Changing Role Of Institutions Research Articles

Introduction: Assimilation, integration or transnationalism? An overview of theories of migrant incorporation

Introduction: Assimilation, integration or transnationalism? An overview of theories of migrant incorporation

Explaining Declining Educational Homogamy: The Role of Institutional Changes in Higher Education in Japan.

Research on educational assortative mating has devoted much attention to educational expansion but has been less focused on a concurrent trend of importance: growing differentiation among higher education institutions. In this study, I examine whether the bifurcation between high- and low-tier institutions in the context of high participation in tertiary education may clarify the mixed evidence on educational homogamy trends across countries. I apply log-linear and log-multiplicative models to analyze trends in educational assortative mating in Japan, which is characterized by a clear, widely acknowledged hierarchy of institutional selectivity. I find that the odds of homogamy are higher among graduates of selective universities than among graduates of nonselective universities. Further, assortative mating trends among graduates of selective and nonselective universities have diverged in recent years. This latter finding perhaps reflects that with the more rapid increase in the share of female students enrolled in less selective institutions, their opportunities to "marry up" have decreased. Results point to the importance of the growing heterogeneity of institutional characteristics, which was obscured in earlier studies, for understanding the impact of educational assortative mating on economic inequality.

Institutional Capabilities and Time to First Internationalization: A Study of Indian Firms

Institutions have been shown to be an important determinant for a firm’s internationalisation strategy, yet the literature dealing with the role of institutional change is scarce. Both, host and home country institutional environment, as well as their evolvement, shape a firm’s internationalisation strategy, including their speed of first internationalization. To fully comprehend in how far such institutional change affect domestic firms’ speed of internationalization, the focus of this paper lies on home country capability development that enables a quick internationalization after inception. We argue that firms develop institutional capabilities from home country institutional change and incorporate aspects of experiential and organizational learning to understand capability development. We link this home country capability development to the firm’s ability to pursue a faster first internationalization.

Retheorizing industrial–institutional coevolution: a multidimensional perspective

ABSTRACT Evolutionary economic geography has sought to understand the development of regional industrial pathways but tended to neglect both the multiscalarity of economic development and the role of institutional change. The concept of coevolution seeks to bridge this gap but is still too vague for empirical application. Understanding the interactions between path development and institutional change in regional economies and on higher spatial scales requires retheorizing coevolution along the dimensions of institutional–industrial coevolution, path multiplicity and multiscalarity. The article proposes such a retheorized concept of coevolution by integrating concepts of path development, institutions, institutional change, institutional entrepreneurship, institutional work and nestedness.

The reaction of foreign firms to institutional changes: The case of German direct investment in Turkey

Dynamic institutional changes, and their impact at the actor level, are largely neglected in research on the role of institutional change in foreign direct investment (FDI). To fill this research gap, we analyze to what extent formal and informal institutional factors influence the investment decisions and strategies of managers. Internationally, since the protests in 2013 against the increasingly authoritarian Turkish government, there has been a growing perception of increasing uncertainty for FDI. This uncertainty poses investment risks for foreign firms based on a series of political developments and regional conflicts such as civil protests, an attempted military coup, and the war in Iraq and Syria. From an institutional perspective, we analyze how the perception of risk, based on formal institutional dynamics, influences the strategies of German firms operating in Turkey. We aim to find out how managers of these firms perceive and cope with these institutional risks. The paper is based on a quantitative telephone survey (n = 147), and 30 qualitative interviews with managers and experts in Turkey. We find that embedded German firms with long-term investment relationships in Turkey, rely on both formal and informal institutions to respond to risks arising from shocks at a formal institutional level.

The Consequences of the Tajikistani Civil War for Abortion and Miscarriage.

Although a great deal of attention is paid to reproductive health during violent conflicts, the literature is sparse on the consequences of conflict for abortion and miscarriage. This research provides an analysis of a recent historical case: the 1992-1997 civil war in Tajikistan, using the female questionnaire of the 2007 Tajik Living Standards Survey to examine a subsample of 1,445 women surveyed who had reached menarche during or after the war and had been pregnant at least once by the time of the survey. The analysis leverages the uneven geographical scope of conflict events during the civil war to pinpoint women's exposure to violence, measured by the Uppsala Conflict Data Program. The results show that for women who had reached menarche during or after the civil war, exposure to conflict events increases the likelihood of ever experiencing miscarriage, but not abortion. Including a spatial lag operator reveals that there were also spillover effects for abortion, in which women who were in a broader region of uncertainty were more likely to induce an abortion. These findings highlight the role of institutional changes in affecting pregnancy loss during and after civil war.

Exploring incumbents’ agency: Institutional work by grid operators in decentralized energy innovations

The agency of incumbents has gained increasing attention in the study of transitions. Recent studies show that besides being inert and resistant to change, incumbents can also support transitions. We focus on the agency of a particular type of incumbent, grid operators. In several countries, these actors play an active role in institutional change in the energy domain. At the same time, they are engaging in activities to maintain the regime. This paper examines the actions of grid operators when performing institutional work, i.e. when creating, maintaining and disrupting institutions. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of Dutch media to analyze the actions of grid operators while engaging with decentralized energy innovations. We conclude that grid operators are both subject and object of institutional work as part of a distributed, collective process of institutional change. Furthermore, our analysis reflects on their paradoxical position as embedded actors engaging in institutional change.

Роль институциональных изменений в сфере высшего образования в социально-экономическом развитии региона (на примере Ростовской области)

Роль институциональных изменений в сфере высшего образования в социально-экономическом развитии региона (на примере Ростовской области)

Can multinational companies foster institutional change and sustainable development in emerging countries? A case study

AbstractEmerging countries present institutional necessities that hinder their sustainable development. In the face of this challenge, companies, and in particular multinational companies (MNCs), can foster sustainable development through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. This study focuses on the role of institutional change in transforming CSR into sustainable development in emerging countries. To this end, we propose a view of CSR focused on its institutional determinants and outcomes from a social and developmental perspective. By using quantitative and qualitative data, we analyse the case of three MNCs from different industries based in Europe and operating in Mexico. The case study shows how firms can stimulate institutional change in developing economies and contribute to their sustainable development as measured by the sustainable development goals. Various mechanisms about how this process is made are devised: institutional entrepreneurship, multistakeholder initiatives, interconnection of different institutional dimensions, and subsidiary entrepreneurship. The case study highlights the interaction among MNCs, developing countries, and institutions and how firms' sustainable actions scale up to the macro level.

To Open or not to Open Women’s Internal Networks to Men?

This article reports a longitudinal case study based on grounded theory within an IT consulting firm that succeeded in institutionalizing its gender equality (GE) policy and in breaking the glass ceiling in spite of an unfavorable institutional environment. Participant observation, archival data, and 52 semi-structured interviews revealed that the creation of a women’s internal network (WIN) and above all its opening to men played a great role in institutional change. It strengthened the legitimacy, credibility, and attractiveness of the GE policy, which then permitted the implementation of GE practices altering organizational routines. From this case, a conceptual model is offered to extend the institutional theory of inequality remediation. This model thus contributes to close the research-practice gap by providing insight into how not only WINs but also other practices can be successfully implemented to create a virtuous circle in favor of GE. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Academic entrepreneurship and institutional change in historical perspective

This article provides a historical perspective on academic entrepreneurship and its role in institutional change, and serves as an introduction to a special issue devoted to the subject. Unlike approaches that define academic entrepreneurship narrowly as the commercialization of academic research, we argue that historical research and reasoning justify a broader conceptualization focused on the pursuit of future forms of value in academic knowledge production, application, and transmission. Understood in this way, academic entrepreneurship has long been a significant driver of institutional change, not only within the academic world but also in shaping the organization of markets and states. The article develops this argument in three major sections. First, it draws out themes implicit within the historiography of science and technology that highlight the role of entrepreneurship in reshaping academia and its relationship to society. Second, it establishes conceptual foundations for more explicitly examining the processes by which academic entrepreneurship acted as a driver of institutional change. Finally, it synthesizes the findings of the articles in the special issue pertaining to these entrepreneurial processes. The article concludes by arguing for the role of history in rethinking academic entrepreneurship in our own time, and by outlining directions for further research.

Impact of Agricultural Transition on Soil Protection in Ukraine: The Role of Institutional Change

At the time of post-socialist agricultural transition in Ukraine the focus was on privatisation of land resources, decentralisation and restructuring of the sector. While its impact on agricultural productivity has been thoroughly analysed, there have been few studies addressing the environmental effects of the process. Using the method of document analysis, this paper examines in detail the change in institutions regulating soil protection in agriculture and discusses its implications for the behaviour of agricultural producers and specific soil protection measures applied. The results of analysis suggest that having destroyed the elaborate Soviet soil protection system, Ukraine did not manage to develop a new set of legal rules, nor their enforcement mechanisms, to enable soil protection in the new political and economic setting. This paper discusses the reasons for this institutional failure and provides insights that can be applied to assess the impact of agricultural transition on soils in other countries in Europe and beyond.

Types and Mechanisms of Science‐Driven Institutional Change: The case of desertification control in northern China

AbstractScience plays an important role in institutional change, but the types and mechanisms of science‐driven institutional change have received little attention in the mainstream discourse concerning institutions, institutional change and social governance. Comparing 25 cases using data from surveys, interviews, observations and a meta‐analysis of archives regarding desertification control in northern China, this study found that, although science influenced the results of desertification control through influencing institutional change, its influence was also constrained by the types and working principles of science‐driven institutional change. When analyzing the application of different methods of desertification control, the type of biological control that dominates the interaction (biological‐control‐dominant interaction) may be that of science‐driven intuitional change variables with the highest desertification control performance, whereas for the participants in desertification control the type of high participation and multiple interactions may be the variable with the greatest influence. This study also proposes nine principles for effective science‐driven institutional change that address collaborative, effective and sustainable applications and extensions of advanced scientific methods, effective collaboration among various social actors and organizations, and localized, collaborative and nested laws, regulations and rules regarding desertification control. Stronger rules result in more effective science‐driven institutional changes. These findings provide an outline for reforming the models of science‐driven institutional change and implementing future science and technology policies for desertification control and other types of ecological and environmental governance. This study also provides a theoretical and empirical foundation for further research concerning science‐driven institutional change. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

An investigation into the type of farmer who chose to participate in Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) and the role of institutional change in influencing scheme effectiveness

This paper examines the voluntary aspect of the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) in Ireland by modelling the type of farmer who chose to participate in the agri-environment programme from 1995 to 2010. The impact of changing scheme payment rates and organic nitrogen restrictions on scheme uptake are also examined. In order to examine some of the heterogeneity of variable influence on participation across the different phases of REPS, separate models for each of the four phases were ran (one for a reference year in each phase). Results from the random effects model show that the type of farmer who was most likely to participate in REPS over time had an extensive farm system, low income and spent more hours working on-farm than their non-REPS counterparts. Single year logit model results were compared to the random effects panel logit model for the entire sample period. The results suggest that the individual year models do a better job in demonstrating how farmers responded to contractual changes in the scheme over time (in terms of their participation decision) compared to the panel model.

The Unsuspected Dynamics of the Regulative Pillar: The Case of Faute Inexcusable in France

Institutional work translates actors’ capacity to bring about change in an institutionalised practice through its creation, continuation or destruction. This research examines political institutional work in order to understand actors’ activity in the regulative pillar of the institution. With its focus on the cognitive and normative institutional pillars, the existing literature has underestimated the regulative pillar’s contribution to institutional change, ignoring part of its role in institutional change. We propose to examine the status conferred on this regulative dimension through a qualitative study of an institutionalised practice, the legal concept of Faute Inexcusable in France from 1898 to 2012. We use secondary data including legal data, contextualised with other sources, and interviews with two key actors in the field. We show the existence of a genuine “regulative dynamic”; beneath its apparent stability, the regulative pillar is in fact the setting for institutional struggles that lead institutionalised practices to evolve. We highlight sequences of institutional work in which various forms of political institutional work interact. This research advances understanding of institutional dynamics in the regulative pillar, casting light on actors and mechanisms that have so far gone unreported. The article thus contributes to a rehabilitation of the regulative pillar’s role in neo-institutional theory.

Forward Looking

Purpose – Structural economic shifts are a key sign of development in all stages globally; and these shifts may also result in the changing roles of institutions. The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively analyse trends that may be used for so-called forward looking and makes use of them to recommend strategies for reorganising institutions. Design/methodology/approach – The requirements and opportunities of environmental administrations in high-income countries are used as case studies to illustrate the overall context of institutional restructuring. Luxembourg, as a present-day centre of political and strategic power within the European Union and Austria, as a neutral country formerly situated between military blocks are shown to exhibit structural and strategic similarities. Findings – Two types of quantitative assessments may support any type of institutional restructuring: first, analyses of mega-trends within the global techno-socio-economic evolution and second, options for specific action at the local site of previously industrial settlements that may be converted into centres of innovative service orientation. Practical implications – On the occasion of the recent resettlement of the Luxembourg Environmental Administration at a new site in Esch-sur-Alzette – in an area of bolder modern urbanisation built on the foundations of the former local industrial use considered – this text deliberates options to propose strategically pioneering innovations on administrative levels. Originality/value – The paper combines global analyses and local experiences in an action-oriented manner.

Coming In from the Margins: Faculty Development’s Emerging Organizational Development Role in Institutional Change by Connie M. Schroeder and Associates (review)

Coming In from the Margins: Faculty Development’s Emerging Organizational Development Role in Institutional Change by Connie M. Schroeder and Associates (review)

China: Authoritarian Capitalism

This chapter of The Oxford Handbook of Asian Business Systems provides an overview of the institutional structure of the business system of China. It explores the role of the state, the financial system, ownership and corporate governance, the internal structure of the firm (management), employment relations, education and skills formation, inter-company relations (networks), and social capital. Our analysis suggests a form of authoritarian capitalism, with the Communist Party retaining pervasive influence throughout the system. Within the basic architecture now in place, much institution-building remains to be done, with bottom-up, decentralized processes playing an important role in institutional change. Salient systemic characteristics include informality - deviance of actual practice from formal structures - and multiplexity - the presence of multiple business systems within China. This chapter contributes directly to the business systems and varieties of capitalism literature and identifies institutional contingencies for comparative and international social science research in general.

Explaining political decentralization in parliamentary democracies

This article explores the determinants of political decentralization in 29 OECD parliamentary democracies. I examine how the decision to enact political decentralization is mediated by the partisan composition of parliamentary governments. Specifically, I hypothesize that four features impact the ability and motive to institute political decentralization: government ideology, policy decentralization platforms, power and stability, and the presence of ethnoregionalist parties in the national legislature and as government members. Empirical results reveal that ideology and policy platforms play little role in the decision to enact political reform. However, there is strong evidence that powerful and stable governments and the rise of ethnoregionalist parties in national politics substantially increase the probability of political decentralization. Government composition plays a significant role in institutional change and should be considered in future models on the determinants of decentralization.

Ageing and the politics of pension reforms in Central Europe, South‐Eastern Europe and the Baltic States

Cerami A. Ageing and the politics of pension reforms in Central Europe, South-Eastern Europe and the Baltic States Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 331–343 © 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. This article investigates ageing and the politics of pension reforms in Central Europe, South-Eastern Europe and the Baltic States. It emphasises the importance of historical legacies, presence of veto points, trade unions' power, electoral rules and country-specific patterns of political competition, but it also highlights the central role in institutional change played by other concomitant factors, such as those associated with the communicative actions of national and international actors. The role played by power politics, class conflicts and strategic use of social policies is also emphasised. The main argument put forward in this article is that pressures for reforms in the pension systems have not only been the response of demographic, economic and financial pressures but have also been the result of a new consensus found on new economic ideas and discourses that saw in the privatisation of the economy a new modernisation paradigm.