Isomorphism Theory Research Articles

Institutional Diversity or Isomorphism? Research on the Evolution of Collective-Owned Construction Land Marketization Reform since the 1990s—The Case of Shunde and Wujiang, China

Collective-owned construction land (CCL) marketization is an important driving force for the rapid development of China’s rural economy and society. Recognizing the trends and logic of its institutional changes is important for better understanding the central-local interrelation and the new-round CCL reform. Throughout the process of rural land reform since China’s reform and opening up, together with the unified policy guidance from the central government, the diversity of local practices and the trend of convergence in the development process deserve attention. Based on the institutional isomorphism theory, this paper analyzes the evolution of the CCL system in Shunde, Guangdong Province, and Wujiang, Jiangsu Province, since the 1990s, empirically demonstrating the trend of convergence based on diversity and exploring the underlying influencing mechanisms. The study finds that the evolutionary practice is characterized by the trend of ephemeral convergence represented by the shared cooperative and the land reservation reform and that of coeval convergence represented by the construction land nationalization. Top-down coercive pressure, horizontal imitative learning pressure, and governance-embedded normative pressure jointly shape the evolutionary convergence. This paper argues that the diversity of local experiments should be allowed and encouraged based on local characteristics. Policy flexibility should be further considered by the central government when formulating uniform policies for local adaptability.

Exploring the Knowledge Structure and Hotspot Evolution of Greenwashing: A Visual Analysis Based on Bibliometrics

As environmental protection changes from a purely social benefit to a social benefit mixed with an economic gain, the marketing strategy practice of corporate greenwashing is starting to become a popular research topic. However, the total number of existing review articles on greenwashing research is relatively small, and there are deficiencies in quantitative research and generalizability, scientificity and systematization. This paper attempts to bridge these gaps by combining systems theory with bibliometrics and using visualization techniques to analyze the evolution of knowledge structures and hotspots in greenwashing. Based on this, this paper takes the literature on greenwashing in the Web of Science core set database from 2004–2022 as a research sample and uses CiteSpace 5.8.R3 to conduct a descriptive statistical analysis and carve a visual map to reveal the evolution pattern of research in the field of greenwashing in a comprehensive and systematic way. The findings show that greenwashing research is prevalent in developed countries and continues to attract more scholars globally, focusing on the interpretation of greenwashing definitions and concepts, influencing factors, consequences and governance models. Finally, this paper introduces the system governance theory and improves organizational isomorphism theory to further generalize the existing research framework on greenwashing and provides an outlook on the future direction of greenwashing research from three perspectives: greening screening research, impact research and governance research.

Performance of health plan operators: before and during the pandemic

Objective: To analyze the economic-financial and operational performance of Health Plan Operators (HPO), before (3Q2018-4Q2019) and during the pandemic (1Q2020-2Q2021) under the theory of institutional isomorphism.
 Method: This is descriptive documentary research that uses statistical techniques to compare medians (Wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis) and correlation (Spearman) between performance and socioeconomic indicators, considering the five Health Plan Operators (HPO) with the largest number of beneficiaries.
 Results: A statistically significant reduction was observed, after the beginning of the pandemic, for the indicators of profitability, expenses, cost variation, and financial result. On the other hand, there was a growth in current liquidity and an increase in the mean receipt timeframe of payments (CRPM) and event payment (APTE). The performance comparison shows that in the pandemic, profitability and APTE were no longer significantly different. As for the association between the variables, the unemployment rate shows the highest number of relationships with the performance levels.
 Theoretical/methodological contributions: Highlights the performance of the five largest OPS, considering the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic period, considering that these companies can be directly affected by the potential increase in demand for health care by their beneficiaries. By the theoretical prism of institutional isomorphism, these companies are references for the sector.

Supporting Sponsored International Students during COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from a Study of Kazakhstani “Bolashak” Scholarship Recipients

The aim of this study was to understand how international students sponsored by the “Bolashak” program administered in Kazakhstan perceived the support provided by the host institutions and the funding agency during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional survey to gain a foundational understanding and basic description of the central phenomenon. Our findings demonstrate that “Bolashak” scholarship recipients seem generally satisfied with the overall level of support provided, however, they seem to feel better supported by the host institutions than the scholarship administering agency. We employed a combination of three theories—Principal–Agent Theory, Institutional Isomorphism Theory, and the Theory of Institutional Dynamics in Interorganizational Collaboration, which help to explain our findings. Study findings suggest several areas of improvement for institutional emergency response and sponsored students.

Criticism of the Philosophy of Dual Isomorphism of Explicit and Implicit and Its Evolution Law: An Interpretation of Yang Jiyong's Thesis and Works from Literary and Artistic Viewpoints

To evaluate whether the book "Literary Aesthetics from the Perspective of Explicit and Implicit Philosophy" and its related papers have academic rationality and theoretical value, this article relates to theoretical foundations of Liu Xie's "Wen Xin Diao Long", Taoist thought in the pre-Qin period, classics in the Han Dynasty and Wei and Jin Dynasties, and The Six Dynasties Metaphysics and so on. Adopting specific methods such as induction and deduction, analogy analysis and synthesis, and the combination of theory and history, it is discovered that the theory of explicit and implicit binary isomorphism (as well as its evolution and hidden theoretical composition), the view that it emphasizes the way things are spoken and the pursuit of clarity must also be based on the hidden as the source, the aesthetic diagram of the relationship between life vitality and the hidden, the research methods that emphasizes the metamorphosis of metaphoric light and dark, embodying the real possibility of poetry, and confirming the invisible origin of all things are related to modern natural science do have certain theoretical and practical enlightenment value. For example, it shows that it has theoretical significance for exploring, arguing, summarizing, and inheriting the clues of Chinese traditional culture and the essential characteristics of history, and it has the highlight and enlightenment of the essence of historical philosophy; so, it can be seen that the academic circles highly value this monograph, indicating that attention to and in-depth criticism are both very necessary.

Cross-Border Shadow Education: Private Supplementary Tutoring in the Global Education Industry

This paper focuses on the so-called shadow education provision of private supplementary tutoring by companies operating internationally. Some have a history of decades, while others are younger and emerged to take advantage of technological developments. Contributing to analysis of the Global Education Industry, the paper notes variations in the penetration and manifestation across world regions. In so doing, it draws on theories of isomorphism, while noting divergence as well as convergence in institutional models. The analysis includes remarks on regulatory regimes, many of which permit and even facilitate such international companies, but some of which – most obviously in China – restrict their operation. Thus, conceptually the paper analyses patterns with understanding of the forces in operation. Some of these forces are economic (pricing, marketing, etc.), but others are political (shaped particularly by government regulations), and social (shaped by different socio-economic groups within the countries in question).

Which Leaders Are You Following? Postsecondary Institution Vaccine Policy Influences and Implications in Fall 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced colleges and universities in the United States to make decisions about how to best protect students and employees from the virus. In this article, we investigate the factors that lead to human resources decisions to mandate vaccines among students and employees. We draw heavily on the crisis management literature and the neo-institutional theory of isomorphism to investigate the ways in which coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures relate to institutional behaviors. Our findings suggest that coercive pressures may influence an institution’s decision to require vaccines for students and employees. State bans against vaccine mandates are negatively correlated with the implementation of a vaccine mandate for students. Mimetic isomorphism may also be a strong influence on an institution’s decision to require vaccines for students and employees. Regression models indicate that an institution is more likely to require vaccines for students and staff if their peer institutions also require vaccines.

Becoming an Occupation? A Research Agenda Into the Professionalization of the Sport for Development and Peace Sector

Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) has transformed from what some termed a “social movement” to an institutionalized sector with numerous organizations and practitioners involved, resulting in trends that point toward SDP becoming a recognized category of work through professional training. The purpose of this paper is to utilize theories of professions and institutional isomorphism to advance the significance and importance of thinking about SDP as a profession. Three emerging trends that point to the professionalization of SDP are reviewed: (a) increasing opportunities to attain SDP certifications and training, (b) the growing number of SDP-specific academic degrees, and (c) the creation of a SDP knowledge base, particularly in relation to monitoring and evaluation. To conclude, theoretical and practical implications of the professionalization of SDP are discussed and a research agenda is outlined for future research on the continued institutionalization, and professionalization, of the SDP sector.

(1+)-complemented, (1+)-isomorphic copies of L_{1} in dual Banach spaces

The present paper contributes to the ongoing programme of quantification of isomorphic Banach space theory focusing on the Hagler–Stegall characterisation of dual spaces containing complemented copies of L_{1}. As a corollary, we obtain the following quantitative version of the Hagler–Stegall theorem asserting that for a Banach space X, the following statements are equivalent:X contains almost isometric contains almost isometric copies of (bigoplus _{n=1}^{infty } ell _{infty }^{n})_{ell _1};for all varepsilon >0, X^{*} contains a (1+varepsilon )-complemented, (1+varepsilon )-isomorphic copy of L_{1};for all varepsilon >0, X^{*} contains a (1+varepsilon )-complemented, (1+varepsilon )-isomorphic copy of C[0,1]^{*}. Moreover, if X is separable, one may add the following assertion:for all varepsilon >0, there exists a (1+varepsilon )-quotient map T:Xrightarrow C(Delta ) so that T^{*}[C(Delta )^{*}] is (1+varepsilon )-complemented in X^{*}, where Delta is the Cantor set

Kinerja Sektor Publik Pada Masa Pandemi Covid-19 Berdasarkan Teori Isomorfisma Institusional

This study aims to analyze the performance of the Mataram City Personnel and Human Resources Development Agency (BKPSDM) during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the theory of institutional isomorphism. This research is included in the type of qualitative research. The method of data collection is done by using documentation techniques that are equipped with interviews. Data analysis was carried out in two stages, firstly analyzing performance based on the balanced scorecard, secondly elaborating with institutional isomorphism theory. The results of this study indicate that the performance of the Mataram City BKPSDM based on the balanced scorecard measurement is good as the reality that the Mataram City BKPSDM has provided adequate services so that customers feel satisfied. Even the Mataram City BKPSDM routinely provides education and training every year as an effort to improve the professionalism of human resources. Although the reality is different, it is shown by the inadequate facilities and infrastructure of the Mataram City BKPSDM and the percentage of budget realization achieving the criteria of being less efficient. On the other hand, the performance of the Mataram City BKPSDM is not good from the point of view of the institutional isomorphism theory. This is indicated by the dependence of the Mataram City BKPSDM on local and central governments, both in the form of resources, finances, and the reward system, so that there is no other choice but to comply with the rules and demands in order to continue to get the distribution of funds through the budget allocation process from the central government and the government. in order to receive the award

Isomorph invariant dynamic mechanical analysis: A molecular dynamics study

We simulate dynamic mechanical analysis experiments for the Kob-Andersen binary Lennard-Jones system. For this, the SLLOD algorithm with time-dependent strain rates is applied to give a sinusoidally varying strain at different densities and temperatures. The starting point is a temperature scan at a fixed reference density. Isomorph theory predicts that for other densities, corresponding temperatures can be identified at which the mechanical properties are unchanged when scaled appropriately. We determine the isomorphically equivalent temperatures by analyzing how particle forces change upon scaling configurations to the new density. Loss moduli expressed in suitable reduced units are compared for isomorphic state points. When plotted against the unscaled temperatures, these reduced loss curves are observed to collapse indicating the validity of isomorph theory for dynamic mechanical analysis experiments. Two different methods to determine isomorphic temperatures are considered. While one of them breaks down for the largest density rescalings considered in this paper, the other one is still applicable in this region. The decorrelation of force vectors upon rescaling is investigated as a possible origin of this effect. Our results demonstrate that the simplification of the phase diagram entailed by isomorph theory for a wide class of systems is relevant also for the mechanical properties of glasses.

Predicting Islamic Finance Adoption Behavior by MSMEs: Institutional Theory Approach

Research aims: This study aims to develop and validate a prediction model for the Islamic finance adoption by MSMEs based on isomorphism theory. In addition, this study also intends to show that the individual cognitive theory approach employed by previous studies in this area is not appropriate.Design/Methodology/Approach: The research strived to develop a predictive model; therefore, variance-based SEM analysis was chosen. The research data were 242 MSMEs selected from four regencies/cities in Central Java Province, i.e., Semarang City, Pekalongan City, Jepara Regency, and Cilacap Regency. The analysis was carried out to ensure that the measurement and structural models were excellent and acceptable.Research findings: This study successfully constructed and validated a model to predict the behavior of adopting Islamic finance by MSMEs employing the isomorphism theory framework. The resulting model has considered a more comprehensive domain, i.e., external organization (isomorphism pressure), internal organization (good corporate governance, GCG), and individual characteristics of the leaders (halal self-awareness, HSA).Theoretical contribution/Originality: This study closed the research gap in investigating the determinants of Islamic finance adoption from the demand side using an organizational perspective, thereby contributing to building a body of knowledge in the domain of MSME behavior and Islamic finance. Theoretically, the resulting model can be an alternative or substitute for the previous approach. As an organization, MSME behavior should not be investigated using individual cognitive theory as done by all previous studies. This study also introduced a new construct called halal self-awareness (HSA). This construct can be exploited and further developed to investigate individual characteristics of halal products or concepts.Practitioner/Policy implication: Stakeholders must have a strong commitment and earnest efforts to increase coercive and mimetic pressures, increase the HSA of MSME owner-managers, and realize good MSME governance. All this will encourage MSMEs to adopt Islamic finance to contribute positively to improving the national Islamic economic and financial landscape.Research limitation/Implication: The HSA construct could not reveal its direct effect on the adoption behavior of MSMEs. Therefore, future studies need to pay more attention to the measures for the HSA construct, namely: HSA neutral (“I know exactly how well my awareness about…”) or HSA positive (“I know exactly that I have a good awareness of .... ”). That way, the impact of the HSA becomes more accurate.

Listed peers' giving and corporate philanthropy: The motivations to imitate

AbstractThe impact of industrial peers' donations on firms' charitable practices has been tested and verified in existing literatures. This paper further studies the motivations and scenarios of non‐listed companies to imitate their listed counterparts in the same industry to formulate charitable policies. Deeply rooted in institutional isomorphism theory, uncertainty and professional networks are employed as philanthropic motives for unlisted companies to mimic their listed peers. Managerial decision mechanisms and network status perceptions enhance imitation by reinforcing decision uncertainty and network effect. Institutional environment heterogeneity can amplify or reduce the imitative stimulus of managers' decision mechanisms and status perceptions. Our empirical tests are based on a unique dataset of 14,873 unlisted firms and their corresponding listed counterparts in China from 2006–2016, and use Tobit regression methods. The results show a significantly positive association between listed peers' giving and non‐listed firms' donation. The peer effects are intensified when non‐listed firms' decentralized decision‐making and higher managers' status identification are present. Furthermore, when the institutional environment changes from weak to strong, the impetus of decentralized decision‐making and status identification will be weakened. These findings contribute to the corporate philanthropy literature and facilitate the development of effective corporate charity policies and government promotion of philanthropic responsibility.

Determinants of the Quality of Local Government Financial Statements in Indonesia: Coercive Pressure Dominates

Many financial statements of the Indonesian local government are still of concern due to the lack of disclosure, and not complying with standards and government regulations. This fact was pointed out in the poor audit results on the local government financial statements released by the Indonesian Supreme Audit Board (SAB). Using the perspective of institutional isomorphism theory, this study aimed to examine various potential factors that affect the quality of Indonesian local government financial statements, including the number of local parliamentarians, the number of civil servants, comparative studies, educational background of regional heads, and the level of urbanization. This study used a sample of 220 local governments in Indonesia taken in 2018. The logistic regression analysis showed that the number of civil servants and the number of local parliamentarians significantly affected the quality of Indonesian local government financial statements. This highlights the influence of coercive pressures on the quality of financial statements of the Indonesian local governments. These findings can serve as input for the Indonesian government in formulating public policies, particularly regarding improving the quality of local government financial statements.

Freezing density scaling of fluid transport properties: Application to liquefied noble gases.

A freezing density scaling of transport properties of the Lennard-Jones fluid is rationalized in terms of Rosenfeld's excess entropy scaling and isomorph theory of Roskilde-simple systems. Then, it is demonstrated that the freezing density scaling operates reasonably well for viscosity and thermal conductivity coefficients of liquid argon, krypton, and xenon. Quasi-universality of the reduced transport coefficients at their minima and at freezing conditions is discussed. The magnitude of the thermal conductivity coefficient at the freezing point is shown to agree remarkably well with the prediction of the vibrational model of heat transfer in dense fluids.

건설사업관리에서 위험관리 개선방안에 관한 법사회학적 연구 - 납품대금 연동제를 중심으로 -

Korea is a developed country. However, in fact, Korea is still in a dangerous society and has not been able to escape from the continuous accidents. Since the purpose of this paper was more focused on the prevention of construction safety, a sociological (philosophical) way of thinking was chosen rather than a technical approach to emphasize the aspect of social value. it was divided into a theoretical and methodological dimension in the socio-legal way by classifying it from the point of view of systems and safety agents. To the theoretical approach to the sociology of law, the theories claimed by ‘Hannah Arendt’, ‘Lacan’, ‘Baumann’, ‘Isomorphism Theory’ and ‘Zizek’ were applied. Cases, precedents, and statistical analysis were carried out at the methodological level. It has been proven that the construction large-scale accident is closely related to the theory of sociology of law.

Hidden scale invariance in the Gay-Berne model.

This paper presents a numerical study of the Gay-Berne liquid crystal model with parameters corresponding to calamitic (rod-shaped) molecules. The focus is on the isotropic and nematic phases at temperatures above unity, where we find strong correlations between the virial and potential-energy thermal fluctuations, reflecting the hidden scale invariance symmetry. This implies the existence of isomorphs, which are curves in the thermodynamic phase diagram of approximately invariant physics. We study numerically one isomorph in the isotropic phase and one in the nematic phase. In both cases, good invariance of the dynamics is demonstrated via data for the mean-square displacement and the reduced-unit time-autocorrelation functions of the velocity, angular velocity, force, torque, and first- and second-order Legendre polynomial orientational order parameters. Deviations from isomorph invariance are observed at short times for the orientational time-autocorrelation functions, which reflects the fact that the moment of inertia is assumed to be constant and thus not isomorph-invariant in reduced units. Structural isomorph invariance is demonstrated from data for the radial distribution functions of the molecules and their orientations. For comparison, all quantities were also simulated along an isochore of similar temperature variation, in which case invariance is not observed. We conclude that the thermodynamic phase diagram of the calamitic Gay-Berne model is essentially one-dimensional in the studied regions as predicted by isomorph theory, a fact that potentially allows for simplifications of future theories and numerical studies.

Managing Islamic Character Education Trough Institutional Isomorphism (Learning From Junior High School Of Progresif Bumi Shalawat, Sidoarjo Coupled - Institutional System)

Until now, the huge discourse of character education is still on projector explaining of what character education is, where the sources of ethical productions came from, and how it implemented in the educational institution; in diverse and vast varies. Informal education, like what is regulated by the government, the sources of characters are studied and formulated based on character education conferences and experts or scholars' consensuses. In micro-institution, character education is delivered according to teacher experiences and knowledge. But, the distinct point is how character education is implemented inIslamic boarding school; beyond the formal and informal process of the Islamic education process, as formulated in Junior High School Progresif Bumi Shalawat Sidoarjo. This integrative school formulated the concept of character through the Prophet Muhammad's name; Musamih (tolerant), Umana’ (trustworthy), Harish (eager), Adib (noble), Mufakkir (thinker), Muhaqqiq (the inquirer), Ashil (Resolute), Duror (Pearls). So that, this article will explore how these finding terms of character are disseminated and transmitted, institutionally, to all students, and will be frame-analyzed by shifting of isomorphism theory of organization. In the end, this article will argue that character education can only be implemented effectively by isolated space which is attributed with Islamic boarding school based-values.

State ESSA Plans and Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) Status

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) offers states increased flexibility in how they identify, rank, label, and support underperforming schools. Initial reviews of state ESSA plans, however, suggest that identification and labeling policies have remained relatively unchanged. In this study, we analyze all state ESSA plans to systematically determine how states’ identified Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) schools and the criteria they set for those schools to exit CSI status. We describe our findings through the theory of institutional isomorphism, noting the many ways states responded similarly to ESSA. We close by considering what the lack of innovation in response to ESSA flexibility might mean for the future of educational policy and the implications for schools identified as underperforming.

Fractional Isomorphism of Graphons

We work out the theory of fractional isomorphism of graphons as a generalization to the classical theory of fractional isomorphism of finite graphs. The generalization is given in terms of homomorphism densities of finite trees and it is characterized in terms of distributions on iterated degree measures, Markov operators, weak isomorphism of a conditional expectation with respect to invariant sub-σ-algebras and isomorphism of certain quotients of given graphons.