential perspective meant to provide an avenue of progress and prosperity through its compatibility with sociopolitical norms. The main inquiry of the article is whether the constitutional evolution of Pakistan as a democratic state would be able to withstand the burden of contemporary socioeconomic, sociopolitical, and geopolitical challenges in creating a balance of power between civil and military institutions or would lead to more blurred boundaries instigating institutional conflicts and interventionist models. The paper through legal lens draws upon theories of legal positivism and its critique to understand the constitutional legitimacy of military interventions in democratic and political system. It covers the literature gap in analyzing jurisprudential approach of Pakistan’s judiciary as custodian of constitutional and democratic norms vis-à-vis constitutional scheme of civil-military relations, and its institutionalization in comparison with other international models suggesting pragmatic civilian control. In the end, the paper recommends a comprehensive institutional framework carved out of domestic realities as well as internationally-recognized constitutional schemes.

Identifying drivers affecting air quality in metropolitan areas of developing countries: evidence from Tehran metropolitan area.

Environmental issues and the significant reduction of air quality in the metropolitan areas of developing countries have become chronic challenges. While the impacts of many reasons such as the rapid trend of urbanization, lacking sustainable thinking in urban planning approaches, and urban sprawl have been explored in previous literature, the role of political economy, especially the structure based on the rentier economy, in the change of air quality as an environmental challenge in the metropolitan areas of developing countries has received little attention. To fill this gap, this study focuses on the role of the rentier economy and identifies the drivers based on it that have a tremendous impact on the air quality in Tehran metropolitan area, Iran. To this end, using the Grounded Theory (GT) foundation database and two-round Delphi survey, the opinions of 19 experts were used to identify and explain major drivers that impact air quality in Tehran. Our findings revealed that nine major drivers have an increasing impact on the air quality in the metropolitan area of Tehran. These drivers considering the dominance of the rentier economy are interpreted as the lack of powerful local governance, the rental economy, centralized structure of government, unsustainable economic development, institutional conflicts, a faulty planning system, financial unsustainability of municipalities, unfair distribution of power, and inefficient urban development policies. Among the drivers, the impacts of institutional conflicts and lack of powerful local governance on air quality are more considerable. This study highlights the role of the rentier economy as a major obstacle to resilient responses and constructive actions against chronic environmental challenges such as drastic changes in air quality in metropolitan areas of developing countries.

Extreme institutional complexity and corporate combative strategy

Research has conducted in-depth discussions on how firms strategically respond to institutional complexity. However, such research has yet to resolve the issue of how firms respond to the extreme institutional complexity, which is the extreme institutional conflict between a powerful stakeholder and another important stakeholder. In this situation, competing institutional demands within the organization could not bargain or simultaneously coexist, and the external public does not view the claims of another important stakeholder as legitimate. Accordingly, organizational response strategies in the existing literature cannot address the extreme institutional complexity. We propose that under extreme institutional complexity, the more salient the powerful stakeholder, the more inclined the firm to combat another important stakeholder. However, when the firm has established a connection with a powerful stakeholder, the firm will not incline to combat another important stakeholder. Our empirical results provide strong support for these arguments based on event system theory and using a natural experiment based on the responses of Chinese firms under an extreme institutional conflict. Thus, we contribute to the strategic responses of firms under institutional complexity and enrich the legitimacy theory.

Institutional Conflict in Employee Output, Absenteeism and Turnover

Abstract
 This study aimed to examine the effect of conflict on employee output, absenteeism and turnover. The study was quantitative, and the design was a descriptive survey. The population for the study was stratified, and the study participants were selected randomly. The instrument was a questionnaire, and the IBM SPSS version 22 was used to generate the results for discussion. The study revealed that conflict adversely influences employee performance and also accounts for frequent employee absenteeism, low output and turnover. One implication for leadership from the study is that workplace conflicts significantly affect employee output, absenteeism and turnover. Each employee faces different conflicts that must be understood and resolved. By implication, organisational leaders must design jobs appropriately for employees to prevent duplications and foster peaceful collaboration among employees. This will help them build trust among themselves at the workplace. This will reduce interpersonal, relationship and task-related conflicts within the organisation. This will minimise conflict and its dysfunctional consequences on the employees and the organisation. Literature on the conflict in higher institutions appears to be scarce in Ghana. This study is different as it examines the relationship between conflict and employee performance using work output, absenteeism and turnover in technical universities in Ghana.

State Theory and Public Administration in Latin America: Research Traditions and a Test Case

Research and teaching about the state in Latin America have been under the strong influence of constitutional law and political philosophy since the nineteenth century. To this day, a formal constitutional understanding of the state dominates not only professional training and scholarly research in the fields of government and public administration but also, perhaps more significantly, public controversies about the design of state institutions. Such controversies do not happen often, but they have significant consequences when they do. We will illustrate the last point with a test case, the public controversy about the configuration of state institutions that took place during the past ten years in Mexico. The controversy had ample coverage in national media, and it contributed to a series of institutional conflicts—still ongoing—at the highest levels of the federal government in the country. Our analysis of this national debate, in section 2 of the article, shows that certain preconceived ideas about public life and the constitutional order are much more than just “technical” legal principles; they form a practical expectation of political and institutional life. Certain of these ideas, however, have been employed to support political positions that are hostile toward the consolidation of professional state bureaucracies. Only relatively recently, an alternative line of research on the state has begun to develop in Latin America, including contributions from political sociology and history, which systematically examines issues related to professional bureaucracies and political legitimacy.

Competing or synergistic? An exploratory analysis of a blended relationship between logics in a dilemma of artisan product innovation

The existing literature has focused on the exclusive relationship between institutional logics that are perceived as competing. The current study argues that multiple logics can co-exist in a blended relationship. The purpose of this study is to shed light on such a blended relationship between the alleged competing logics through the analysis of the institutional demands prescribed for artisan product innovation. A qualitative study with 15 semi-structured in-depth interviews as the main data source was conducted in Bát Tràng, a local artisan ceramic community in Hanoi, Vietnam. This exploratory study reveals that institutional logics show the mutual intersection of some attributes that pave for the existence of the blended relationship. In other words, the mutual intersection of two logics permits the agents to traverse such a blurry boundary between these two logics without incurring institutional conflicts. This study also offers future research agenda in an established literature of institutional logics.

Socially responsible agencies*

Should agencies confine their role to their main duty or should they embrace new and desirable societal objectives? This article first discusses two emblematic examples of mission expansion: socially responsible competition authorities and green central banks. It then sheds light on the ongoing debate using contributions to bureaucratic design in economics and political science. On that basis, it warns against the risks associated with the loss of accountability, institutional conflicts, and the lack of policy coordination.

A tourist business in a state of sustained uncertainty. An exploratory study of barriers to ski resort development in Poland

ABSTRACT The paper aims to examine the issue of ski resort development in Poland from the perspective of its limitations. In the study, we consider the uncertainty of snow and temperature conditions, along with governmental regulations, social and institutional conflicts, as well as the impact of other local and non-local factors on ski tourism businesses. The research was conducted in the form of a survey of 33 domestic tourist entities managing ski resorts. The following development barriers were identified and discussed: cost of new investments and modernization of existing facilities, cost of adaptation to changing climate conditions, time-consuming and complicated legal proceedings related to the investment process, unordered in law issues of land ownership used for ski tourism. Strongly endogenous in nature, the domestic ski-tourism market is still evolving and transforming. The model of ski resort development employed in Poland fosters multidimensional linkages in destination systems between the ski resort sector and other tourism services and local communities. Due to the fact that revenue streams cannot be predicted, operational stability and a solid competitive advantage will be gained in the long term by ski resorts and ski-related tourist destinations capable of offering a number of services complementary to skiing itself.

Addressing serious and continuing research noncompliance and integrity violations through action plans: Interviews with institutional officials

ABSTRACT Serious and continuing research noncompliance and integrity violations undermine the quality of research and trust in science. When researchers engage in these behaviors, institutional officials (IOs) often develop corrective action plans. Ideally, such plans address the root causes so noncompliance or research integrity violations discontinue. The aim of this study was to identify what IOs perceive as causes and action plan activities typically prescribed. We conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 47 IOs at research institutions across the U.S. including: institutional review board and institutional animal care and use committee chairs and directors, chief research officers, research compliance and integrity officers, and institutional conflicts of interest chairs and directors. The most common root causes identified were: 1) lack of knowledge or training, 2) failure to provide research team supervision, and 3) researcher attitudes toward compliance. The most common action plan activities include: 1) retraining in compliance or research integrity, 2) follow-up and hands-on involvement with the researcher, and 3) mandated oversight or mentoring. Because the most commonly identified action plan activities fail to adequately address the majority of root causes, our findings suggest a need for IOs to rethink existing approaches to action plan development to more effectively target root causes.

Conflicts between mining companies and communities: Institutional environments and conflict resolution approaches

AbstractAlthough companies recognize the importance of social responsibility and community engagement, conflicts between companies and communities have been noticeably increasing. To better understand the role of institutional environments in company–community conflicts, we analyze two mining conflicts—Minera Yanacocha's Minas Conga extension project in Peru and Minera Los Pelambres' El Mauro Tailings Dam in Chile. Our findings imply that, to prevent negative consequences and alleviate company–community conflicts, mining companies should address underlying structural causes and pursue informal approaches in order to obtain and maintain their social license. We find that better formal institutional environments not only alleviate conflict intensity but also facilitate informal approaches through which companies and communities can cooperate to resolve conflicts. The best practice would be to start and continue dialogs between communities and companies, mediated by impartial governments, to understand the concerns of the counterparty and find means by which to address the causes.

Business and Human Rights in Russia: Emerging or Merging?

Abstract The increasing focus on business and human rights (BHR) in civil society and policymaking has not been matched by research on corporate actions to respect and protect human rights. The lack of research on BHR is especially acute outside of Western Europe and Anglo-centric contexts. This paper seeks to investigate how the largest Russian firms conceptualize and fulfil their human rights obligations under the UN Guiding Principles and the extent to which internationalization of those firms may have impacted these behaviours. I use a unique dataset created from a sample made of the 100 largest firms listed on the Moscow Stock Exchange. Using the theoretical construct of institutional conflict, I find that cross-listing on other stock exchanges and the extent to which firms frame their broader social responsibility issues as ‘sustainability’ or ‘sustainable development’ rather than ‘corporate social responsibility’ has a substantial impact on firm attention to human rights. While this attention is encouraging, firm disclosure of actions taken to mitigate against violations and protect human rights is extremely limited and the strength of domestic institutional pressures has resulted in very little firm action in the face of the extreme and widespread human rights violations being committed in Ukraine by Russia.

From one flooding crisis to the next: Negotiating ‘the maybe’ in unequal Karachi

AbstractEvery few years, Karachi floods during the summer monsoon. The flooding brings latent manoeuvrings by political actors looking to establish their hold over the city to the surface. Politicians, urban administrators, and relevant state and non‐state institutions blame historical planning failures, informal and illegal constructions, institutional conflict, incapable municipal governance, and widespread corruption for the flooding. They move quickly to establish authority and consolidate power while offering ‘fixes’. Eviction drives against ‘illegal settlements’ built along storm‐water drains, heavy taxes, fines, and demolitions of non‐conforming constructions, institutional reforms, budget allocations, and project approvals for new infrastructure all happen at once. Once the emergency ceases, key players in urban politics – resident groups, community associations, political parties, municipal authorities, land developers, planners, international non‐governmental organisations, and military institutions – start working on projects of accumulation and entrenchment, in preparation for the next crisis. In this paper, we look at the space–time of Karachi's certain and yet uncertain flooding crisis as a moment to study the politics of the maybe in the Pakistani megacity. Outlining marginal and affluent residents' lived experiences in a flooding city and relating their politics with governmental responses to immediate and possible future floods, we study the conditions of inhabitation, citizenship claims, and governmental relations in Karachi. We argue that the monsoon's expectant arrival becomes a locus for articulating and modulating different kinds of popular vernaculars, governmental practices, and political manoeuvrings for institutional and individual actors seeking profit and power in and through Karachi. The politics of the maybe hinges on actors entrenching their political positions without care, taking away any possibility for a shared, coherent worldview for all Karachiites. In conclusion, we argue that distant interests and logics of this politics of governance and inhabitation are inherently exploitative, threatening to pull apart the very city they thrive on.

Influence of emotional intelligence on employees’ performance at work: An evidence from Indian banks

Emotional intelligence helps to resolve conflict in private and public institutions. Studies have found that increased emotional intelligence enhances performance and increases professionalism in the workforce. Given the massive growth in private sector banks in India, investment in the emotional intelligence of the workforce may improve service delivery and satisfaction of the customers. Using an empirical dataset, this study investigates how EI influences the work performance of private sector bank employees in India. The correlation between increased workplace performance and emotional intelligence is supported by regression analysis. Findings suggest that in scaled up settings, Indian banks can minimise conflicts, reduce costs, and improve service delivery by training their staff in EI.

Institutional role conflict in the digital age: The case of diabetes management at school

As the prevalence of pediatric diabetes grows and new technologies to manage diabetes emerge, there is increasing concern about consistency in health management across institutional settings, particularly in schools. While much is known about barriers at school, there are still gaps in understanding the institutional dynamics that shape health management in this setting. Using focus groups with 19 youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and applying institutional role theory, we find healthcare providers’ recommendations conflict with school rules and norms, making it difficult to enact both the “sick role” and the “student role.” These conflicts elicit negative responses from teachers and peers and stigmatize youth with T1D in school. Caregiver involvement often heightens rather than ameliorates conflict and teachers do not intervene in effective ways. Ultimately, youth must manage conflicts and stigma. By reframing challenges in health management as institutional role conflict, this paper contributes to sociological research by highlighting the importance of institutional roles, especially beyond healthcare. More broadly, the study suggests health research and policy should investigate how to better align institutional roles—rather than relying on youth and their families—to support health management of chronic illnesses across institutional settings.

INSTITUTIONAL IMPROVEMENT FOR BETTER URBAN MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF KHULNA CITY

This paper concerns the issues about institutional improvement through rearrangement for better functioning of urban services by public sector bodies. It studies the conflict and arrangements of urban development and management institutions focusing on Khulna Development Authority (KDA) and Khulna City Corporation (KCC), in particular. It contains discussion on issues and problems that are encountered by KCC and KDA with respect to their functions and responsibilities followed by possible areas of intervention for management improvement to enable better urban management and development with special attention to the sprit of democracy, social mobilization, delegation of power leading to good governance.

English

A desk review, survey, interview and on-site observation were used to collect data. The impact of external systems on smallholder water scarcity management institutions in the context drought stress was analyzed in this study. The findings show that the external intervention eliminated resilient people’s institutions such as water scarcity (in droughts). Interventions introduce new water management systems that fuel tension, conflict and water poverty. The local water management systems are sustainable and enhance social cohesion and trust while the new program-based institutional arrangements/systems are nepotic and corrupt in terms of ensuring equality and addressing needs of diverse beneficiaries. A local peoples’ institutional approach is recommended to respond to climate change-induced stresses and such approach is capable of managing social, political, economic and environmental dimensions. Policy interventions need to consider a bottom-up approach to accommodate local specific context as well as built on existing local systems that ensure social cohesion among members of community. Interventions that meet pro-poor, inclusive and sustainable objectives need to adopt a human-rights based transformative approaches and such an approach inclusive and sustainable. Key words: Institutional conflict, drought stress, pro-poor policy.