Intermediary Organizations Research Articles

지역관광추진조직(DMO)에 대한 이해관계자 인식 유형화 연구 - 정책설계자, 공급자, 참여자를 중심으로

As the public interest in tourism grows and travel becomes more common, local tourism is also gaining importance. In particular, revitalizing local tourism by attracting more living population has received much attention as a solution to the depopulation issue, and resultingly, policy interest and support for local tourism have also become greater. Now there are more intermediate organizations and destination management organizations (DMOs) that focus on attracting tourists and managing tourist destinations. Focusing on policy designers, suppliers, and DMO participants, this study examines and categorizes the DMO stakeholders' perceptions of DMO's roles and suggests future directions and plans for the development of Korean-style DMOs. To this end, Q-methodology, a type of factor analysis, that can objectively capture individuals' subjective views on social phenomena, was used. Results suggested that based on stakeholders' perceptions of DMO's functions and features, DMOs can be classified into the following four types: ‘local tourism leader type,' ‘governance-oriented type,' ‘marketing-oriented type,' and ‘nurture and support type., It was also found that DMOs need time to establish governance and consensus and it is important to differentiate the positioning of DMOs by region. Results further revealed that a DMO is not only a leader who manages local tourism but also an intermediate support organization focusing on governance. The empirical finding of this study can be used to set the practical directions of Korean-style DMOs and to identify, position, and foster the DMO types that fit the characteristics of different regions.

Air pollution under formal institutions: The role of distrust environment

Formal trust is an important formal institution that may significantly impact the environment. This study uses regional distrust environment as a reverse proxy variable for formal trust and studies the impact of formal trust on corporate sulfur dioxide emissions. This study finds that the environment of distrust significantly increases the sulfur dioxide emission levels of enterprises, which means that formal trust affects the environmental management strategies of enterprises. This study also finds that some other formal institutional factors, which include marketization, the development of intermediate organizations, the legal system environment, and GDP levels, have moderating effects on the impact of distrust environment on corporate sulfur dioxide emissions. In addition, climatic conditions including temperature, humidity, and precedence, as well as the location of the enterprise, have certain moderation effects. Mechanism analysis indicates that distrust environment affects corporate sulfur dioxide emissions through the increase in coal sulfur content in enterprise production, the decrease in exhaust gas processing capacity, the reduction in financing capacity, and the decline in social and environmental responsibilities. Finally, this study finds through further analysis that the local government appears to have noticed this negative impact, and the regions with a distrust environment tend to increase their environmental regulation intensity.

The impact of green credit on the green transformation of the manufacturing industry

Abstract Manufacturing's green transformation is essential for advancing high-quality development. Green credit, which functions as a market-driven tool, offers support for achieving this transformation. Using manufacturing data from 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2020, this research establishes a theoretical framework to analyze how green credit and marketization levels influence manufacturing’s green transformation. This research also provides an empirical analysis of how green credit influences this transition. The results are as follows: first, the growth of green credit plays a significant role in driving the green transformation of the manufacturing sector, with this finding remaining valid after a series of robustness and endogeneity tests. Second, the mechanism analysis shows that green credit supports the environmentally friendly transformation of the manufacturing industry through an improvement in R&D intensity. Third, moderation testing reveals that the process of marketization significantly strengthens the positive effect of green credit on the promotion of manufacturing's green transformation Among them are the following, the relationship between the government and the market and the development of the product market inhibit the role of green credit in support of the green transformation of the manufacturing sector. The development of factor markets, the development of non-state-owned economies, and the development of market intermediary organizations and the legal system environment exert a facilitating function, which significantly enhances the positive effect of green credit in the promotion of the green transformation. The conclusions provide fresh insights and empirical evidence for advancing manufacturing's green transformation and hold practical significance for refining green credit policies and advancing market-oriented reforms.

Helping Educators Learn Pediatric Pain Assessment and Intervention Needs Program (HELP PAIN): Program Development with Community Partners.

This paper details the development of the Helping Educators Learn Pediatric Pain Assessment and Intervention Needs (HELP PAIN) program. HELP PAIN is an 8 h live training program for school providers (e.g., school nurses and social workers) to use evidence-based nonpharmacologic pediatric pain management tools. The program's scope reflected the reach of the participating intermediary community organizations, resulting in focused training in rural northwest Michigan due to the Health Department of Northwest Michigan's service in that region and statewide reach due to the broad representation of members from the Michigan Association of School Nurses. We describe the development of the HELP PAIN program, drawing on evidence-based nonpharmacologic (e.g., cognitive behavioral and mindfulness meditation) strategies for pediatric pain management. In partnership with the key community organizations and community partners, we developed, interactively refined, and delivered this training program.

Implementing the Resource Nexus approach: the contribution of internationalising German businesses

The Resource Nexus is an approach to sustainably manage environmental resources by considering the interlinkages, trade-offs and synergies between them. While a lot is known about this Resource Nexus framework and the impact this has on sustainable development and politics, far less is known about the technological, economic, and political situation required for the implementation of this approach. This paper considers the role of international business cooperation between German and Sub-Saharan African firms in facilitating this implementation. It explores the major barriers faced by German businesses looking to work in Sub-Saharan Africa and analyses the work of the German Außenhandelskammern (German Chambers of Commerce Abroad) as a replacement for the networks that are commonly seen as vital to business internationalisation. The findings have far-reaching implications for German and Sub-Saharan African politics, for business practices, and for the work of intermediary organisations looking to facilitate the internationalisation, as well as for those actors looking to implement a Resource Nexus approach across the world.

JUSTIFICATION OF THE FEASIBILITY OF COOPERATION BETWEEN FREIGHT FORWARDING ENTERPRISES AND CUSTOMS-LOGISTICS INFRASTRUCTURE OBJECTS

The purpose of the paper is to plan the activities of freight forwarding enterprises when organizing cooperation with customs-logistics infrastructure objects to meet customer needs. The efficiency indicators of cargo customs complexes, customs warehouses, and temporary storage warehouses were analyzed. The process of selecting customs-logistics infrastructure objects with varying levels of organizational, technical, and technological support was investigated. The proposed development will enable specialists of freight forwarding enterprises to form recommendations for cooperation with customs-logistics infrastructure objects in accordance with individual customer needs. Methodology. The determination of technical and operational performance indicators of customs-logistics infrastructure objects was implemented based on a simulation model developed in the GPSS software environment. This approach allows for the identification of deviations of generalized performance indicators of infrastructure objects from benchmark levels, which are formed taking into account customer requirements. Findings. To ensure a high level of competitiveness of the freight forwarding enterprise, it is necessary to use modern software systems capable of implementing management decisions regarding the formation of partnerships with customs-logistics infrastructure objects. Based on the assessment of technical and operational performance indicators of cargo customs complexes, customs warehouses, and temporary storage warehouses, and considering the main requirements of service customers, it becomes possible to select the most efficient business entity for cooperation. A significant advantage of the proposed development is the ability to perform a comparative analysis of the efficiency indicators of all studied enterprises in relation to the benchmark infrastructure object. Originality. The proposed simulation model for selecting customs-logistics infrastructure objects will allow specialists of freight forwarding enterprises to make a choice of intermediary organizations based on a comparative analysis of the technical and operational performance of the studied objects. Practical value. The practical significance of this work lies in the fact that the proposed model enables the selection of the customs-logistics infrastructure object that most effectively meets the individual needs of the customer. This will make it possible to plan the work of the freight forwarding enterprise based on the implementation of organizational and management measures that will positively impact the internal processes of the organization and contribute to forming its competitive advantages in the market of freight forwarding services. This implementation will reduce the duration of freight forwarding and customs-logistics services and minimize commercial risks at all stages of foreign trade operations by establishing cooperation with the most efficient intermediary organizations.

The Emergence and Transformation of the Lithium-ion Battery Industry in Shenzhen

This paper has charted the dynamic evolution of Shenzhen's lithium-ion battery (LiB) industry through four distinctive stages, thereby elucidating the complex interplay between industrial growth, policy interventions, and technological advancements. The framework illustrated not only the vital role of resource pool at each stage of the LiB industry's evolution but also underscored how shifts in industry trends reciprocally influenced the structure of resource pool. In the first stage, the nascent LiB in Shenzhen was driven by local companies, operating on a traditional manufacturing model based on public knowledge. It benefited from the urban development advantages of Shenzhen, including its strategic location, industrial structure, and supportive government policies, setting the stage for subsequent evolution. The second stage marked the formation of a comprehensive industry chain, encompassing both upstream and downstream sectors, driven by the increasing demand for LiBs and the proliferation of consumer electronics manufacturing in Shenzhen. The expansion was not just in capacity but also in the scope, fostering a more interconnected and resilient industry ecosystem. The third stage witnessed a strategic shift from low value-added consumer electronic batteries to high value-added power batteries, propelled by national policy guidance and increased R&D investments. This shift was crucial in transitioning from conventional consumer electronics batteries to more sophisticated and lucrative energy solutions for automotive and industrial uses. The current stage, the fourth, is characterized by continuous innovation, talent development, and an emphasis on synergistic innovation between universities and enterprises. The establishment of intermediary organizations helped to promote the integration of resources and standardized division of labour within the innovation ecosystem. Throughout these stages, Shenzhen's LiB industry has navigated through varying challenges and opportunities, demonstrating remarkable adaptability and resilience. The LiB industry has continually responded to changes in the resource pool, adjusting interaction mechanisms to catalyse growth and innovation. Meanwhile, transformations in the industry have informed resource pool establishments, creating a dynamic feedback loop.

Managing Social Impact Bonds: Intermediary Work and Designing Institutional Infrastructure

Collaborations addressing grand challenges seek social impact; whether such social innovations will endure beyond initial enthusiasm is a major issue. Over the last decade, Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) emerged to diffuse globally as a new form of cross sector collaboration to finance solutions for social problems. Crucially, SIBs rely on intermediary organizations to coordinate and govern relations across diverse actors with competing and conflicting interests and values. How an intermediary goes about this work has significant effects on whether the collaboration achieves the desired social impact and whether it endures. In this article, we examine the intermediary work that enables such a cross-sector collaboration by analyzing two of the first completed SIBs in Continental Europe. Our findings identify three main types of interweaving intermediary work of aligning, stitching, and knotting, that are supported by three distinct forms of institutional infrastructure (ideational, operational, and relational respectively) providing a significant contribution to the analysis of cross-sector collaboration by connecting intermediary work to institutional infrastructure.

The Economic Governance Capability of the Government and High-Quality Development of China’s Tourism Industry

The economic governance capacity of local government in China is instrumental in fostering tourism development quality and sustainability from the aspects of leading resource allocation, maintaining market fairness, and promoting enterprise innovation, yet this important aspect has received limited attention in present research. China’s tourism development quality is evaluated in five dimensions in this study: innovation, greenness, coordination, openness, and sharing. Employing a fixed-effects model with data from 2000 to 2019 for 30 Chinese provinces, the paper empirically tests the influence of government economic governance capacity on the tourism development quality. Our findings reveal several key insights: (1) The economic governance capacity of the government significantly contributes to enhancing the tourism development quality. (2) It is shown in the regression results of the sub-indexes of the government’s economic governance capacity and tourism development quality that the innovative development and green development of the tourism industry can be accelerated strongly by the government’s economic governance capacity, while tourism development quality can be improved significantly by the development of non-state-owned economy, the development of factor market, the development of market intermediary organizations, and the legal system. (3) It is shown in mechanism analysis that the government’s economic governance capacity can stipulate regional competition, industrial structure upgrading, improve the level of informatization, and eventually improve tourism development quality. This comprehensive analysis sheds light on the intricate relationship between local government economic governance capacity and tourism development quality, offering a novel research perspective and valuable reference points for policymakers and scholars engaged in the analysis and construction of sustainable tourism development strategies.

When Prominence Overrules EminenceSubsidization of the Cultural Sectors in the Netherlands

What processes determine the allocation of state subsidies to a selection of cultural and artistic organizations? In the case of the Dutch cultural basic infrastructure (BIS) two main criteria are issued, namely quality and reputation. In this article, no attempt is made to define measures for artistic quality and reputation. Instead, it is observed by which criteria decision makers, public media, and artistic leaders refer to these concepts. The way in which the selection and granting are performed shows striking similarity with processes described in the literature. First, the theory of social comparison asserts that people in a shared activity compare opinions and abilities in a strife for growth. When technical constraints and limits impede the progress in ability, effort and attention shift to opinions on abilities of the members. In this social dimension, growth is more easily attained. This decoupling results into stagnation and inferior learning processes. Second, in an implicit elaboration of the social comparison theory, a model is proposed in which perceived quality and prominence determine which organization will receive price premiums. Perceived quality is indicated by the quality of the inputs and productivity assets. Prominence origins from media rankings and elicited preferences of intermediary organizations and affiliation with high-status actors. Prominence has more bearing in social processes in the institutional field than on quality indicators. This model provides a base for reputation bias among stakeholders of organizations. The theoretical approaches have been operationalized into an analytical framework. The framework appears to offer a powerful and accurate instrument to describe and explain courses of action and outcomes in Dutch cultural sectors. In discussion, it is questioned if it is wise to base a subsidization policy on social comparison. The strive for prominence in the institutional fields tends to overrule the search for quality and eminence. It is recommended to reconsider social comparison processes by reduction of the arbitrariness in the performance assessment and evaluation. In this respect, promising and high-quality performers are supported in their access to large audiences. It is proposed that the framework can be applied in all situations where resources and performance opportunities are allocated to a selection of executing actors. Choices will be based on a mix of past and future performances. The situations suited for application may vary from philanthropy to hard core and non-profit sectors to private business industries.

Intermediary organizations, international cooperation and the changing social contract: Morocco’s new development model

ABSTRACT In 2021, King Mohammed VI’s appointed commission released a new vision for Moroccan state-society relations: the New Development Model (Nouveau Modèle de Développement, NMD). Presented as a ‘national collective and federative project’, it entailed a social protection system called a ‘social pact’ or ‘social contract’. The King’s vision articulated in the NMD promises changes that many Moroccans have long been calling for. The government has created several intermediary organizations mandated to work on reforms, which reflect citizens’ expectations but keep the pace of change under control. From an international cooperation perspective, these bodies are potential partners for reforms and achieving common development objectives. This article addresses two related questions: what scope of action do Moroccan intermediary organizations have to press for changes to the social contract under the NMD? Do they require international support in fulfilling their roles as change makers? Our analytical framework is based on scholarship exploring political settlements and institutional mandates in neo-patrimonial political systems. We focus on three intermediary organizations relevant to the deliverables of the social contract and discuss the extent to which they push the limits of their mandates to facilitate change. We then turn to the support that international development cooperation could provide.

“Putting Science into Action”: A Case Study of How an Educational Intermediary Organization Synthesizes and Translates Research Evidence for Practice

Background: Knowledge brokering by intermediary organizations includes knowledge distillation processes (e.g., synthesis, translation).Aims and objectives: This article explores how an educational intermediary performs research distillation when creating virtual knowledge reservoirs for educators.Methods: The authors use qualitative data from semi-structured interviews, coded to consensus, and thematically analyzed.Findings: During synthesis, intermediaries apply a “research lens” to evaluate the credibility of the evidence. During translation, they rely on their experience as educators to share evidence in a non-academic voice and generate “turnkey” strategies.Discussion and conclusion: The article considers the knowledge brokering pipeline fallacy and examines the potential of ongoing processes for improving the effectiveness of intermediaries with the aim of diminishing research-practice and research-policy gaps in education.

(De)Constructing the Disruption: Enacted Sensemaking and Sensegiving in Institutionally Plural Fields

Abstract If an event happens in the woods, and nobody responds to it, is it a disruption? In this paper, we address a gap in the organizational sociology literature about how events are constructed as “institutional disruptions” in institutionally plural fields. We integrate the disconnected literatures of sensemaking/sensegiving and institutional pluralism to argue that institutional disruptions in institutionally plural fields are not coterminous with exogenous events, but rather are the result of a process of fieldwide sensemaking and sensegiving mediated by intermediary organizations. We use the American higher education community’s response to the Trump administration’s 2017 ‘travel ban’ as a paradigmatic example that illuminates these dynamics with some clarity. In particular, we illuminate the relationships between conditions of institutional pluralism, extra-field events, the social construction of meaning within fields, the role of intermediary organizations, and the nature of organizational actions in response. Emerging from our theoretical exploration, we offer implications and avenues for future research for organizational sociologists. Collectively, our theorizing opens the door for scholars to re-examine previously taken-for-granted assumptions about disruptions and better theorize the earliest moments of institutional change.

Practical model of technology commercialisation at an Indonesian University: A case study from Institut Teknologi Bandung

The technology commercialisation process at universities in developing countries often requires improvement owing to their tendency to adopt models commonly used in developed countries. Besides being less contextual, the existing technology commercialisation models is also not practical because it does not accommodate the interests of each stakeholder directly involved in the commercialisation process, such as laboratories, industry and intermediaries. This research proposes a more practical model of technology commercialisation for universities in the Indonesian context by emphasising the interests of such stakeholders, based on four commercialisation strategies, and four university intermediary organisations, namely the technology transfer office, an incubator, the science and technopark, and the university company focused on technology commercialisation.

A critique of ‘Strong Beginnings’ initial teacher education reforms: mandating neuroscience as core curriculum within the ‘what works’ movement

AbstractThe paper studies the rise of neuroscience in initial teacher education, paying attention to the relatively recent Australian Government (2023) report titled ‘Strong Beginnings’. In taking up a critical policy sociology lens, we focus on the first priority within the reforms, which is mandating brain science and the ‘brain and learning’ as core curriculum within initial teacher education. The reforms will embed standardised curriculum into initial teacher education and tie this curriculum to graduate teacher standards, bracketed within prescribed texts, ideologies and agendas. The reforms are positioned within the ‘what works’ movement, increasing accreditation and certain types of evidence, and the role and authority of intermediary organisations, including the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). It promotes research that has been paid for by the think tank Centre for Independent Studies and aligned with the Australian Education Research Organisation and Education Endowment Foundation. In this paper, we endeavour to highlight how the singular and narrow focus on brain-based approaches is not only reductionist, but also potentially generative of oppressive technologies. The mandating of standardised curriculum and brain science undermines educators, including initial teacher educators, and bolsters private interests in education. The standardisation of core curriculum, which will be tied to accreditation processes and graduate teacher standards, is underpinned by a punitive-accountability based approach. Furthermore, whilst it is less visible, these reforms contain brain science tropes redolent of eugenics and deficit framings of low socio-economic status students.

Twenty years, twenty studies: what can we learn from San Diego’s innovation ecosystem?

ABSTRACT This study conducts a systematic literature review of San Diego’s innovation ecosystem to analyse its evolution, dynamics, the most influential (key) stakeholders, and success factors. 1,405 documents from Scopus and 809 documents from Web of Science (WoS) were retrieved and analysed to obtain a final sample of twenty articles. The ecosystem’s key organisational stakeholders were identified as UC San Diego, research institutes, venture capitalists, pioneer and leading companies and intermediary organisations. Regarding success factors, key political factors include research funding, other public funding and policies that foster, for example, the actors’ geographical proximity. Key economic factors include start-up support systems, company acquisitions and initial public offerings (IPOs). Several vital social factors, such as collaboration, social networks and risk-taking culture, were also identified. Finally, the key technological success factors include technology transfer, specific focus areas and critical mass in research and development. This systematic review, complemented by expert interviews, provides a comprehensive view and validation of the stakeholders and factors that have contributed to the emergence, evolution and dynamics of the innovation ecosystem. The study also exemplifies an originally nonleading city’s path to success, which can provide valuable innovation policy and planning insights for other nonleading regions.

Civil Diplomacy and Civil Society Breaking the Traditional Diplomatic Model: A Case Study of Civil Organizations and Civil Diplomacy in Chinese Society

Civil society organizations and Civil Diplomacy are some of the important research contents of diplomacy, as well as the emerging diplomatic groups and organizations in the post-epidemic era. Broadly speaking, civil society organizations refer to social intermediary organizations other than government parties, enterprises, and institutions. The development of China’s civil diplomacy is a multi-dimensional and multi-level process, that plays an important role in China’s diplomatic system, and its development not only reflects the changes in China’s relations with the world but also the transformation of China’s foreign policy and the construction of great power diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. In the past, national and international organizations that participated in diplomatic activities in the image of the state did not have the figures of civil organizations. After the epidemic, more and more civil organizations express their political positions and values through the power of public opinion and the media to indirectly change the pattern of the international community, and use their power to enhance the soft power of official diplomacy, which has become an indispensable voice and force in today’s international community. Here, this paper will take Chinese civil diplomacy and civil society as examples to analyze the reasons, impacts, and prospects of the development of civil diplomacy in international governance.

Philanthropy, the 2030 Agenda and UN Diplomacy

Abstract An increasing number of philanthropic organizations (inter alias, POs) are contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs and are involved with the multi-stakeholder process at the UN and other international Organisations. POs’ interest in participating in the SDG process has over the years increased due to the multiple crises that the world has to face caused by pandemics, war, food insecurity, poverty, and climate change. The interventions of POs are in general greatly appreciated but also questioned by some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) who have some reservations about the intentions of POs. Within the family of UN agencies, several International Organizations (IOs) welcome POs and provide mechanisms of engagement (UN, UNDESA, UNDP, WHO). Some POs are taking part in the implementation of the SDGs and the related UN processes and are creating intermediary actors or organizations and platforms for greater scale and impact. Some POs are interested in creating a joint representation at the UN in the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF). This new development is the subject matter of this short commentary.

Об уголовной ответственности за неисполнение обязанностей при выдаче квалифицированного сертификата ключа (электронной цифровой подписи)

The article is devoted to the urgent problem of ensuring the proper circulation of qualified key certificates (electronic digital signature) by criminal legal means. The criminological aspects of crime in the field of electronic document management are investigated. The reasons for the criminalization of this sphere and the formation of illegal infrastructure in it are noted. Violations in the registration of certificates of electronic digital signature keys determine economic and ordinary crimes. The necessity of improving the legal responsibility of participants in legal relations in the field of electronic document management is substantiated. Bottlenecks have been identified in the legislation regarding non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment by an employee of the certification center of his professional duties. The authors supported the draft laws of previous years on the introduction of criminal liability for offenses in the field of electronic document management. The necessity of finalizing modern legislative initiatives in this area is substantiated. A review of judicial practice confirmed the expediency of supplementing the Criminal Code with Article 327.3 "Unlawful actions in relation to an enhanced electronic digital signature". Responsibility for illegal actions of an employee of an accredited certification center for issuing an electronic digital signature is proposed. The range of subjects of the crime has been clarified. These include employees of certification centers, citizens who purchase electronic digital signatures and are their owners, as well as representatives of intermediary organizations.

Using policy codesign to achieve multi-sector alignment in adolescent behavioral health: a study protocol

BackgroundPolicymaking is quickly gaining focus in the field of implementation science as a potential opportunity for aligning cross-sector systems and introducing incentives to promote population health, including substance use disorders (SUD) and their prevention in adolescents. Policymakers are seen as holding the necessary levers for realigning service infrastructure to more rapidly and effectively address adolescent behavioral health across the continuum of need (prevention through crisis care, mental health, and SUD) and in multiple locations (schools, primary care, community settings). The difficulty of aligning policy intent, policy design, and successful policy implementation is a well-known challenge in the broader public policy and public administration literature that also affects local behavioral health policymaking. This study will examine a blended approach of coproduction and codesign (i.e., Policy Codesign), iteratively developed over multiple years to address problems in policy formation that often lead to poor implementation outcomes. The current study evaluates this scalable approach using reproducible measures to grow the knowledge base in this field of study.MethodsThis is a single-arm, longitudinal, staggered implementation study to examine the acceptability and short-term impacts of Policy Codesign in resolving critical challenges in behavioral health policy formation. The aims are to (1) examine the acceptability, feasibility, and reach of Policy Codesign within two geographically distinct counties in Washington state, USA; (2) examine the impact of Policy Codesign on multisector policy development within these counties using social network analysis; and (3) assess the perceived replicability of Policy Codesign among leaders and other staff of policy-oriented state behavioral health intermediary organizations across the USA.DiscussionThis study will assess the feasibility of a specific approach to collaborative policy development, Policy Codesign, in two diverse regions. Results will inform a subsequent multi-state study measuring the impact and effectiveness of this approach for achieving multi-sector and evidence informed policy development in adolescent SUD prevention and treatment.