Institutional Pluralism Research Articles

Defence investment and the transformation national science and technology: A perspective on the exploitation of high technology

Whether and how defence investment in the industrialised economies contributes to high technology transfer by moderating national science and technology into high economic products is the exploratory question posed in this paper as part of a comparative analysis of OECD economies. Based on defence dollar investments, we perform two analyses. For the first analysis, we assess moderating effects of defence dollars dedicated to national science (articles) and technology (patents) on high technology exports. For the second analysis, we assess the moderating role of defence dollars on individual economies regarding their comparative advantages/disadvantages relative to the US as the leading economy of the OECD. A panel analysis covering 23years (1993 to 2015) presents three sets of findings. First, defence dollars positively correlate with national science productivity in articles but are not correlated with national patents. Second, defence dollars positively moderate patent technologies but negatively moderate the application of scientific articles for the development of economic products. Third, in the moderation analysis of defence dollars, the US appears to be at a comparative disadvantage relative to the most developed OECD economies. This finding may imply that (a) there is a plurality of institutions in national innovation systems and that (b) not all economies are equally emulating American institutional development. We propose several avenues for future research and policy-making.

Sequencing and combining participation in urban planning: The case of tsunami-ravaged Onagawa Town, Japan

Onagawa, a remote rural town in Japan, is on the verge of crisis: its population is aging and shrinking, and this adversity has been even more pronounced since the town was ravaged by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and resulting tsunami. In its struggle to survive and revive, the town has emerged as a gem of participatory governance by instituting a multitude of participatory mechanisms with renewed leadership. This development shows how disasters induced by natural hazards can be a catalyst for progressive democratic change in a rural town like Onagawa, in contrast with earlier findings that disasters adversely affect democratic institutions and values. Onagawa's case also draws scholarly and policy attention to how to sequence and combine different participatory mechanisms in urban planning. Informed by field work, the study modifies an existing theoretical model to systematically highlight Onagawa's participatory mechanisms during the reconstruction planning, including their differences and complementarities. This institutional plurality served multiple purposes, including (i) allowing lay stakeholders to brainstorm a general reconstruction plan, (ii) avoiding the conflation of technical and lay discussions, (iii) reaching out to evacuees who were not able to participate, and (iv) educating citizens on town planning in hopes of nourishing a participatory culture in the long run.

The Roles of Networks in Institutionalizing New Hybrid Organizational Forms: Insights from the European Renewable Energy Cooperative Network:

Hybrid organizational forms combine values and practices from different institutional domains, rendering them difficult to fit neatly into the structures of extant organizational forms. Since the work required to institutionalize a new hybrid organizational form may be beyond the resources and capabilities of individual organizations acting alone, we shift the focus to inter-organizational collective action. Using empirical data from a study of a European network of renewable energy cooperatives, we find that, in order to institutionalize the new hybrid organizational form, the network can contribute to overcome the legitimacy challenges inherent in organizational hybridity. In particular, the network builds field-level receptivity to institutional pluralism, collectively codifies the hybrid organizational form, and consolidates legitimation towards plural field-level audiences. In order to perform these institutionalization roles, the network itself becomes increasingly formalized and mobilizes mediating...

The Roles of Networks in Institutionalizing New Hybrid Organizational Forms: Insights from the European Renewable Energy Cooperative Network

Hybrid organizational forms combine values and practices from different institutional domains, rendering them difficult to fit neatly into the structures of extant organizational forms. Since the work required to institutionalize a new hybrid organizational form may be beyond the resources and capabilities of individual organizations acting alone, we shift the focus to inter-organizational collective action. Using empirical data from a study of a European network of renewable energy cooperatives, we find that, in order to institutionalize the new hybrid organizational form, the network can contribute to overcome the legitimacy challenges inherent in organizational hybridity. In particular, the network builds field-level receptivity to institutional pluralism, collectively codifies the hybrid organizational form, and consolidates legitimation towards plural field-level audiences. In order to perform these institutionalization roles, the network itself becomes increasingly formalized and mobilizes mediating functions involving different types of resources, legitimacy and target audiences. The research advances knowledge of hybrid organizational forms and their collective institutionalization through inter-organizational networks.

Sustaining multiple logics within hybrid organisations

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how accounting and control practices contribute to the persistence of the multiple logics that characterise hybrid organizations, i.e. organizations that constantly incorporate elements from different institutional logics at the very core of their identity.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw on the literature regarding institutional logics and on studies exploring the enabling power of accounting to interpret the findings derived from a longitudinal case study of a hybrid organization operating in the field of brain-computer interface technology.FindingsThe study shows that the persistence of conflicting logics and innovation within hybrid organizations can be sustained through the mediating role of accounting and control practices. By engaging different interested parties within processes of innovation, these practices can establish complex interconnections between conflicting perspectives and their objects of concern. Consequently, accounting and control do not address a specific logic but instead contribute to lock different parties to their own logic, allowing them to engage and generate innovation while maintaining their diversity.Originality/valueWhereas previous studies have explored mechanisms for keeping the multiple logics of hybrids separate or for reconciling them, the paper shows that conflicts between these logics do not need to be reduced but can be mediated to generate innovation. Additionally, the authors contribute to the literature on accounting “in action”, by illustrating the role of accounting and control practices as boundary objects that act within a broader “ecology of objects” through which innovation materializes in a context of enduring institutional pluralism.

The Establishment of Metropolitan Cities in Italy: An Advance or a Setback for Italian Regionalism?

Abstract This paper aims to provide a brief assessment of the legal framework of the newly established metropolitan cities in the Italian domestic legal order. After an historical overview of previous attempts to set up metropolitan cities in Italy (1), it summarizes the main statutory provisions of the Delrio Law (No. 56/2014) through which metropolitan cities finally came into operation (2) and it provides an analysis of its implementation, thereby attempting to make clear whether increased institutional pluralism and differentiation in the local government system will strengthen or weaken Italian regionalism (3). The conclusion will argue that, while the enactment of local government reforms combined with the entering into force of a significant constitutional amendment will increasingly diminish the role of the Regions, metropolitan cities, due to their ambivalent nature, still lack any propulsive thrust and face the risk of being marginalized until a consistent legal framework for their proper funding is laid down (4).

Parliamentary Supremacy versus Judicial Supremacy<br>How can adversarial judicial, public, and political dialogue be institutionalised?

The battles between proponents and opponents of judicial supremacy have recently intensified in the US and also in Europe. I summarise the debates in political philosophy, legal theory and comparative constitutionalism and argue that both judicial supremacy and parliamentary supremacy claims are empirically and normatively indefensible: no one actually has or should have the last word. Instead, we need adversarial judicial, political and public dialogues stimulated by cooperation/competition between parliaments and courts and other actors. I focus on judicial review in two contexts. I ask whether the Canadian notwithstanding clause might provide a rational way forward, if properly amended. For the EU I analyse new forms of dialogue, cooperation and competition between parliaments and constitutional courts in Member States, the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. Learning from these comparisons, I submit, can profit from two non-legal discussions: first on ‘democratising expertise’ in the traditions of critical pragmatism and experimentalist governance and, second, on the traditions of democratic institutional pluralism and associative democracy.

Consequences of Collaborative Governance in CSR: An Empirical Illustration of Strategic Responses to Institutional Pluralism and Some Theoretical Implications

AbstractCollaborative governance (CG) is becoming the common currency of decision‐making, able to surmount existing institutional constraints to effectively address challenges related to sustainability and social and environmental corporate behavior. CG approaches may however result in institutional complexity. As an illustration of CG in the domain of corporate social responsibility (CSR), the ISO 26000 standard is a legitimate point of reference for organizations worldwide. The standard represents a pluralistic institutional logic that resonates several tensions arising from the domain it tries to standardize, the nature of its development process, its interpretation of CSR and the type of standard it represents. This article aims to identify and examine strategic responses to ISO 26000 by various standards‐related organizations (including national standardization institutes, certification organizations, and service providers) and to contribute to the understanding of strategic responses of organizations to pluralistic institutional logics that result from CG.

“Institutional Shopping” for Natural Resource Management in a Protected Area and Indigenous Territory in the Bolivian Amazon

Focusing on an overlapping protected area and indigenous territory in the Bolivian Amazon, this article discusses how indigenous people continue to negotiate access to natural resources. Using the theoretical framework of New Institutionalism, ethnographic data from participatory observations, and interviews with Takana indigenous resource users and park management staff, we identified four phases of institutional change. We argue that under the current institutionally pluralistic setting in the overlapping area, indigenous users apply “institutional shopping” to choose, according to their power and knowledge, the most advantageous institutional framework in a situation. Indigenous users strategically employed arguments of conservation, indigeneity, or long-term occupation to legitimize their claims based on the chosen institution. Our results highlight the importance of ideologies and bargaining power in shaping the interaction of individuals and institutions. As a potential application of our research to practice, we suggest that rather than seeing institutional pluralism solely as a threat to successful resource management, the strengths of different frameworks may be combined to build robust institutions from the bottom up that are adapted to the local context. This requires taking into account local informal institutions, such as cultural values and beliefs, and integrating them with conservation priorities through cross-cultural participatory planning.

Strategy and commitments to institutional logics: Organizational heterogeneity in business models and governance

Theory and research on institutional pluralism and complexity provide an opportunity to re-examine a key question of strategy: the sources of organizational heterogeneity in the creation and capture of value. Concretely, we focus on the implications for value creation and capture in terms of organizations’ business models and governance strategies, respectively. We posit that strategic organizational choices are shaped by available institutional logics and theorize that greater institutional pluralism leads to increased heterogeneity—rather than isomorphism—in business models and governance strategies. As the mechanism for heterogeneity, we explain how pluralism leads to differentiated organizational commitments to distinct combinations and prioritizations of institutional logics. The article further examines how institutional complexity, wherein latent contradictions between logics become salient, provides opportunities for strategic change. We theorize that framing exposed contradictions as incompatible or paradoxical implies differentiated outcomes with respect to transformations in organizations’ business models and governance strategies.

Hypothetical Matrix for Institutional Modeling of the Basis for Economic Development in the Countries of Southeast Europe

In this paper we propose three hypothetical matrices for institutional modeling of the basis for economic development. They apply selectively chosen elements of Neo-Institutional Theory (NIT) and convention theory, which are in line with affirmation of institutional pluralism and criticism of institutional monism.

Medical doctors in healthcare leadership: theoretical and practical challenges.

BackgroundWhile healthcare systems vary in their structure and available resources, it is widely recognized that medical doctors play a key role in their adaptation and performance. In this article, we examine recent government and organizational policies in two different health systems that aim to develop clinical leadership among the medical profession. Clinical leadership refers to the engagement and guiding role of physicians in health system improvement. Three dimensions are defined to conduct our analysis of engaging medical doctors in healthcare leadership: the position and status of medical doctors within the system; the broader institutional context of governmental and organizational policies to engage medical doctors in clinical leadership roles; and the main factors that may facilitate or limit achievements.MethodsOur aim in this study is exploratory. We selected two contrasting cases according to their level of institutional pluralism: one national health insurance system, Canada, and one etatist social insurance system, the Netherlands. We documented the institutional dynamics of medical doctors’ engagement and leadership through secondary sources, such as government websites, key policy reports, and scholarly literature on health policies in both countries.ResultsInitiatives across Canadian provinces signal that the medical profession and governments search for alternatives to involve doctors in health system improvement beyond the limitations imposed by their fundamental social contract and formal labour relations. These initiatives suggest an emerging trend toward more joint collaboration between governments and medical associations. In the Dutch system, organizational and legal attempts for integration over the past decades do not yet fit well with the ideas and interests of medical doctors. The engagement of medical doctors requires additional initiatives that are closer to their professional values and interests and that depart from an overly focus on top down performance indicators and competition.ConclusionsDifferent institutional contexts have different policy experiences regarding the engagement and leadership of medical doctors but seem to face similar policy challenges. Achieving alignment between soft (trust, collaboration) and hard (financial incentives) levers may require facilitative conditions at the level of the health system, like clarity and stability of broad policy orientations and openness to local experimentation.

Responsible pay: managing compliance, organizational efficiency and fairness in the choice of pay systems in China’s automotive companies

This article explores the changing use of pay systems in China’s automotive industry and contextual conditions shaping these changes: China’s emerging market economy; and the evolution of collective labour relations. It sets out an integrated framework developed from institutional logics, new economics of personnel and organizational justice theory. The hypotheses derived from this framework are tested using the deductive case study method. The researcher collected the data in two waves of case studies including six Chinese automakers over 10 years. Key findings point to the convergence of pay strategy towards job values, performance and competence, and a wide variation in the use of variable pay and pay plan leverage. Through its exploration of forces underlying this convergence and variance in China’s automotive industry, the article contributes to research on Strategic HRM and institutional complexity. The results highlight a variety of tensions among predictions of relevant theories. The outcome is subject to how employers interpret and manage institutional pluralism and complexity. The process by which employers choose response strategies also highlights the importance of responsible behaviours in choices of pay systems, which this article terms Responsible Pay.

Managing a Corporate Brand in a Challenging Stakeholder Environment: Charity Branding

The modern charity is increasingly forced to contend with a limited pool of resources to carry out its core social mission. Decline in government support (Hibbert and Horne 1995) and direct donations (Williamson 2003), as well as the growing number of charities (Liao, Foreman, and Sargeant 2001), has seen the charity industry become increasingly competitive. This has led to a redefinition of what it means to be a charity in terms of the internal structure of the organization and the resultant complexity of the stakeholder environment. To better appreciate the fundamental tensions inherent in modern religious charity organizations and how these challenges affect their corporate branding strategies, the institutional logics framework is used to interpret the underlying pressures. The impact of these pressures is a complex stakeholder environment where the expectations of two somewhat disparate groups—those who need care and provide care, and those who provide the resources to enable that care to continue—must be contemplated. The implications of this institutional pluralism (Kraatz and Block 2008) and consequent complex stakeholder environment for the management of corporate branding of charities are exemplified using the case of a religious charity that changed its corporate brand name.

Venturing Outside: Which Entrepreneurs Cross Institutional Boundaries?

Informal entrepreneurs operating in impoverished settings characterized by high institutional voids are limited in their capacity to elevate themselves out of poverty due to their inability to draw on formal institutions that facilitate and support the accumulation of resources and growth. However, as informal entrepreneurs interact with the formal economy they encounter institutional pluralism which results in competing pressures and conflicts between normative and regulatory expectations about operating in the informal economy. Using a unique government survey of entrepreneurs in urban slums in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this study examines the factors that influence whether an entrepreneur crosses institutional boundaries.

Toward Organizational Pluralism: Institutional Intrapreneurship in Integrative Medicine

A critical stage in change toward institutional pluralism occurs when incumbent organizations must begin to integrate diverse logics in their operations. The required institutional work inside organizations at that stage—institutional intrapreneurship—involves distinctive challenges. Incumbent logics are entrenched in organizational routines, status orders, policies, and structures that hamper change and trigger resistance. We used qualitative data from two integrative medicine (IM) programs inside large healthcare organizations to understand how institutional intrapreneurs work to integrate the IM logic in these highly institutionalized organizations. We found that intrapreneurs use opportunistic tactics to create and strengthen organizational free spaces aligned with the new logic, and then leverage the capacity that is developed to extend elements of the new logic into the broader organization. This study suggests that a better understanding of the organizational context helps explain the fate of early-stage efforts toward institutional change.

Bringing Formal Political Institutions into the Multiple Streams Framework: An Analytical Proposal for Comparative Policy Analysis

The paper discusses how institutions can be introduced into the Multiple Streams Framework. While the existing literature does not systematically integrate political institutions that structure the decision-making process into the Multiple Streams Framework, the article suggests distinguishing two coupling processes, one for agenda setting and one for decision making. During the latter coupling, the main issue is the adoption of proposals – and formal institutions play an important role here. Political entrepreneurs can ensure the adoption of their bills under conditions of institutional pluralism by conceding concessions, proposing package deals or manipulating the severity or salience of problems.

Reconceptualizing the social contributions of community forestry as citizenship

SUMMARY This study proposes a more complete conceptualization of the social contributions of community forestry by employing the concept of citizenship. This conceptualization situates community forestry processes within the broader local development and institutional landscape, which promises a better understanding of community forestry's social contributions and role in local development. Looking at citizenship relations available with community forest user groups (CFUG) and local government in Nepal, this research shows that CFUGs offer a democracy refuge to citizens and valued services, yet that local government is perceived as more important. The comparison responds to debates on institutional pluralism, namely that the presence of multiple institutions appear not to ‘fragment' local representation or service provision. The study also discusses how socio-economic characteristics influence citizenship relations. This article brings to light questions on how local institutions serve citizens and what t...

Walking a Fine Line

As they assemble organizations from different economic sectors, intersectoral collaborations are co-constituted by institutional pluralism. However, the intimacy and inequality of these arrangements also constrain an organization’s ability to respond strategically to the concomitant institutional pluralism. Members of the organization experience pluralism as a tension I call moral ambivalence, that is, they simultaneously hold opposing judgments about their actions or the situations in which they find themselves. Moral ambivalence leads actors to engage in institutional work, pragmatic compromises directed toward coping with the competing institutional rules they face. This institutional work produces hybrid actions that, in turn, help the organization maintain internal cohesion and prevent negative outcomes. The article traces the sources of institutional pluralism to organizational imprinting from for-profit partners and institutional pressures from other members of the field. Data come from an ethnography of a single nonprofit organization that collaborates with several large for-profit organizations.

Changing with the Times: An Integrated View of Identity, Legitimacy, and New Venture Life Cycles

To acquire resources, new ventures need to be perceived as legitimate. For this to occur, a venture must meet the expectations of various audiences with differing norms, standards, and values as the venture evolves and grows. We investigate how the organizational identity of a technology venture must adapt to meet the expectations of critical resource providers at each stage of its organizational life cycle. In so doing, we provide a temporal perspective on the interactions among identity, organizational legitimacy, institutional environments, and entrepreneurial resource acquisition for technology ventures. The core assertion from this conceptual analysis is that entrepreneurial ventures confront multiple legitimacy thresholds as they evolve and grow. We identify and discuss three key insights related to entrepreneurs’ efforts to cross those thresholds at different organizational life cycle stages: institutional pluralism, venture-identity embeddedness, and legitimacy buffering.