Institutional Perspective Research Articles

Commercial Television as a Blind Spot in Emerging Media Systems: Romania and Bulgaria’s Cases

This study explores TV in Romania and Bulgaria, both considered “emerging” media systems in post-communist studies (Sparks, 1995). It uses Hallin and Mancini’s (2004) framework to analyze the central aspects regarding the configuration of commercial TV. The study offers an institutional perspective on TV by exploring the licensing frame and the TV offer. The interaction between commercial TV, politics, and the state underlines the intricate relations through powerful and influential networks involving the interests of a variety of individuals and groups. Currently, commercial TV is the most developed type of media in both countries. Through its empirical contribution, this study fills in the blind spot of media research, aiming to contribute to the understanding of the Romanian and Bulgarian media landscape. It offers a critical perspective on TV systems in relation to the polarized pluralist/Mediterranean model of Hallin and Mancini, considering its explanatory function within the analysis of Eastern European media systems. Elements of the national markets revealed particularities of the TV business, synchronically connected to the contemporary “hyper-television” vision (Scolari, 2009) and the “informational disorder” paradigm (Tambini, 2020).

Factors influencing the evolution of information ecosystems: an institutional theory perspective

PurposeThe ecosystem concept has attracted attention in information system research to explain business competition, innovation and many other emerging phenomena. Existing studies focus more on a single ecosystem type or a single ecosystem goal and pay little attention to the ecosystem’s evolution. The objective of the study is to investigate the factors that impact the evolution of the information ecosystem (IE) to gain a better understanding of strategic thinking.Design/methodology/approachThe IE involves many actors, so the multi-case study approach is conducted with purposeful sampling to recruit all the significant ecosystem actors. The collected qualitative data are analyzed by coding data, exploring data relationships and structuring pattern steps; institutional theory is used as a theoretical framework.FindingsThe results demonstrate that industry practices, laws and regulations, new actors and the mimetic pressure of outsourcers drive the growth of the ecosystem. Strategy intention, cost pressure and normative pressure all contribute to the IE’s evolution.Originality/valueThe concept of ecosystems has attracted attention in information system research. The study investigates the factors contributing to the evolution of the IE from an institutional theory perspective. Our suggestion is that new players can find a niche in offering information technology (IT)/ information services (IS)-related solutions to survive in the ecosystem; however, they need to pay attention to the normative pressure.

Cultural tightness and financial reporting behavior around the world

This study examines the effect of cultural tightness on earnings management globally through an institutional economics perspective. We find that managers are less (more) likely to use accrual-based (real) earnings management in countries with tight cultures, consistent with the notion that managers switch to real earnings management when accrual-based earnings management is constrained in tight cultures. Our findings are robust to several endogeneity and sensitivity tests. Additionally, our results show that the strength of investor protection attenuates the effect of cultural tightness on earnings management, suggesting a substitutive relationship between this effect and the legal regime. The results also show that transactions with other countries (i.e., more imports and exports or foreign sales) weaken the effect of cultural tightness. Thus, by focusing on norm-based cultural tightness rather than Hofstede’s value-based cultural dimensions, this study advances the understanding of how culture affects corporate reporting practices.

Implementing the EU HTA regulation: Insights from semi-structured interviews on patient expectations, Belgian and European institutional perspectives, and industry outlooks.

Introduction: The goal of the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Regulation 2021/2282 is to establish a more harmonized HTA framework, fostering member states cooperation and enabling equal patient access to innovative health technologies in Europe. This research aimed to assess the impact of the regulation on national HTAs, the strategic implications for health technology developers, and its influence on price and reimbursement negotiations. Methods: A scoping literature review encompassing peer-reviewed literature as well as grey literature was conducted. Between February and March 2023, semi-structured interviews (n = 20) were performed with stakeholders from Belgian governmental institutions, European institutions, advanced therapy medicinal product developers, academics, and sickness funds. The interviews were analyzed using the framework analysis method. Results: Numerous steps, such as the development of implementing acts and procedural guidelines remain to be taken. At member state level, national/regional HTA bodies and payers must act to adopt the new concepts of Joint Scientific Consultations (JSC) and Joint Clinical Assessments (JCA) within their national legislation, as well as revise their timelines and prepare for interactions at a European level. Compiling a harmonized PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparator, and Outcome), adapting local procedures, and increasing capacity to actively take part in the JSC and JCA are seen as primary barriers by several stakeholders. Training and education will help HTA bodies, payers, and health technology developers to participate in the European processes. Conclusion: While practical and legal challenges were identified, recommendations (such as actively preparing for the upcoming changes and increasing capacity while providing training) were provided to adapt national and European procedures to the needs of the HTA Regulation 2021/2282. The importance of fostering collaborations and aligning local HTA procedures with the new way of working set out by the Regulation was demonstrated with this study.

Nonlinear effects of climate change on tourism development: evidence from China

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to have a deeper understanding of the nonlinear relationship between the impact of climate change on tourism development. Current studies on the effects of climate change on tourism development primarily rely on linear correlation assumptions.Design/methodology/approachBased on the New Institutional Economics theory, the institutional setting inherently motivates and ensures the growth of the tourism industry. For a precise evaluation of the nonlinear consequences of climate change on tourism, this paper concentrates on Chinese cities between 2011 and 2021, methodically analyzing the influence of climate change on tourism.FindingsThe study findings suggest that there is an “inverse U”-shaped nonlinear relationship between climate change and tourism development, initially strengthening and subsequently weakening. Based on these findings, the research further delves into how institutional contexts shape the nonlinear association between climate change and tourism growth. It was found that in a higher institutional backdrop, the “inverse U” curve tends to flatten and surpass the curve adjusted for a lesser institutional context. Upon deeper mechanism analysis, it was observed that cities with more advanced marketization, improved industrial restructuring and enhanced educational growth exhibit a more evident “inverse U”-shaped nonlinear connection between climate change and tourism evolution.Originality/valueFirst, previous studies on climate change and tourism development largely rely on questionnaire data (Hu et al., 2022). In contrast to these studies, this paper uses dynamic panel data, which to some extent overcomes the subjectivity and difficulty of causality identification in questionnaire data, making our research conclusions more accurate and reliable. Second, this study breaks through the linear relationship hypothesis of previous literature regarding climate change and tourism development. By evaluating the nonlinear relationship of climate change to tourism development from the institutional pressure perspective, it more intricately delineates their interplay mechanism, expanding and supplementing the research literature on the relationship mechanism between climate change and tourism development. Thirdly, the conclusions of this study are beneficial for policymakers to better understand and assess the scope of climate change impacts. It also aids relevant departments in clarifying the direction of institutional environment optimization to elevate the level of tourism development when faced with adverse impacts brought about by climate change.

Governing Landscape Simplification in Rapid Commercialization Contexts – the Case of the Dike-Pond System in the Pearl River Delta, China

In the last decades, rapid agricultural commercialization has led to landscape simplification, posing threats to the social and ecological values of agroecosystems worldwide. This paper draws upon the landscape commons concept, advocating for an institutional perspective to comprehensively understand the local governance concerning landscape simplification. We contributed to commons research by expanding the scope into holistic and multifunctional landscape systems, and particularly concentrate on pond landscapes. We select the case of a dike-pond system in the Pearl River Delta, China, to scrutinize the local institutional arrangements and their interplay with landscape simplification. This study utilizes the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework in conjunction with Ostrom’s Design Principles (DPs). Findings from the study reveal that an emphasis on ponds exhibiting comparative profit advantages over dikes and rivers, coupled with a preference for intensive fish production in collective decision-making, has resulted in land cover simplification and erosion of the system’s multifunctionality. To address this issue, we recommend considering multiple biophysical elements and functions in the governance of landscape commons while identifying avenues to reinforce local institutions, in alignment with Ostrom’s DPs.

Corporate governance and Indonesian state-owned companies’ performance: Agency and institutional perspectives

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between corporate governance practices and Indonesia’s SOEs' performance. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are often criticized for underperformance and political manipulation, raising doubts about the efficiency of implemented corporate governance mechanisms. Additionally, this research examines the moderating role of board diversity on the relationship between good corporate governance (GCG) and performance. This study adopted a quantitative method to analyze secondary data from SOE’s financial statements from 2012 to 2019. The key independent variable is the GCG score, while return on assets is the dependent variable. The regression model incorporates managerial diversion variables and control variables. Surprisingly, the results found that corporate governance practices adversely affect the performance of Indonesian SOEs, particularly when board members have political affiliations. Institutional theory explains the negative relationship between the implementation of GCG and the performance of state-owned companies from coercive and mimetic perspectives. The phenomenon often happens in a developing country when a new system is adopted without fully understanding its mission. Additionally, the significant role of the Board of Commissioners' political connection as a moderating variable supports the conjecture of the managerial diversion perspective. This research contributes empirical insights for SOE stakeholders about corporate governance implementation and the performance of Indonesia's SOEs from the perspective of an emerging economy. The paper contributes novel views to agency and institutional theory for developing countries.

Contributions of the anthropological theory of the didactic to the epistemological programme of research in mathematics education

In the early 1980s, the theory of didactic situations put the analysis of mathematical activity at the core of the didactic analysis, thus initiating a new research programme in mathematics education: the epistemological programme. This paper describes and interprets some of the contributions of the anthropological theory of the didactic (ATD) to the development of this programme. These contributions come from the new institutional and ecological perspective provided by the ATD to approach the didactic problem and from the significance it assigns to macrodidactic phenomena characterised by didactic transposition. They are illustrated with research works involving different fields of school mathematics in which the ATD team led by Spanish researchers played a central role: research in school algebra and its relations with functional modelling, differential calculus, and real numbers. The paper concludes by briefly describing the contributions of the ATD to the dialogue between didactic theories, another domain that has notable Spanish contributions.

Emotions in Organizational Change: An Integrative Review

ABSTRACT Emotions play a significant role in organizational change, but they are often neglected in change management models, which can lead to resistance and increased stress among employees. In this manuscript we discuss how emotions can influence leaders and employee’s perception and responses to change initiatives. We also explore interpretive lenses that researchers use to investigate emotions in the context of organizational change. This literature review makes notable contributions by fostering the integration of social, institutional, and emotional perspectives into change management practices, while shedding light on the considerable potential of leveraging positive emotions for enhancing engagement during change implementation. MAD statement This integrative review addresses the role of emotions in organizational change management models, a key factor of engagement or resistance. The complex interplay of emotions in organizational change processes-where resistance and fear intertwine with excitement and hope – underscores the requirement for change management strategies that acknowledge the intricate role emotions play in both individual and group experiences. Change initiatives often falter because they address only on specific aspects, neglecting the dynamic between conscious and unconscious emotional expressions. Emotional dynamics in organizations extend beyond immediate reactions to change emcompassing deeper emotional bonds with leadership and the institutional environment. In this context, leaders are paradoxically sources of anxiety and responsible for mitigating it it within their teams. Anchored in previous research, this exploration offers new insights for optimizing change implementation. It suggests integrating social and institutional perspectives, and leveraging positive emotions in engagement strategies. Unlinke other reviews, this work synthesizes empirical findings specifically related to emotion's impact on engagement or resistance at different levels. It categorizes existing explanations and expands on the epistemological perspectives of emotions, elucidating how they operate and the ongoing efforts required to comprehend and harness emotions as catalysts for change.

Alternative Financing for a Sustainable Energy Transition: An Institutionalist Perspective

This article adopts an institutionalist perspective in order to address the energy transition process and to consider, in particular, the alternative financing mechanisms that would be able to support a structural transformation that is sustainable in the long term. It argues that such a transformation can be regarded in a holistic and broader way as an eco-transition process that involves the whole society and economy and requires a societal public organization. A relevant holistic approach to eco-transition should focus on the institutional conditions that are required for a new sustainable and structural change framework. In this aim, the article points to the features of the transition process that display the characteristics of a public good. The durable provision of such a good calls for the transformation of the financing schemes in force to support green investments beyond the usual opposition between market-friendly and government-guided economic policies. A relevant avenue is to organize the financing of the eco-transition under the supervision of public institutions even though the contribution of private bodies might be valuable according to the rules of long-term non-speculative financial support of markets.

Ceremonial Economics: A Social-Institutional Analysis of Universities, Disciplines, and Academic Positioning

What is the future of the university? Many have attempted to unpack what emerging technologies, political pressures, and social scrutiny can do to the status and innovative capacity of universities. While much of the literature has focused on either documenting innovation over practice in research/teaching techniques, or critical reflections on how university business models and academic labor are under threat, less has been debated on the impacts and processes of such changes from a systemic institutional perspective. This article develops a three-fold social-institutional framework to explore the process, purpose, and positioning of changes in knowledge production. I use the case of the economics discipline to explore how institutional ceremonial values, the policing of knowledge creation, and academic cultures as a hierarchical system of prestige can indicate potential structural change. Existing tensions between instrumental innovations and traditional ceremonial aspects that permeate both the university system and the economics discipline suggest two hypotheses to understand future change: (i) a ceremonial encapsulation of new technologies by old structures, exacerbating existing inequalities and monopolies within expertise positioning; or (ii) the rise of new and inclusive cultures within the principles of epistemic democratization and pluralism, co-existing with a new economic and social model of knowledge

Acemoglu’s Scientific Palette and Disruptive Technologies

Daron Acemoglu and his co-authors adopt a mainstream approach in articles. In their books, they exhibit a biased analysis by employing taxonomic structures, selectively choosing historical examples, and downplaying significant factors like globalization, status emulation, and collective consciousness. Their analyses, centered on individual decision-making, overlook the evolutionary perspective. In this article, I argue that since the early 1980s, the new ICT-based wave of monopolization/oligopolization and globalization affected income distribution negatively within countries but positively between countries. The recent advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is also dealt with by Acemoglu and Simon Johnson in their book Power and Progress, seems to increasingly affect income inequality and to strengthen the power of Big Tech. An evolutionary institutional perspective, wherein the social selection mechanism itself adjusts to changing social conditions, might provide a counterbalance to anxious AI concerns.

Challenges and Limitations Arisen from China's Mass Higher Education Shift and Its Expansion Policies: Perspectives of Students, Institutions and Society

The Chinese government has taken numerous policy measures to develop its higher education system since Reform and Opening Up. Their commitment to expanding access to higher education has led to a remarkable increase in the number of universities and enrollment rates. However, this expansion has prompted many challenges and limitations. This research paper presents the multifaceted challenges and limitations faced by Chinese higher education expansion from the perspectives of students, institutions, and society. From the perspective of students, the first challenge brought by the more extensive access to higher education is the increased competition in K-12 education. In order for their children to be more competitive, students' parents invest a considerable amount of money in extracurricular tutoring which has brought a considerable financial burden to the student's family. From the institutional perspective, the rapidly increasing number of students brought the institution various challenges including limited resources, space, and faculty members. Lastly, from the perspective of society, there are many challenges and limitations regarding increasing access to higher education including the failure to improve social mobility, excessive labor in the job market, etc. Through a comprehensive examination of the challenges and limitations of Chinese higher education, this paper clarifies the complexity of the Chinese higher education system and offers insights into potential strategies for improvement.

Explaining Enterprise Litigation Success with fsQCA: The Role of Local Economic Environment, Policy Preferences, Case Complexity, and Party Capability

Since the initiation of reforms and the opening-up policy in China, enterprises have played a pivotal role as a key pillar of local economic growth. Within the context of harmonious labor relations, the effective means of assisting enterprises in safeguarding their particular interests during labor disputes remains unresolved. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) is able to capture a higher degree of complexity by testing theory-based conditions and environmental effects rather than focusing on a single effect of a single variable. Therefore, coming from a new institutionalist perspective, this study employed fsQCA to explore the causal relationships among factors including local economic environment, policy preferences, case complexity, party capability, and enterprise litigation success. Analyzing data from 28,685 labor dispute cases from Guangdong Province between 2015 and 2019, and utilizing enterprise data from the China Economic Information Network and the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, we found that: (1) it is difficult for enterprises to succeed substantially in a single-antecedent condition; (2) There are four pathways to forming high enterprise victory, each involving different configurations of eight conditions; and (3) Judicial preference, employee legal representative, and enterprise legal representative are central elements in all aforementioned pathways, even if they are not necessary conditions for the success of high enterprises. The research results enrich our understanding of the current style of institutionalism, providing a valuable reference point for effectively improving the legal success of enterprises and improving the harmonious development of labor relations, with far-reaching implications for the further study of the judicial protection of enterprise rights under the socialist system.

Bordering public institutions through the routinization of borderwork and datafication: Internalized immigration regimes within UK health care and higher education

The embedding of immigration checks into public institutions constitutes an integral part of contemporary bordering regimes. In this article, we situate recent changes to the UK’s internal borderscape in two parts of the public sector: higher education and health care. We argue that, analyzed from institutional perspectives, these changes reflect not only a dispersal and deterritorialization of the UK’s border regime, but also the emergence of specific relations between the government department responsible for this regime – the Home Office – and other parts of the public sector and its institutions. We maintain that these relations have developed into two main forms: the routinization of borderwork within public sector employees’ roles, drawing workers from across public institutions into relations with the Home Office and subordinating the needs of those institutions to the demands of the UK’s internalized border regime; and the establishment of information systems for datafication, to enable reporting and sharing data between public sector institutions and the Home Office, which are exploited for surveillance purposes. Such relations not only vulnerabilize public sector institutions by draining their resources and destabilizing institutional cultures, but also drive ongoing changes in the bureaucratic field of the state.

Unintended use of a calculative practice: conflicting institutional logics in the Norwegian fishing industry

PurposeThis paper explores how conflicting institutional logics shape the behaviors of macro- and micro-level actors in their use of a calculative practice. Thereby, this paper explains how quantification can undermine the intended purpose of a governance system based on a single number.Design/methodology/approachThe study draws upon the literature on calculative practices and institutional logics to present the case of how a single number—specifically the conversion factor for Atlantic Cod, established by macro-level actors for the purposes of governance within the Norwegian fishing industry—is interpreted and used by micro-level actors in the industry. The study is based on documents, field observations and interviews with fishers, landing facilities, and control authorities.FindingsThe use of the conversion factor, while intended to protect fish stock and govern industry actions, does not always align with the institutional logics of micro-level actors. Especially during the winter season, these actors may seek to serve their interests, leading to potential system gaming. The reliance on a single number that overlooks seasonal nuances can motivate unintended behaviors, undermining the governance system’s intentions.Originality/valueIntegrating the literature on calculative practices with an institutional logics perspective, this study offers novel insights into the challenges of using quantification for the governance of complex industries. In particular, the paper reveals that when the logics of macro- and micro-level actors conflict in a single-number governance system, unintended outcomes arise due to a domination of the macro-level logics.

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.

The Role Of Macroeconomics In The Post-Collapse Status Quo Between Leadership Periods In Indonesia Has Significant Implications, Especially From The Perspective Of Institutional Economics.

The economic crisis is one of the triggers for economic crises in various countries from over time. It's not just the economic crisis, apart from that the more important thing is the collapse of the structure of society, the direction of the economy and politics in the future, in the status quo situation after the collapse between leadership periods in Indonesia, where government product regulations, including external institutions, cause uncontrolled public reactions to the transition situation. This article discusses the situation in Indonesia from era to era, from a macro-economic, political and institutional perspective. So economics and politics are a forum for leaders to decide on strategic policies in leading the government during the transition period.

Overseas Koreans and New Governance Making in Korea

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the recent issues surrounding overseas Koreans in Korea and the governance construction efforts by the Korean government through laws and institutions to address them. With up to approximately 1 million overseas Koreans residing in Korea out of a total of 7.08 million, issues related to immigration to Korea are also pertinent. The burgeoning population of overseas Koreans and their demands not only affect the central government's policies but also impact local communities. This article aims to explore how the Korean society is legally and institutionally responding to the recent surge in the population of overseas Koreans within Korea. To achieve this goal, the article focuses on three aspects. First, it analyzes the increase in the population of overseas Koreans in Korean society over the past two decades along with the associated issues from the perspectives of immigration, ethnicity, overseas Koreans, laws and institutions, and central and local governments. Second, it examines the new laws, institutions, and the interrelationship between the government and overseas Koreans that have been developed to address the issues raised. Third, it evaluates the characteristics of the newly established governance of overseas Koreans and identifies any associated problems. Additionally, it discusses the implications of the Korean case compared with other countries' cases. In the era of globalization and increased human mobility, this article contributes to understanding Korean society's perspective on and policies toward the group of overseas Koreans in the context of laws and institutions.

The interplay of institutional pressures, digitalization capability, environmental, social, and governance strategy, and triple bottom line performance: A moderated mediation model

AbstractThis study seeks to elucidate the mediating role of environmental, social, and governance strategy (ESGS) in bridging the nexus between institutional pressures—specifically regulatory and stakeholder influences—and triple bottom line performance (TBLP), which encompasses economic, social, and environmental facets. Concurrently, this study examines the extent to which digitalization capability influences these dynamics. Utilizing a dataset from subsidiaries within China's retail and transportation sectors, we employed structural equation modeling alongside regression analysis to validate our hypotheses. The findings corroborate a partial mediating effect of ESGS on the TBLP in response to institutional pressures while highlighting digitalization capabilities' moderated mediation role in strengthening the relationship between institutional pressures and TBL through ESGS implementation. By weaving together institutional theory and dynamic capability perspectives, this study advances the understanding of strategic avenues that influence TBLP through ESGS and offers managerial insights for effectively leveraging ESG strategies.