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Learning from past project failures presents opportunities for firms working within the construction sector to improve project delivery. This is because, if lessons from these experiences are absorbed, they offer benefits such as failure mitigation and developing resilient project teams. However, instead of using sector-wide perspectives, Project-Based Organisations (PBOs) typically implement internal technological and strategic mechanisms in both learning and project management with little attention being given to institutional contexts. Hence, this study focuses on how learning within a PBO is influenced by the external environment by adopting institutional theory. Via exploratory research, the data was collected using semi-structured interviews with 19 UK construction industry professionals. Thematic data analysis method was used to analyse the data. Findings reveal that there exists an institutional field of learning within which PBOs operate based on their interactions with the external environment. Three pillars of organisations are revealed: Organisations that are related to the Regulatory Pillar, Normative Pillar and Cultural-cognitive Pillar. The study contends that each of these pillars offers lessons for the sector. Findings further reveal that cross organisational learning is hampered mostly by competition and fragmentation. Hence, to learn from failure, it is important that the sector brings together the identified institutional field members through boundary spanning organisations such as professional bodies and regulatory bodies. Thus, PBOs should build better networks by viewing organisations within the institutional field as sources of knowledge and embracing collaboration instead of competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firms adopt different green supply chain management (GSCM) practices at varying levels. Drawing on institutional field theory, this study aims to explore the heterogeneity in GSCM practice adoption considering different firm characteristics, including firm size, industry, and ownership. Secondary data from 394 firms operating in China show that four organizational groupings—brown, light brown, light green, and green—firms exist. Multinomial logistic regression results show that larger firms and firms in the electronics industry are more likely to be greener, indicating that firm size and industry play a strong role in discriminating GSCM practice adoption. Interestingly, no differences between domestic and foreign‐owned firms exist, implying that the gaps in institutional perspectives between Chinese domestic and non‐domestic ownership may be disappearing. This study provides practical implications for strategic benchmarking of GSCM practices. The results also have broader implications for firm operations within China and Chinese firms competing elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses how higher education organizations strategize in complex and coherent fields. Unlike previous studies which looked at either exogenous (field) or endogenous causes in strategizing, this article integrates them to explain organizational responses. We devise a conceptual framework under the premises of new institutional theory in order to connect macro-transformation in the institutional field to the micro-processes of organizational strategizing. The framework highlights that every combination of the analytical dimensions (field and organization) presents more possible strategizing practices. Then we test it on the responses to the same change in the field (introduction of research mandate) of three universities of applied sciences located in two countries (Portugal and the Netherlands) with dichotomous field conditions by analyzing organizational members' practices. Findings support that both field and organizations warrant investigation in strategizing research since it is not possible to determine the strategizing outcomes just from the combination of theoretical dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A few research papers on modern slavery have outlined how this phenomenon flourishes and persists despite institutional pressures against inhumane practices. In order to analyze slavery from an institutional perspective and answer the question of the main factors in the institutional field that sustain modern slavery, qualitative data were collected in the Brazilian context, where the country is widely recognized for its significant actions against modern slavery practices. This study draws on primary and secondary data collected through in-depth interviews and participant observation at conferences, as well as content analysis of documents using NVivo software. The study suggests that certain contextual conditions legitimize organizational practices of formal and informal firms, called institutional deflection. As a contribution to modern slavery management patterns, this article presents the “modern slavery wheel” based on the results of a dynamic cycle that incorporates and systematizes the elements that support the phenomenon. Wheel mechanisms such as favorite conditioning, recurrence, enticement, and truck system seem to contribute to modern slavery practices and their maintenance over time. Moreover, we suggest that these same components may also contribute to breaking the modern slavery wheel

The European Union has issued action plans to reduce the production of construction waste and increase the reuse and recycling of materials in the hope of triggering a rapid transition towards a Circular Economy (CE). The management of construction and demolition waste, however, struggles to apply these measures. Our purpose, therefore, is to analyse how different actors involved in the management of waste could contribute to transform existing practices so that they respond to the shifting demands of legislation and support CE. To understand how this transformation work is performed, we build on the concept of institutional work, which enables us to describe how actors, rather than accepting institutions as permanent and immovable, contribute to their development by creating, maintaining or disrupting the existing institution. Drawing on qualitative research methods, we collected empirical data through 31 semi-structured interviews, observations of meetings and site visits. Our results show that whereas the production of waste is somewhat reduced, and the sorting of fractions improved, the institutional work performed is not sufficient to translate sustainability into new economic values. Although the work performed legitimizes CE principles and enables new initiatives, it mostly fails to change normative associations and to define new rules of action that support CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to examine the constraints in the institutional field within the framework of the sociology of translation. In the paper, the term "constraint" refers to the problems that cannot be solved due to many factors and negatively affect the translation process, translators, and therefore translation product. The paper will reveal all the constraints with an analysis of the position of the field within the field of power, the structure of the field, and the habitus of agents (here exclusively referring to translators), based on Pierre Bourdieu's model of field analysis. The study draws on the case studies of four institutions to analyze all the dynamics of the institutional field and their impact on the translation process and translation product. The institutions are the European Union Translation Coordination Presidency (EUTCP) and the Prime Ministry Directorate General of Press and Information (PDGPI) as a national institution, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) as an international institution, and the Association of Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Immigrants (ASAM) as a non-governmental organization. Face-to-face interviews with these four institutions, which carry out different translation activities for different purposes, will reveal the big picture of the field. However, more empirical work is needed to generalize about the constraints of this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the article is to give a review of the current environment of management and the development of culture and arts in the system of cultural and creative industries in Ukraine. The methodology of research is the application of the descriptive method and definitive analysis, functional analysis, formal characterization in the process of research regarding the national field of management and development of culture and arts segment in Ukraine. The scientific novelty is the analysis of the institutional field of national development of culture and arts in Ukraine. The scientific novelty is an analysis of the institutional field of development of national culture and art in the aspects of public administration, institutions of higher education (HEI) in the indicated areas, and government mass media channels. Conclusions: Effective organization of national management of institutional field development of national forms of cultural and art interaction - that is the Ukrainian cultural need in the process of its civilizational development. The main aspects of development and support of culture and arts from the government institutions side, in our opinion, are coordination of means of the government management system in the cultural and arts industry, institutions of higher education in culture and arts industries, and mass media broadcasting channels, which are owned by the government. National artistic, cultural-and-artistic, artistic-and-technological, scientific, educational, cultural and intellectual-andcreative capable part of a human capital asset (involved in the systems of the national arts and creative production, including government management organizations in the field of cultural and creative industries) must support the organization of national arts and cultural platforms of interaction based on communicative cooperation of groups of arts and cultural production, as well as comprehensive rebroadcasting of the best-produced products by unions of arts and cultural production by informative, mass media, arts, educational governmental means (tangible and intangible). The country should unite the efforts of specialists in this sector in the field of institutional communication of cultural-andarts interaction, should support the formation of bases for the practical production of the national arts and cultural production of all branches of the sector of cultural and creative industries of Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article builds on previous studies concerning the question of street-level bureaucracy, an expression coined by Lipsky (1980) – Street-Level Bureaucracy. Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services (New York: Russel Sage Foundation) – to highlight the importance of the discretionary power that professionals in public agencies exercise during the implementation of laws, standards and guidelines. Discretion may depend on the need to compromise between the limited resources available and the claims of citizens, or between administrative policy directives and assessments, on the one hand, and their interpretation by "street-level" bureaucrats, on the other. This article focuses on the dilemmas that labour inspectors face when dealing with employment irregularities involving domestic workers. Based on nine months of observations in a local office of the Italian Labour Inspectorate, it aims to understand how labour inspectors make use of their discretionary power when the workplace is the home. This article connects studies of street-level bureaucracy with the new institutional organisational analysis, focusing on the isomorphic pressures from the institutional field in which the labour inspectors operate, together with the manner in which such pressures shape labour inspectors' discretion. Through this connection, the article aims to extend the scope of both theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Management international / International Management / Gestiòn Internacional is the property of Management International and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of BMS: Bulletin de Methodologie Sociologique (Sage Publications Ltd.) is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper describes the issues related to the barriers of civic participation in local governments. It presents local governments as an institutional field, whose functioning does not depend solely on the decentralization of governance. In addition, the paper describes problems related to the functioning of Polish self-governments, whose broader description can be found in the articles collected in this volume.

This essay extends a Bourdieusian perspective on the microfoundations of institutions. Drawing on this perspective, the authors argue that the recursive dynamics of institutions and action orient actors toward the maintenance of distinct and contradictory practices within, rather than bridging across, different fields. The authors corroborate our argument with an illustration of how corporate executives strategize within the tax field compared to the philanthropy field. Specifically, the authors show how actors are simultaneously oriented by different capitals toward apparently contradictory strategies. This chapter provides promising avenues for future research on the microfoundations of institutions, inter-field dynamics, and critical accounting and business ethics studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neo-institutional theory has been criticized for equating the macrolevel with the realm of unconsciously constraining institutions and the microlevel with the realm of actors' reflexive agency and the origin of change. Considering the co-constitution of the macro and micro, the authors propose that change can be explained through reflexivity at the microlevel and through unconscious processes that affect the macrolevel. This chapter contributes to neo-institutional theory's microfoundation by distinguishing four types of institutional changes. It will help institutionalists to become more explicit about what cognitive processes and what field conditions are related to what kinds of agency and change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that institutional fields evolve around issues, but has devoted less attention to explain why certain issues trigger substantial field-level changes while others remain largely inconsequential. In this article, I argue that the extent to which an issue is likely to trigger field change and the type of field change triggered depend on the structure of the field and the ways in which the issue is framed. I develop a model linking two types of issue frames (adversarial vs collaborative issue frames) with two types of field structures (centralized vs fragmented). The model explains how the likelihood of field change and type of field change vary across four configurations of these issue frames and field structures. In particular, I highlight four types of field change that entail different re-distribution of power within a field (weakening vs reinforcing the field’s elite; aligning vs polarizing fragmented actors). Overall, I contribute a much called-for comparative approach to institutional fields, explaining how the effects of issue frames on field change vary across different fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ricerche di Pedagogia e Didattica is the property of Universita di Bologna, Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Educazione and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Kostova, Roth and Dacin called in 2008 for the advancement of a theoretical conception of the multinational corporation (MNC) that takes into account both power relationships among actors and the structure of its internal institutional field. While micro-political scholars of MNCs have started to answer the former part of the call regarding power, the second part has not been thoroughly addressed yet. Furthermore, the agentic aspects typical of power games and the structural aspects characterizing institutional fields have not been fully combined in a multi-level perspective of MNCs so far. Leaning on Bourdieu, we suggest an answer to the pending call. We theorize the MNC as a playing field of power emerging around the issue of finding a meta-rate of conversion of the actors' capitals constituted in national fields. We conceive such issue field in a dynamic state due to the constant entry and exit of new players (e.g. through mergers, acquisitions or divestitures). This results in the need to continuously test the validity of exchange rates. The role of the metainstitutional field level of the MNC as a global category is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the research is to elaborate institutional criteria for the assessment of intellectual products` potential realization in the venture financing system which are not presented in the existing works on venture investments. Research methodology is based on synthesis of institutional and new institutional economics theory, theories of innovations, uncertainty and risk, management of innovations. Essential characteristics of venture financing are structured in the paper, its treatment as an economic category is suggested. A number of common institutional criteria for the assessment of intellectual products` potential feasibility in the system of venture financing are outlined and grounded. The structure of institutional field of venture financing (by the example of Sverdlovsk region) is elaborated with consideration of projected development and coevolution of formal and informal institutions as a favorable environment for drawing into economic turnover and commercialization of technological developments and projects. Analytical investigation of structural elements for creation of institutional field of venture financing in Sverdlovsk region is performed, a range of common and specific problems, contradictions and recommendations are outlined. The paper introduces institutional criteria for the assessment of intellectual products` potential feasibility.

The recent abandonment of old taxis and the introduction and diffusion of new taxis and car ride-sharing services of Uber and the sharing economy in general shows that institutional environments change. This paper provides a review on institutional change based on 29 previously published case studies. Based on this review and the Uber case an overview of antecedents for institutional change is developed. Furthermore, an existing model describing the process of institutional change (Greenwood et al., 2002) is validated and extended. This extended process model describes the development and different phases of institutional change. This paper aims to enrich our theoretical understanding of institutional change and to provide insights for change agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theories of institutional change have paid limited attention to the ways in which relations between institutional fields might facilitate or hinder institutional change. I introduce inter-field resource dependence as an important condition explaining institutional change between fields. Building on resource dependence theory, I conceptualize two dimensions of inter-field resource dependence: mutual dependence and power imbalance. I argue that these two dimensions have opposite effects on the likelihood of institutional change between fields. Mutual dependence between two fields increases the chances of institutional change by inducing actors in both the fields to work at creating new shared institutions in order to regulate their mutual dependence. Power imbalance between two fields decreases the chances of institutional change by inducing actors in the dominant field to work at maintaining existing institutions in order to preserve their power. Thus, different types of inter-field resource dependence motivate actors to undertake different forms of institutional work, which in turn shape the likelihood of institutional change between fields. Developing this core argument, I theorize that whether the institutional change occurring between two fields is radical or incremental is a function of the type of resource dependence linking the two fields; for example, when power imbalance is high, institutional change is unlikely but when it occurs it tends to be radical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This conceptual study provides insight into the strategic behaviors of firms facing slow growth in times of economic stagnation. Recognizing the inevitability of periods of economic stagnation—with another downturn expected as early as 2022, we note that most industry classifications are considered mature and characterized by a few extremely large companies in each industry group. We introduce the Fortune 500 as an important cross-industry collective of these large firms and suggest that they now comprise an institutional field. This development explains their isomorphic behavior during the recession triggered by the financial crisis of 2008 as well as their subsequent motivation for change. Using the pertinent literature from institutional theory and organizational change, we posit that the appropriate firm-level response (strategic choice) during periods of slow growth is to maintain legitimacy and membership in the field by adopting a proactive approach that focuses on improving top-line growth. We synthesize frameworks found in the literature and provide a "menu" of five strategic options companies should consider to turn their firms around by redirecting growth from the short term to the long term. We discuss implications for boards and executives anticipating significant economic deceleration. • We focus on coopetition in the emerging smart home ecosystem industry. • The coopetition framework is used to understand the ecosystem development. • Purposefully matching life cycle stage with coopetition strategy is necessary. • Four propositions and implications for coopetition in the emerging industry are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I review three contemporary streams of scholarship that are revitalizing the cultural analysis of religion, an approach that dates to the discipline's founding. Research from an institutional field perspective focuses on the institutions that shape religious belief, practice, and mobilization. Work on lived religion, including neo-Durkheimian approaches, focuses on religious experience and contested practices of sacralization. Scholarship on religious cultural tools and symbolic boundaries analyzes religion as symbolic legitimation. These three approaches avoid serious problems associated with both market and secularization accounts, in part because of the way they conceptualize religious authority and religious identity, and in part because of their broader scope of inquiry. In the conclusion, I combine the insights from these approaches to articulate a promising agenda for future research, offering a set of focus questions that are relevant to both classical and contemporary concerns about religion's role in modern societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperation across private ownership boundaries is a potential pathway to realization of socioeconomic and ecological benefits from a large segment of U.S. forestland. Departing from the dominant tradition of focusing on private forest landowners' willingness to cooperate, we analyze resource dependency among actors in the institutional field of forest landowner collaboratives (FLC). Based on an empirical accounting of flows of three critical developmental resources - money, information, and legitimacy - we evaluate interorganizational structures supporting emergence and persistence of FLCs in Wisconsin and Minnesota, a center of relevant activity. We find that external organizational networks provide substantial developmental support to FLCs. Further, we identify important reciprocal flows of resources from FLCs to development organizations. Analysis of resource dependency highlights complementarities in roles of government agencies, philanthropies, commercial firms, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in processes of innovation, specifically in a context where public goods such as ecological integrity and rural economic dynamism are at stake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on an in-depth analysis of a field-wide high-tech conference held in Israel after the dot-corn crash of 2000, I exarnine the role and usage of stories in the discursive dynamics of institutional entrepreneurship. Actors who represented different groups in the field were engaged in constructing a shared story of the crisis that reflected and further strengthened the established institutional order. Concurrently, the same actors were also each telling a counter-story of indictment, blaming other groups for the crisis and calling for changes in the institutional order. Institutional entrepreneurship, then, centered on efforts of sense-making through the narration of stories. The three accounts of the high-tech 2000 fall reflected simultaneous efforts of both collaboration in maintaining the institutional order and contestation that could potentially disrupt it. The delicate balance between these contradictory orientations was carried out by the skillful manipulation of explicit and implicit meanings, which was made possible by the use of stories as the medium of, and resource for, institutional entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on Scott's (1995) institutional theory framework, this article uses a microinstitutional approach to develop a model of the institutionalization of mind-sets in a differentiated institutional field. This model is grounded in textual data involving the 1992 explosion at Westray Mines, illustrating how regulative, normative and cognitive elements contributed to the institutionalization of a harmful mindset of invulnerability that clouded individual perceptions of the inherent risks in daily work practices. This process culminates in organizational crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]