Institutional Theory Approach Research Articles

The features of choosing an institutional development trajectory in Eastern Europe in the 16th—17th centuries: Moscovy and the Polish — Lithuanian Commonwealth

Recent decades have witnessed an increase in the number of works dedicated to the analysis of effects of historical events on the choice of institutions and further economic and social development of regions. This article employs the new institutional economic theory approach to consider the choices regarding title to land and serfdom in Moscovy and the Polish — Lithuanian Commonwealth (earlier the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) in the 16—17 centuries. The author emphasizes the factors, which affected the choice of institutional development trajectory, and considers the influence exerted by these institutes on the political and military development of these states. This article shows how the contingent property rights in Moscovy turned out to be competitive in the conditions of a considerable contribution of decentralisation factors to defence capacity and, opposite to the situation in the Polish — Lithuanian Commonwealth, ensured the formation of large and efficient troops. This work contributes to the research on the property rights and Russian economic history.

Особенности выбора институционального пути развития в Восточной Европе XVI—XVII веков: Московское государство и Речь Посполитая

Recent decades have witnessed an increase in the number of works dedicated to the analysis of effects of historical events on the choice of institutions and further economical and social development of regions. This article employs the new institutional economics theory approach to consider the choices regarding title to land and serfdom in Moscovy and Rzeczpospolita (earlier the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) in the 16th-17th centuries. The author emphasises the factors, which have affected the choice of institutional development trajectory, and considers the influence exerted by these institutes on the political and military development of these states. This article shows how the contingent property rights in Moscovy turned out to be competitive in the conditions of a considerable contribution of decentralisation factors to defence capacity and, opposite to the situation in Rzeczpospolita, ensured the formation of large and efficient troops. This work contributes to research on property rights and Russian economic history.

Essence of Negotiation: Understanding Appeasement and “The Great Munich Stereotype”

The relative merits of rational choice and behavioral approaches to the study of negotiation continue to be hotly debated. This article tests qualitative postdictions (assertions or deductions about something in the past) from these paradigms as well as the alternative approach of new institutional theory against the extensive record of negotiation process, contractual form, and contract implementation from the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. I find the incomplete relational form of the peace treaty to be consistent with the behavioral and new institutional concepts and find that only behavioral theory can explain how unilateral German moves unraveled the treaty during the 1930s. But the historical record further reveals that the close fit between the behavioral paradigm and these events is more than coincidence. I also discuss the role of conference participants, particularly John Maynard Keynes and Walter Lippmann, in establishing the basis for modern behavioral science. The behavioral paradigm emerged from efforts to understand and fix serious policy mistakes such as those made in the peace negotiations. The study of human error was intended to serve as the basis for broad-based organizational solutions. Finally, I discuss the impact of “the Munich stereotype” on such recent events as the planning for the American invasion and reconstruction of Iraq; such examples suggest continued imperfections in the system of organized intelligence that has actually evolved in the United States.

Practices of Social Reporting in Public Sector and Non-profit Organizations

Social accounting and reporting practices are widely adopted all over the world by various kinds of organizations. While most of the literature focuses on private corporations, in recent years several scholars have called for more attention to be directed towards public and non-profit sectors' reporting practices. This article offers an overview of the main peculiarities of social reporting with reference to the Italian not-for-profit and public sectors. In particular, adopting an Institutional Theory approach, the article discusses reasons that social reporting practices demonstrate a process of convergence towards a partially regulated framework.

The changes to accounting education and accounting educators as a result of changes in the Spanish university system: A case study using an institutional theory approach

Accounting education is part of the wider system of higher education provision that in many individual countries has been the subject of an increasing rate of change but it is unclear to what extent these external changes have influenced the delivery of accounting education. The paper uses an institutional theory approach (Meyer & Rowan, 1977; DiMaggio & Powell, 1983; Powell & DiMaggio, 1991) to analyse the pressures exerted by the external institutional constituents on the Spanish higher education system in order to implement the European Higher Education Area. Specifically, the paper analyses the changes caused by these pressures on accounting education, as well as the reactions and behaviours of accounting educators to those changes. It is based on a longitudinal case study at the Department of Accounting of the University of Seville. The case study uses multiple sources including interviews, participant observation, informal discussions and documents. The results evidence the importance of coercive isomorphism on the structuring of the Spanish university system, some factors that have hindered the development of the normative isomorphism in accounting education, and the relevance of regulatory legitimacy to academic career prospects of accounting educators.

Organisational Business History Influences on the Development of Corporate Reputation: An Institutional Theory Approach

This document presents a plan to examine how organizational business history influences the development of corporate reputation from historical institutionalism perspective. In order to accomplish this task, this proposal has been delineated into seven sections.The first section introduces the study by taking a look at the trend in organizational business history and the anecdotal linkages between these phenomena. The review of literature in this part leads towards the conceptualisation of a number interrelated research questions, which will guide this research.The second section gives a brief insight into historical institutionalism and the third and fourth examines the methodology and data analytical methods to be deployed in the course of this study. Section five presents a research plan highlighting the publications that would be generated from this study. Section six gives a description of the contributions that would emerge from this research. The study ends in section seven with a summary of the issues discussed.

Consumer acceptance and market success: Wal‐Mart in the UK and Germany

PurposeThis paper aims to explore Wal‐Mart's varying performance in Europe and eventual exit from the German market by singling out the role of consumer acceptance of Wal‐Mart's market propositions.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses the macro‐constructs of institutional theory to interpret and conceptualise micro‐level consumer data. Data were collected via telephone surveys in two regional German and UK markets in 2002/2003. Salient patronage norms in each market were established and Wal‐Mart's as well as its competitors' performance on those norms were assessed.FindingsIn the German context, the institutional theory approach to explaining Wal‐Mart's problems clearly foreshadows market failure and exit. In UK market, no clear pattern between retailers adhering to salient patronage norms, patronage behaviour and market position could be established. The constructs of institutional theory were more likely to predict and explain market failure than success.Research limitations/implicationsResearch in two regional markets limits the applicability of findings. Nevertheless, some key issues seem to indicate overall market performance. The telephone survey approach carries inherent problems, which however have only marginally impacted on the relevance of the findings.Originality/valueThe use of institutional theory constructs adds a further dimension to the discussion of international retailer success/failure and can constitute a valuable tool in the repertoire of the divestment and failure literature.

Explaining the choice of accounting standards in municipal corporations: Positive accounting theory and institutional theory as competitive or concurrent theories

Municipal corporations exist in an institutional twilight area, being both private and public, a characteristic, which presumably would be reflected in their choice of accounting standards. The literature of accounting choice does not, however, live in a twilight area, but is fragmented into two main divisions: positive accounting theory (PAT) and institutional theory (IT); only in a very few cases do the theories meet or cross-fertilize. We use both theories in this paper and derive hypotheses from them to explain accounting choices made by municipal corporations. Through testing the hypotheses on a sample of 545 Swedish municipal corporations, we indicate the empirical relevance of both PAT and IT. We conclude by suggesting an integrative approach of PAT and IT in an eclectic alternative.

ANÁLISE DO RETORNO SOBRE O PATRIMÔNIO LÍQUIDO (ROE) DAS EMPRESAS QUE PUBLICARAM O BALANÇO SOCIAL NO MODELO IBASE NO PERÍODO DE 2001 A 2005 A PARTIR DA ABORDAGEM DA TEORIA INSTITUCIONAL

A abordagem do isomorfismo institucional indica que as empresas, em seus campos organizacionais, tomam medidas visando a homogeneização de suas ações, de forma que possam ser aceitas e legitimadas pela sociedade. Sobre esta hipótese, a divulgação do Balanço Social representaria um isomorfismo mimético, ou seja, as empresas tenderiam a copiar o procedimento de outras, buscando ser aceitas pela sociedade. O presente estudo verificou, através de uma pesquisa empírica envolvendo todas as empresas brasileiras com ações listadas na Bovespa, a partir de dados obtidos junto a Economática, se o retorno sobre o patrimônio líquido das entidades que publicaram o Balanço Social são iguais ou diferentes em relação às empresas que não publicaram o Balanço Social. Os resultados obtidos indicaram que a variação da rentabilidade sobre o patrimônio líquido médio entre as empresas que publicaram e as que não publicaram o Balanço Social pode ser fruto do acaso, ressaltando que as empresas que publicaram o Balanço Social não apresentam retornos maiores ou menores do que as que não publicaram, ratificando a abordagem da teoria institucional, para a qual as decisões de evidenciar o Balanço Social poderiam estar relacionadas ao isomorfismo mimético, sem que haja uma relação direta de eficácia ou de maior retorno de valor para o acionista.

Evaluating management accounting change according to the institutional theory approach

PurposeThe objective of this case study is to evaluate the change process, under the old institutional economics (OIE) approach, that had occurred within the management‐accounting system of Brazilian bank. The present study examines the efficacy of the change process in management accounting, from the perspective of system users, seven years after its beginning.Design/methodology/approachThe research is based on a case study. The study presents a literature review of institutional theory and a case study of Banco do Brasil – a large Brazilian bank that has implemented profound changes in its management‐accounting system.FindingsThe results indicate that new concepts have been effectively institutionalised and converted into new values, habits, and routines inside the organisation. The study provides new insights into management‐accounting change.Research limitations/implicationsA single case study does not allow the results to be generalised to other organisations.Originality/valueThe study offers a conceptual structure and operational guidelines to evaluate institutionalisation of management‐accounting change processes. The main contribution of this study is to offer new operational insights on management‐ accounting institutionalisation using the conceptual framework proposed by Burns and Scapens.

Bietet die Kooperationsforschung Ansätze zur Erklärung des Wandels auf dem deutschen Krankenhausmarkt?

The German hospital market faces an extensive process of consolidation. In this change hospitals consider cooperation as one possibility to improve competitiveness. To investigate explanations of changes in the German hospital market by theoretical approaches of cooperation research. The aims and mechanism of the theories, their relevance in terms of contents and their potential for empirical tests were used as criteria to assess the approaches, with current and future trends in the German hospital market providing the framework. Based on literature review, six theoretical approaches were investigated: industrial organization, transaction cost theory, game theory, resource dependency, institutional theory, and co-operative investment and finance theory. In addition, the data needed to empirically test the theories were specified. As a general problem, some of the theoretical approaches set a perfect market as a precondition. This precondition is not met by the heavily regulated German hospital market. Given the current regulations and the assessment criteria, industrial organization as well as resource-dependency and institutional theory approaches showed the highest potential to explain various aspects of the changes in the hospital market. So far, none of the approaches investigated provides a comprehensive and empirically tested explanation of the changes in the German hospital market. However, some of the approaches provide a theoretical background for part of the changes. As this dynamic market is economically of high significance, there is a need for further development and empirical testing of relevant theoretical approaches.

Institutional Change of Universities as a Problem of Evolving Boundaries

This paper examines institutional change in universities from the perspective of the notion of ‘boundaries’. The paper asks: how can some of the most important regulatory and administrative changes in universities be understood in the framework of evolving boundaries? Two areas are studied empirically. First, the third mission of universities is examined. In Finland, as in other OECD countries scientific research and its applications outside the universities have reformed the ways in which universities are perceived as organizations. Moreover, the reactions of universities to expectations where they are assumed to promote and nurture regional competitive advantages are studied. Second, resource allocation and performance evaluation practices have been under constant change. The paper analyzes the impact of the conception of boundaries on the reforms of resource allocation and performance evaluation systems. It is posited that the analysis of boundary evolution can contribute to the theoretical understanding of universities, knowledge production in society, and the regulation, control and evaluation of those activities in society. Theoretical discussion could benefit more from the institutional theory approach.

The Culture of National Security: Norms and Identity in World Politics

1: Introduction: Alternative Perspectives on National Security, by Peter J. Katzenstein2: Norms, Identity, and Culture in National Security, by Ronald L. Jepperson, Alexander Wendt, and Peter J. KatzensteinI. Norms and National Security3: Status, Norms, and the Proliferation of Conventional Weapons: An Institutional Theory Approach, by Dana P. Eyre and Mark C. Suchman4: Norms and Deterrence: The Nuclear and Chemical Weapons Taboos, by Richard Price and Nina Tannenwald5: Constructing Norms of Humanitarian Intervention, by Martha Finnemore6: Culture and French Military Doctrine Before World War II, by Elizabeth Kier7: Cultural Realism and Strategy in Maoist China, by Alastair Iain JohnstonII. Identity and National Security8: Identity, Norms, and National Security: The Soviet Foreign Policy Revolution and the End of the Cold War, by Robert G. Herman9: Norms, Identity, and National Security in Germany and Japan, by Thomas U. Berger10: Collective Identity in a Democratic Community: The Case of NATO, by Thomas Risse-Kappen11: Identity and Alliances in the Middle East, by Michael N. BarnettIII. Implications and Conclusions12: Norms, Identity, and Their Limits: A Theoretical Reprise, by Paul Kowert and Jeffrey Legro13: Conclusion: National Security in a Changing World, by Peter J. Katzenstein