Beyond the purely commercial business model: Organizational value logics and the heterogeneity of sustainability business models

The business model has been conceived as a commercial logic of value proposition, creation, exchange and capture. However, its underlying conceptual structure of an organizational value logic holds promise also for application beyond a purely commercial context, for partially commercial and even noncommercial organizations. This paper unlocks this potential by conceptualizing homogeneous and heterogeneous organizational value logics shaped by a variety of institutional logics. Homogeneous value logics are dominantly shaped by individual institutional logics, such as the value logic of businesses shaped by an institutional logic of the commercial market, or that of a churches shaped by an institutional logic of religion. Heterogeneous value logics, however, are co-shaped by two or more institutional logics. The application of these concepts is exemplified in the context of sustainability business models, which are built on a heterogeneous value logic that combines elements from commercial, sustainability, welfare and government logics. The paper contributes to the business model discussion by extending it to partially commercial and noncommercial organizations; by creating a conceptual space between value logics and institutional logics; and by proposing the meta-logic of value proposition, creation, exchange and capture, a novel analytical tool for the study of organizations shaped by plural institutional logics.     

Towards a flatter ontology of institutional logics: How logics relate in situations of institutional complexity

The institutional logics approach is a powerful lens with which to examine and understand contexts in which norms and conceptions are multiple, unclear or in flux. While logics at the societal level have been well elaborated and are, in the most part, widely understood and accepted, at the field level logics are not necessarily so clear. Field frames distort, merge and confuse the societal logic as field actors negotiate, rebalance, bridge and interpret logics in a recursively constitutive process. We review research in two institutionally complex fields—higher education and healthcare - that employs an institutional logics lens. We identify and categorize institutional logics arising in these two fields and ask how these field-level logics relate to each other and to societal-level ideal-type logics. We ask what roles ideologies play in mediating relations between the field-level logics and what are the mechanisms by which this happens. We find that, at the field level, societal logics can appear as field-level instantiations or merge to form hybrids. New field-level logics can also emerge, but often these are confused with ideologies, thus limiting the theory-building potential of the institutional logics approach. We identify and begin to resolve confusion between logics and ideologies, highlighting the role of ideologies in mediating the relationships between logics at the field level. We advocate for, and pave the way towards, a new research agenda enabled by a flatter ontology of institutional logics that sees a horizontal relationship between logics as well as a vertical relationship between logics and actors.     

Commodification, construction and compression: a review of time metaphors in organizational analysis

This paper offers a historical review of forms of temporal structuring and experience in the evolution of work organization. Initially, we review some key images of time and temporality to emerge from philosophy and social theory. In particular, we discuss images of temporal structuring reflected in the two key time metaphors, the line and the cycle. Secondly, we examine some of the main images of time to emerge from the history of work organization. While initially the focus is upon those linear time images that stem from the progressive commodification of the labour process, subsequently this analysis is qualified by time images that reflect the social construction of organizational culture. An examination of the homogeneous time-reckoning systems of Taylorism is complemented by examples of heterogeneous time-reckoning from anthropological and ethnographic studies. Finally, we discuss the postmodernist debate in the sociology of time. Much of the foregoing analysis having been devoted to issues of clock-time, this section sees discussion of what has been referred to as "instantaneous-time", whereby organizational practices are based on time-frames that lie beyond conscious human experience. This concept is associated with the complex shifts from Fordism to the flexible accumulation of "post-Fordism". Central to this debate is the notion of the time–space compression of physical processes and human experiences.     

Institutional maintenance in an international bureaucracy: Everyday practices of international elites inside UNESCO

Scholars have recently called for an organizational sociology of international experts and expertise, the production and functioning of elite worlds. Meanwhile, efforts have been made to refocus organization studies of institutions towards the lived experience and everyday working practices through which organizational actors perceive, reproduce and revise the institutional structures within which they operate. The purpose of this paper is to bridge the study of international elites in the context of international policy making and emergent research on how actors actively accomplish institutional maintenance, the intent being to advance a more differentiated understanding of agency of international elites in micro-institutional maintenance. This research is based on an organizational ethnography among international program experts at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris. The study contributes to knowledge about how maintenance of institutional frameworks of policy making is accomplished by program specialists as they continually apply the legitimate language of the institution, endow it with institutional authority in everyday practices and navigate in hierarchies and social networks. The paper discusses contributions to extant research on international elite worlds, power and agency in institutional reproduction.     

Three's a Crowd: The Role of Inter‐logic Relationships in Highly Complex Institutional Fields

Institutional complexity is increasingly seen in terms of potential schisms between logics in pluralist fields. However, research into complexity is mostly confined to binary institutional logics that oversimplify settings where more logics interact. The reorganized mental health service we studied brought a range of expert groups together in a highly complex institutional field. Three logics were seen to be continually in play: a health logic based on expert medical values, a care logic of holistic values, and a logic of integration based partly on managerial priorities but also shared more broadly. The paper identifies how the pattern of conflicting and reinforcing inter‐logic relations that underpinned this field was constituted and further explores a number of critical implications for complexity theory.     

Social capital or strong culture?

Organization scientists have recently introduced the concept of social capital to explain how the fabric of social connections among organization members leads to superior organizational performance. In this paper, I argue that the typical formulations of social capital sound remarkably similar to familiar conceptions of organizational culture, especially those features that indicate tightly coupled and deeply embedded social relations. I identify the common strands in the concepts of social capital and organizational culture. I propose that, without further efforts of conceptual clarification and empirical verification, the wholesale adoption by human resource development practitioners of the most popular features of the social capital concept is risky and likely to lead to disillusionment.     

Allocation of Rights and the Organization of Transactions: Elements of a Generative Approach to Organizing

This paper is an attempt to articulate in a systematicfashion how different patterns or forms of organizingare achieved and how one can talk about the variety inand the transformation of these forms. The paperargues that one way to address this fundamentalquestion is to look at how resources and rules can beused in transactions to develop a generative grammarof organizational forms. The theoretical perspectivedeveloped in the paper incorporates the nature ofinterdependencies among social actors in definingtheir relationships and the nature of resources beingtransacted in these relations. As a social system, anyorganizational form that involves regularizedrelations of interdependence between social actors,requires resources in some form or another. Whetherthey are characterized as goods transacted in anexchange situation, human or social capital of actorsin a productive act, or collective control ofproductive skills, they are the necessary componentsof organizing because they give the social actors thecapability to develop their strategic conduct. Inaddition to resources, any organizational form mustalso possess a set of rules that define the nature ofthe transaction among the social agents.The first part of the paper introduces the logic andthe elements of the generative grammar fororganizational forms. The second part applies theseideas to organizational governance structuresespecially the relationship between the owners and themanagers in order to show how different forms ofgovernance structures can be generated based on theallocation of rights among various parties involved. The paper concludes with the suggestion that marketsversus hierarchic governance are very grosscategorization that cannot satisfactorily show thediversity of variations in forms of governance inorganizations.     

Accounting and Conceptions of Control in the American Corporation1

This study examines three conceptions of how capitalist firms are organized and the relationship between accounting, organization, and control. The first conceptions is based on neoclassical economic theories, and its central premise is the efficacy of contracts. The second model emphasizes Marxian ideas of class conflict and exploitation. Its organizational premise rests on hierarchy and accumulation. The third concept is sociological. Its core assumption is that firms act to create ‘organizational fields’ which assure their continued survival. Each of these three perspectives relies on accounting as a means of control. The paper argues that there is an institutional connection between accounting and corporate control; the connection is demonstrated by the way in which accounting legitimizes control through objectivity, methodology, and professionalism. Regardless of how control is theoretically conceived, accounting is a crucial aspect of control within the modern economic organization.     

The social construction of strategic coherence: Practices of enabling leadership

The construction of “strategic coherence,” defined as the development of a system of mutually compatible meanings among organization members about desirable organizational directions, is clearly a crucial issue for organizations. Yet, how to achieve it is in part an open question. While previous studies have considered how strategic coherence may emerge across top levels of management through strategic planning activities and negotiations among senior leaders, we know much less about the contribution of other actors and processes behind the scenes (in non-strategy roles). Drawing on an ethnographic study of a public hospital's planning and project management practices, this paper therefore focuses on the bundles of practices, people and tools through which strategic coherence can emerge across different levels and sectors in mundane activities. We build on the concept of “enabling leadership”, grounded in practice theories of leadership, as our analytical lens. The study reveals how strategic coherence is socially constructed by practices of ‘fueling’, ‘shaping’ and ‘entwining’ mutually compatible meanings, in interactions among diverse people and tools. We propose a grounded model of the construction of strategic coherence as the progressive socialization of meanings about organizational direction that is not just administered from the top, nor naturally emergent from the grass-roots, but that is a collective and inherently socio-material accomplishment of enabling leadership.     

Flexibility, Hierarchy, Markets

The conclusion that organizations need to become more strategically flexible as a response to increasing environmental dynamism and uncertainty has been an important feature of recent contingency theories of organization design. In this literature organizations have been analysed from the perspective of the development of networks of organizations concentrating on their core competencies and contracting among themselves on a stable long-term basis. This model of inter-firm relationships provides an alternative mode of organizational structuring to that arising from vertical integration, which, by contrast, is seen as fostering strategic inflexibility. In the literature on corporate restructuring and changes in ownership form arising from the markets and hierarchies perspective, we see a similar emphasis on the dysfunctional consequences of large-scale bureaucratic organization. Changes in ownership form are seen as a major means of providing more effective managerial control. In this paper we argue that linking the literature on flexibility emanating from contingency theories of organizational design and the markets and hierarchies perspective provides important new insights into current and emerging forms of organization.     

Alternative Logics Coexistence: the Supplementary Health Field in Brazil

The paper examined the conditions that allow alternative logics a long standing coexistence, when no one logic predominates in the supplementary health field in Brazil. It contributes to the literature bringing the analysis of the coexistence over several decades of the following competitive logics - professional, public, market, regulatory, and social protection logic, in an institutional order level, while medical groups, insurance companies, and cooperatives established alternative health provision logics in the market level. The state’s incapacity or unwillingness to alienate the private sector is the main reason for the emergence of the various market medical providers with their distinct forms of service delivery.     

Value drivers of social businesses: A business model perspective

Hybrid organizational forms that combine commercial and welfare institutional logics play an increasingly important role in addressing the grand societal challenges we face today. Building on the literatures on hybrid organizations and social business models, we explore the characteristics of social businesses from a business model perspective. This study seeks to better understand the particularities and value drivers of hybrid social purpose in contrast to purely commercial business models. We follow a grounded theory approach and our findings are based on interview data from 17 social business firms. Building on social businesses' identified particularities, we propose four value drivers of social business models: 1) responsible efficiency, 2) impact complementarities, 3) shared values, and 4) integration novelties. We link our findings to the literature, contributing new insights into social businesses models and implications for practitioners.     

Participatory Organizational Research: Examining Voice in the Co‐production of Knowledge

This paper advances participatory methods in management research. We propose the term participatory organizational research to describe this adjunct to action research. We illustrate the potential of the method to allow sometimes unheard organizational members to generate alternative perspectives that can offer the potential for the co‐production of new forms of knowledge that are locally relevant. Participatory methods originate from work with marginalized groups and have been used more commonly in community and organizational development. The aim of such research is, generally, to change the social and organizational conditions within which participants operate by using their perspectives as active participants to develop alternative possibilities. As such, this research method has significant potential for management researchers in providing the means for unheard organizational members to voice their perspectives: a central component, we argue, in knowledge co‐production. Based on a participatory study of care quality in elder care institutions, we examine in detail how participatory organizational research can enable voice and explore some of the structural limitations particularly in respect of research ethics.     

基于制度逻辑视角的中国工会改革路径分析研究

立足中国工会改革实践,通过采集1949~2020年间《人民日报》的工会新闻报道和相关期刊文献,采用扎根理论方法提炼出中国工会的制度逻辑构成,并从制度逻辑的互动和演化来剖析中国工会改革过程中的本土特征和内在运行规律。研究结果发现:中国工会具有社会治理逻辑、员工服务逻辑和企业管理逻辑三重逻辑,且其在目标导向、行动基础、合法性和人性假设上存在差异;社会治理逻辑、员工服务逻辑和企业管理逻辑贯穿中国工会改革的全过程,共同推动工会改革历经社会治理逻辑的主导→社会治理逻辑与员工服务逻辑的竞争→三重制度逻辑的平衡融合3个阶段,且呈现出复杂性、动态性的演化特征;中国工会的组织结构和管理体系存在制度惯性的约束,导致其内部逻辑的演变始终滞后于外部制度环境变化。     

Modular Network Design: Using Information and Communication Technology to Allocate Production Tasks in a Virtual Organization*

The increased interest in customer service and the trend towards customization gives rise to new organizational forms such as the virtual organization. This paper introduces the Modular Network Design (MND) approach to complement Mowshowitz' (1997) theory of virtual organization. This theory focuses on metamanagement of the virtual organization and consists of four activities: (1) determine and analyze customer requirements, (2) track the possibilities for satisfying these requirements, (3) develop and allocate production tasks among the members of the virtual organization, and (4) assess and adjust tasks and allocation procedures. The MND approach elaborates on this theory by breaking down both the requirements and the production tasks into modular entities, and by measuring the performance of the resulting virtual network in terms of operating costs and throughput time. The major contribution of the MND approach lies in its ability to support the assessment of alternative allocations of production tasks among the members of a virtual organization, using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as enabler. The assessment of such alternative designs is illustrated by an application of MND in the air cargo industry. The results show how the virtual organization and its members can realize significant improvements in operating costs and throughput times when applying ICT to link and reallocate their modular production tasks in response to customized orders.     

Following unique logics despite institutional complexity: An inductive study of academic inventors and institutional logics

This paper examines how institutional complexity, due to the availability of multiple logics, influences the behavior of academic inventors during an innovation process. Based on four case studies of medical technology innovations, this paper identifies three logics influencing academic inventors’ behavior: academic, market, and care logics. We identify several patterns that characterize the practices of academic inventors in a context with multiple institutional logics. Despite the availability of multiple logics, we observe a strong pattern of academic inventors predominantly following the market or the care logic. As for the influence of multiple logics, we find very limited interaction between logics (i.e., reinforcing, complementary and conflicting interaction), with the prevalent pattern being “no interaction” between institutional logics. Thus, instead of following several logics, academic inventors’ specific practices are mostly guided by a “unique” logic. This influence of logics leads to a clear pattern of “dominant” influence on behavior, reflected in individual strategies of “entrenching,” that is, a strategy based on building one’s behavior on a “unique” logic. However, the same available logics can also generate "aligned" influence, entailing behavior guided by several logics. But this occurs only if the academic inventor faces uncertainty regarding the exploitation of the intellectual property. With these findings, we add to the ongoing discussion concerning institutional complexity and individual behavior by elucidating in detail how institutional complexity can entail behavior guided by “unique” logics.     

创新互动框架下组织领地氛围对利用性技术创新的影响:一个被调节的中介模型

利用性技术创新是企业把已有的知识、技术和市场转化为商业价值的手段,能够塑造企业的竞争优势。本研究基于创新的互动观点和领地性理论探讨了组织领地氛围对企业利用性技术创新的影响,并识别出其发挥作用的中介机制和边界条件,由此构建出包括组织氛围(领地氛围)、组织结构(控制导向的HRM系统)和各部门主体(跨部门协调)在内的整合模型。本文以146家企业的2113名成员为样本,收集了多源数据,结果发现组织的领地氛围作为约束组织成员行为的"软"的要素会降低跨部门协调进而不利于利用性技术创新的实现。进一步,控制导向的HRM系统作为组织的结构性要素,是约束组织成员行为的"硬"的要素,能够通过调节跨部门协调与利用性技术创新之间的关系来缓冲领地氛围对利用性技术创新的消极的间接效应。研究结果对领地性理论、技术创新和HRM系统研究具有重要的理论意义。     

Inter-organizational network structures in Russia: organizational changes from institutional and social embeddedness perspectives

Theory posits that organizations are embedded socially within their environment. The level of embeddedness depends highly on the environmental uncertainty a company and its network partners face. The latest research on transition economies indicates that the institutional framework in these countries is highly relevant for inter-organizational structures (i.e. formalization, standardization, frequency, intensity and reciprocity). As Russia constitutes a good example of high environmental uncertainty, a closer look at organizational changes in general and inter-organizational network structures in particular is taken. This paper extends the theoretical and empirical scope of social and economic theories on inter-organizational structures by formulating a conceptual framework that unites economic rationalism with socially embedded arguments. Contributing to emerging international HRD literature, the objective is to understand better the institutional influences on network structures and thus on organizational change. Moreover, it will be demonstrated how far organizational changes and human resource development is associated with institutional influences on network structures.     

Institutional logics and the decision-making process of adopting corporate governance at a cooperative organization

We aim to investigate the decision process leading to the adoption of corporate governance practice at a cooperative. This paper expands current knowledge by presenting the institutional logics approach as a complement to decision-making process studies. Literature on the decision process grounds the investigation, supported by corporate governance and agency theory. We draw on oral history for collecting and analyzing data from documents, observation and interviews related to the decision process. A total of 19 interviews were conducted with members and employees of the cooperative. We used the Atlas TI software to organize the data and then subjected them to content analysis, based on the historical analytical method. By demonstrating how logics are a basis for the adoption decision, the paper provides evidence of how hybridization operates as a mechanism for balancing actors’ demands in response to contrasting institutional pressures or expectations. In addition, we provide recommendations to management with respect to corporate governance decisions.     

基于多Agent仿真的组织学习与知识水平关系研究

运用多智能体仿真模型从微观层面构建组织知识学习仿真模型,研究在组织内部人员流动和组织外部环境变动的情况下,组织知识编码策略、组织内部人际学习速度和组织人员编码知识学习速度对组织知识水平的影响.研究结果表明,在外部环境变动的情况下.适当的人员变动有利于提高组织知识水平,二者的关系呈倒U型结构;在内外环境稳定的情况下,人际学习速度与组织知识水平的关系也呈倒U型结构,但在组织内外环境变动的情况下,高人际学习速度有利于提高组织知识水平;频繁的组织知识编码能在短时间内提高组织知识水平,但影响组织知识的异构性,不利于组织长期知识水平的提高;在外部环境变动的情况下,适当的知识编码策略有利于缓解环境变动对组织知识水平的负面影响.从理论上扩展和验证了现有模型,从实践上为组织文化氛围建设、知识编码管理和人力资源管理提供启示.