Prestigious organizations and heterodox choice in institutionally plural contexts

In unsettled fields with multiple ideal-typical institutional logics, why do organizations tend to weaken or conform to prevalent logic order? The authors argue that prestige, defined as a tribute paid by field members to a select few with valued distinctive traits, plays a determinant role in explaining institutional heterodoxy (i.e., the choice to stop instantiating dominant logics or start instantiating less prevalent logics). In unsettled fields, prestigious organizations adopt institutional heterodoxy to maintain their distinctiveness because they consider logics as means rather than constraining ends and because awarding bodies cannot impose strict obedience rules. Controlling for alternative explanations, a study of 165 French industrial design agencies (1989 to 2003) provides evidence that prestige favors the decision to undertake heterodox choices. This relationship is weakened when organizations diversify their expertise, is marginally reinforced when organizations have high-status clients, and is influenced by peers’ heterodox choices. The authors discuss contributions to the neo-institutional theory of organizational choices, the socio-cultural analysis of field’s evolution, and the strategic perspective of the firm.strategy; organizational choices logistics; industrial design

Prestigious organizations and heterodox choice in institutionally plural contexts

In unsettled fields with multiple ideal-typical institutional logics, why do organizations tend to weaken or conform to prevalent logic order? We argue that prestige –defined as a tribute paid by field members to a select few with valued distinctive traits– plays a determinant role in explaining institutional heterodoxy (i.e., the choice to stop instantiating dominant logics or start instantiating less prevalent logics). In unsettled fields, prestigious organizations adopt institutional heterodoxy to maintain their distinctiveness because they consider logics as means rather than constraining ends and because awarding bodies cannot impose strict obedience rules. Controlling for alternative explanations, a study of 165 French industrial design agencies (1989 to 2003) provides evidence that prestige favors the decision to undertake heterodox choices. This relationship is weakened when organizations diversify their expertise, is marginally reinforced when organizations have high-status clients, and is influenced by peers' heterodox choices. We discuss contributions to the neo-institutional theory of organizational choices, the socio-cultural analysis of field's evolution, and the strategic perspective of the firm.agences de design, logiques institutionnelles, hétérodoxie

A 16-channel Digital TDC Chip with internal buffering and selective readout for the DIRC Cherenkov counter of the BABAR experiment

A 16-channel digital TDC chip has been built for the DIRC Cherenkov counter of the BaBar experiment at the SLAC B-factory (Stanford, USA). The binning is 0.5 ns, the conversion time 32 ns and the full-scale 32 mus. The data driven architecture integrates channel buffering and selective readout of data falling within a programmable time window. The time measuring scale is constantly locked to the phase of the (external) clock. The linearity is better than 80 ps rms. The dead time loss is less than 0.1% for incoherent random input at a rate of 100 khz on each channel. At such a rate the power dissipation is less than 100 mw. The die size is 36 mm2.Comment: Latex, 18 pages, 13 figures (14 .eps files), submitted to NIM

Universal Quantum Cloning in Cavity QED

We propose an implementation of an universal quantum cloning machine [UQCM, Hillery and Buzek, Phys. Rev. A {\bf 56}, 3446 (1997)] in a Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics (CQED) experiment. This UQCM acts on the electronic states of atoms that interact with the electromagnetic field of a high $Q$ cavity. We discuss here the specific case of the $1 \to 2$ cloning process using either a one- or a two-cavity configuration

Exploring the role of objects in the transformation of logics: a practice perspective

This article aims to examine the role of objects in the transformation of logics (Thornton & Ocasio, 2008) at the practice level. In particular, it explores how financial actors use, transform and are constrained by their 'market devices' - defined as a range of instruments, models and tools used by financial markets (Callon, Millo, & Muniesa, 2007) - when aiming to (re)design their logics and practices towards more sustainability. It develops a theoretical model based on ever expanding, institutional theory by combining it with practice theories. In particular, the article argues that actors transform their practices, logics and objects, by transforming an epistemic object through a collective inquiry. Empirical support is drawn from a three-year ethnography study of a French asset management company that attempted to (re)design its equity investment process, following new demands for Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). Research methods combine participative observation, semi-structured interviews and documentary evidence. Theoretical andmethodological contributions are outlined for both institutional and practice theories.Inquiry ; Logics ; Objects ; Practices ; Pragmatism

Action and semantics of time in agro-ecology

In the systemic approach, the system is perceived as an action or a collection of overlapping actions expressed in reference to Time, Space, and Morphology (or Energy). When the system is studied by different disciplines, the referentials differ, as well as the semantics of terms used to describe the action. In order to establish the vocabulary of a collection of actions involving several disciplines, we propose a formal method for describing each action. The linguistic-based method enables (i) transcription of the literal description of an action in a semantic network, and (ii) building of a vocabulary in a formal setting. The method is illustrated through a complex biological system, i.e. the mutualistic relationship between two vine pests, while focusing particularly on temporality. The method provides a support for implementing multidisciplinary around a complex system. (Résumé d'auteur

Inside the hybrid organization: An organizational level view of responses to conflicting institutional demands

This paper explores organizational responses to conflicting institutional demands. An inductive comparative case study of four social enterprises that scaled their organization while embedded in competing social welfare and commercial logics suggests that, when facing competing organizational templates imposed by their institutional environment, organizations attempt to strike a balance at the organizational level by adopting a combination of intact practices from both logics instead of balancing at the practice level by resorting to strategies such as decoupling. In addition, we find an important legitimating effect of founding origins: in a sector where the social welfare logic is ultimately predominant, organizations originating from the social sector benefited from an a priori legitimacy capital, which allowed them to borrow freely from both social and commercial practices. In contrast, organizations emanating from the commercial sector, suffering from an a priori legitimacy deficit, had to display their conformity with social templates in order to secure their acceptance in the field and therefore adopted predominantly social practices. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of hybrid organizations and point to the founding origins of organizations as an important determinant of the pattern of hybridization strategies.