scholarly journals Making a hybrid out of a crisis: historical contingency and the institutional logics of London’s public transport monopoly

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
James Fowler ◽  
Alex Gillett
Keyword(s):  
Market Failure ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Historical Contingency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Democratic Control ◽  
Accounting Ratios ◽  
Hybrid Organisations

Purpose Literature seldom admits the importance of historical contingency and politics in the creation of hybrid organisations. Nevertheless, the circumstances of their creation play a pivotal role in the subsequent operation, priorities and success of these prolific organisations. Through a single case study, this paper aims to explore the connection between the multiple and concurrent crises that created London Transport and the subsequent balance of its institutional logics. Design/methodology/approach This case study uses in-depth data collection from multiple archival and public sources to offer quantitative and qualitative analysis of the priorities, logics and services offered by London Transport before and after its transition from a private to a hybrid organisation. Findings Providing London’s transport via a quasi-autonomous non-governmental monopoly was justified as being more efficient than competition. However, by applying accounting ratios to the archival records from London Transport, the authors find that there were few decisive efficiencies gained from amalgamation. Instead, the authors argue that the balance of institutional logics within the new, unified organisation showed a political response outwardly addressing market failure but primarily concerned with marginalising democratic control. This reality was obscured behind the rhetoric of rationality and efficiency as politically neutral justifications for creating a public service monopoly. Originality/value This paper challenges supposedly objective systems for judging the effectiveness of “hybrid” organisations and offers an alternative political and historical perspective of the reasons for their creation. The authors suggest that London Transport’s success in obscuring its enduring market-based institutional logics has wider resonance in the development of municipal capitalism.

scholarly journals Symbiosis across institutional logics in a social enterprise

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 260-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cæcilie Maibom ◽  
Pernille Smith
Keyword(s):  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Main Role ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Social Logic ◽  
Ideological Congruence ◽  
Hybrid Organisations

Purpose Non-profit organisations are moving from being permeated with social institutional logics to becoming increasingly influenced by market logics. These organisations thereby have to cope with multiple, often conflicting, logics. The existing literature on hybrid organisations has investigated the consequences of multiple logics, focussing in particular on the conflicts and power struggles between the agents of different logics. This paper aims to examine a social enterprise (SE), which in recent years has experienced a shift towards market logics while being firmly grounded in a non-profit social logic. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a qualitative, single-case case study of a SE based on interviews and observations. Findings The paper investigates how this hybrid organisation experienced and responded to an organisational environment marked by multiple institutional logics. Unlike the subjects of many previous studies, the organisation managed to accommodate and assemble the logics in an unproblematic symbiosis. A strong ideological congruence across institutional logics appears to play the main role in spanning the boundaries between institutional logics. Furthermore, organisational structures advocating decentralisation, autonomy and transparency appear to be important facilitators of the integration of diverse logics. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature on hybrid organisations and SEs and aids practitioners in such organisations. It suggests that organisational decentralisation, autonomy and transparency facilitate the integration of multiple logics – especially if ideological congruence exists between the actors of different institutional logics. The findings indicate that ideological congruence enhances tolerance towards different approaches and increases the willingness to integrate diverse logics.

scholarly journals How performance measurement influences stakeholders in not-for-profit organizations

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (9) ◽  
pp. 1164-1184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haley Allison Beer ◽  
Pietro Micheli
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Performance Goals ◽  
Content Type ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Uk

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influences of performance measurement (PM) on not-for-profit (NFP) organizations’ stakeholders by studying how PM practices interact with understandings of legitimate performance goals. This study invokes institutional logics theory to explain interactions between PM and stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach An in-depth case study is conducted in a large NFP organization in the UK. Managers, employees, and external partners are interviewed and observed, and performance-related documents analyzed. Findings Both stakeholders and PM practices are found to have dominant institutional logics that portray certain goals as legitimate. PM practices can reinforce, reconcile, or inhibit stakeholders’ understandings and propensity to act toward goals, depending on the extent to which practices share the dominant logic of the stakeholders they interact with. Research limitations/implications A theoretical framework is proposed for how PM practices first interact with stakeholders at a cognitive level and second influence action. This research is based on a single case study, which limits generalizability of findings; however, results may be transferable to other environments where PM is aimed at balancing competing stakeholder objectives and organizational priorities. Practical implications PM affects the experience of stakeholders by interacting with their understanding of legitimate performance goals. PM systems should be designed and implemented on the basis of both their formal ability to represent organizational aims and objectives, and their influence on stakeholders. Originality/value Findings advance PM theory by offering an explanation for how PM influences attention and actions at an individual micro level.

Institutional logics and risk management practices in government entities: evidence from Saudi Arabia

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Murr ◽  
Nieves Carrera
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Traditional Logic ◽  
Adoption And Implementation ◽  
The Government

Purpose This study aims to understand how institutional logics influence the adoption and implementation of risk management (RM) practices by government entities in a non-western, developing country. Design/methodology/approach This study draws on the institutional logics perspective (ILP) to analyze a case study of a government entity in Saudi Arabia. Data were obtained from semi-structured interviews, observations and documentary evidence. Findings Findings suggest that the adoption and implementation of RM projects by Saudi governmental agencies was rooted in a traditional logic, even though the catalyst of the government for adopting a RM culture across government agencies was framed within a reform program inspired by a modernization logic. In the entity under investigation, the RM project led to an unstable situation where actors were confronted with these two competing logics. Although the project used manifestations of a modernization logic, the actions of individuals within the organization were embedded in a traditional logic. Research limitations/implications The study is based on a single case study in a specific country, limiting the generalizability of the findings. Originality/value This study provides novel evidence of the adoption and implementation of RM in governmental entities in a developing, non-western, country using ILP. Doing so enhances our knowledge about how managers struggle with competing institutional logics in an underexplored setting and enriches current accounts of key drivers and barriers of RM. It also addresses calls for a deeper understanding of the logics and managerial practices interplay in the public sector.

Multiple institutional logics and their impact on accounting in higher education

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 782-810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annemarie Conrath-Hargreaves ◽  
Sonja Wüstemann
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Public Funding ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Single Case Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Based Economy ◽  
Reform Processes ◽  
The Government

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how an Higher Education Institution’s (HEI) choice of undergoing a voluntary reorganisation, motivated by its own interest of increasing its autonomy, whilst also having to satisfy the government in order to maintain the level of public funding, impacts on the HEI’s accounting. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on the institutional logics perspective to present a single case study of a German HEI that chose to be reorganised from a public into a foundation university. Data were obtained using multiple data collection methods. Findings The findings suggest that organisational characteristics, which act as filters for institutional logics, play an important role for HEIs’ ability to increase not only their de jure, but also their de facto autonomy through self-motivated, rather than government imposed, reform processes. Research limitations/implications The paper is based on a single case study in a country-specific context, limiting the empirical generalisability of the findings. Originality/value Germany is not only one of the main nations exporting higher education, but its economy has also been recognised for its stability and development over the last decades. Nevertheless, Germany struggles in its transition to become a knowledge-based economy. Yet, research has so far tended to neglect educational reforms in Continental European countries, such as Germany. By addressing this gap in the literature, this paper is among the first to explore how reform processes shape accounting in German HEIs.

Flexible budgeting influence on organizational inertia and flexibility

2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (9) ◽  
pp. 1640-1656
Author(s):  
José Carlos Tiomatsu Oyadomari ◽  
Paulo Sérgio Lima Pereira Afonso ◽  
Ronaldo Gomes Dultra-de-Lima ◽  
Octavio Ribeiro Ribeiro Mendonça Neto ◽  
Maria Carolina Gazso Righetti
Keyword(s):  
Single Case ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Sales Volume ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Organizational Flexibility ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Organizational Inertia

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the use of flexible budgets may influence different institutional logics (organizational inertia and flexibility). Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research based on a single case study in a multinational subsidiary company was carried out. The data were mainly collected using the dialog technique through open-ended and semi-structured interviews and complemented with direct observation in informal and formal meetings and the analysis of internal documents. Content analysis was used for the analysis of the findings. Findings The use of flexible budgets, which isolates the negative variations due to the decrease in sales volume, may contribute to organizational inertia. However, this can be counterbalanced if the managers try to minimize the decline in performance through initiatives that promote organizational flexibility. In this case study, it was found that the alignment between the production director and the controller, who frequently work under different institutional logics, was important to stimulate organizational flexibility particularly in continuous improvement projects. Research limitations/implications The findings of this paper are based on only one in-depth case study. Hence, the results cannot be generalized, but a theoretical contribution can be made. Furthermore, the findings are constrained by the constructs used and the specific managerial and theoretical perspectives that have supported the analysis. Practical implications These results can be useful particularly for companies that are dealing with the abrupt drop in the sales volume and use the flexible budget as a performance assessment technique. These firms must pay attention because this combination can stimulate organizational inertia. To counteract this problem, it is necessary that controllers and the managers work by understanding the initiatives that promote organizational flexibility, mainly by Kaizen projects, which can minimize performance decline. Social implications The main contribution may be how to deal with the different managers’ behaviors, given the decrease in sales volume, and it can help an organization survives in times of economic recession and fierce competition environments. Originality/value This paper contributes to both practical and academic dimensions. Indeed, despite being widely used, flexible budgeting is not a widely researched topic.

Understanding how hybrid organisations tackle social challenges

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-213
Author(s):  
Anu Ann Alexander ◽  
Shishir Jha ◽  
Ashish Pandey
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Strategic Choices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Institutional Rationality ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Hybrid Organisations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how hybrid organisations combine institutional logics to tackle complex social needs. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case study design was followed, and cases were selected using a two-staged sampling process. Using qualitative analysis, the mechanisms through which logics are selected, prioritised and get integrated in the strategies and practices of these organisations are illustrated. Findings The study contributes to the literature on hybrid organisations and their ability to address social problems in two important ways. First, the paper reveals through the concept of institutional rationality why market-based organisations emerge to address complex social needs in a complex institutional context. Second, the study demonstrates that there is heterogeneity in how logics are blended externally in their strategies and in how logics are integrated internally within the organisation. Research limitations/implications All the cases are selected from India; hence the possibility that the findings are valid only for countries with similar institutional and socio-economic contexts cannot be negated. Practical implications The policy implication is that if business organisations should embrace social goals substantively, a regulation in the form of CSR is not enough. Instead, there should be institutional provisions to promote such hybrid organisational forms where alternative logics such as community, profession, etc., are part of the core logics of the organisation. Originality/value This study connects the strategic choices of organisations with their institutional logics’ configuration in the Indian context.

A dam tale

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 685-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Schneider ◽  
Michele Andreaus
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Water Rights ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Institutional Field

Purpose In 1950, the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan) was given a perpetual water license for a large section of Northern British Columbia, Canada. The benefit to the original owner of the water rights, the Province of British Columbia, was economic and population growth. The purpose of this paper is to follow the contestation over these rights from 1948 to 2016. Design/methodology/approach An institutional logics perspective was taken to analyze the main actors and how their relative power (dominant versus fringe) changed in the institutional field. Archival data and selected interviews were mapped to institutional logics across three time periods. Findings In the inter-temporal setting, many of the actors that were fringe in 1950 became more dominant by 2016. For example, the local indigenous peoples, the Cheslatta Carrier First Nation, were flooded off their land to make way for Alcan’s dam. They ended up as very powerful players in the institutional field. The perpetual rights given to Alcan made it a dominant actor across all time periods, despite changes in the logics of the institutional field. Research limitations/implications A single case was studied; other comparative settings should be explored to contrast and compare. The data were primarily archival, supplemented by only three interviews of those related to the case study. This case study is also one where water rights were privatized in perpetuity, which may not be the case in other settings. Practical implications Current governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should use this case to understand the long-term effects of resource policy decisions. Social implications The building of large dams has been, and continues to be, used worldwide to provide power to create economic growth. Our setting provides insight into the long-term societal outcomes of using water rights in this way. Originality/value This is an original use of institutional logics around a natural resource-based institutional field. Using institutional logics in a multi-period setting, focusing on the power relations of the key actors, and how they can be constrained by historical forces, provides a contribution to the literature.

MNE as a catalyst for field-level institutional change in the Russian bakery sector

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 676-697
Author(s):  
Elina Pelto ◽  
Anna Karhu
Keyword(s):  
Transition Economy ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Multinational Enterprise ◽  
State Level ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Market Transition ◽  
Abductive Reasoning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Field Level

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on analysing how foreign entry by a multinational enterprise (MNE) can act as a catalyst for change in field-level institutional logics in a transition economy context. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents an empirical single-case study on the effects of an MNE’s entry on a particular industry in an emerging market’s context. The empirical study follows abductive reasoning; based on the interplay of previous literature and empirical observations, it identifies mechanism through which MNEs can catalyse change in field-level institutional logics. Findings The study shows that in addition to general market transition influenced by state-level policies, individual companies’ strategies, actions and market behaviour also significantly contribute to the development of a host industry’s field-level institutional logics. More precisely, a case study of a Finnish MNE’s entry into the Russian bakery market identifies the mechanisms and various change pathways through which the entry of a single MNE into a transition economy can significantly alter the institutional logics of a particular industry. Originality/value The study employs a novel perspective that incorporates the ideas, concepts and insights of an institutional logics perspective to MNE entry research for empirical analysis and theory building.

Exploring organisational hybridity from a learning perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 430-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Knutsson ◽  
Anna Thomasson
Keyword(s):  
Service Sector ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Organisational Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ideal Types ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Hybrid Organisations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore if the application of a framework building on organisational learning focusing on organisational processes can increase our understanding of how hybrid organisation develops over time and why they fail to live up to external expectations. Design/methodology/approach The aim of this study is descriptive and explorative. It is accordingly designed as a qualitatively oriented case study. To capture the process of forming and developing hybrid organisations, the study takes a longitudinal approach. The case chosen for the study is a municipally owned company in Sweden providing waste management services. The study revolves around empirical data gathered in official documents and in face-to-face interviews. All the data concern the time span between 2004 and 2016. Findings The analysis of the case studied provides us with insights into how hybridity manifests itself in mind-set and processes. There is a need for individuals within and around the organisation to be aware of and accept new goals and strategies to change their behaviour accordingly. The result of this study thus shows that contrary to findings in previous research on hybrid organisations, merely changing the structure of the organisation is not sufficient. Instead, learning is key to the development of hybridity and to overcome goal incongruence and conflicts of interest in hybrid organisations. However, this takes time and is likely to be dependent on individuals’ willingness to accept and adapt these new strategies and goals. Research limitations/implications The result of this study is based on one single case study in one specific hybrid context. No empirical generalisation is aspired to. Instead, the aim has been to – through an explorative approach – make an analytical contribution to the knowledge about hybrid organisations. Further studies are thus necessary to deepen the understanding of the hybrid context and the situations under which hybrid organisations operate and develop. Practical implications Based on the result from this study, it seems that an organisation needs to learn how to be a hybrid organisation. There are no isolated structural solutions that can create a hybrid organisation other than in a formal sense. New ways to exploit organisational resources and the hybrid context are necessary to find new and innovative ways of how to use the hybrid context in a way that improves service sector delivery. Originality/value Predominately, research on hybrid organisations has until recently been working with the premise that hybrids are not a breed of its own but a mix of two or several ideal types. Consequently, the result from this type of research has often landed in a conclusion regarding the complexity of combining what often is considered contradictory and conflicting goals. In this paper, a different and novel approach is taken. The paper illustrates how hybrid organisations develop over time, and it suggests that hybridity manifests itself in mindset and processes. The main contribution is an exploration and illustration of how organisational learning may be considered as the missing link between the structural orientation of previous explanations of hybrid organisations and the organisational property of hybridity. Hybridity is the result of exposure to, acceptance of and adaptation to new goals and strategies and expresses itself in “hybrid behaviour”.

Knowledge transfer roles of subsidiaries in MNCs’ networks

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cigdem Baskici
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Hierarchical Structures ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Consumer Electronics ◽  
Knowledge Network ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Based

Purpose Although there have been a considerable number of studies regarding subsidiary role typology in multinationals’ management literature, there appear to be few studies that consider knowledge-based role typology from the network-based perspective. The purpose of this study is to fill this gap and extend the study of Gupta and Govindarajan (1991). Thus, the study focuses on answering the following research question: Do subsidiaries have different roles in terms of knowledge flows within a multinational company (MNC)? Design/methodology/approach This empirical study has been carried out as an explorative single case study. An MNC with 15 foreign subsidiaries headquartered in Turkey, which operated in the manufacturing of household appliances and consumer electronics, has been selected as the case. Knowledge transfer is analyzed in this MNC from the network perspective. Findings Four role typologies are detected for subsidiaries of the MNC: collector transmitter, collector diffuser, converter transmitter and converter diffuser. Research limitations/implications Findings of this study are specific to this case. Testing the findings in a sample consisting of subsidiaries of MNCs producing transnational products may contribute to the generalizability of these roles. Practical implications This study offers potentially important findings for MNC managers to use. First, in this study, knowledge flows' route could be defined within MNCs’ dual network. Second, role typologies could inform MNC managers to design their MNCs’ knowledge network. Originality/value The suggested typologies are expected to more accurately define the roles of subsidiaries within contemporary MNCs which are accepted to be transformed from hierarchical structures to network-based organizations.

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