Organisationstheorie, ihre gesellschaftliche Relevanz und "gesellschaftstheoretische Herausforderung"

Die Autoren diskutieren anhand jüngerer Publikationen den Stand der organisationstheoretischen Forschung. Auf der Basis der theoretischen Entwicklungslinien in Deutschland, England und den USA, arbeitet der Text die Problematik der fehlenden gesellschaftstheoretischen Einbettung etablierter Ansätze heraus. Die Autoren geben schließlich Hinweise in welche Richtung die Theorie-Debatte fortgesetzt werden könnte. Dabei stehen der Bezug der Organisationstheorie auf Sozialstrukturanalyse, Industriesoziologie und Kapitalismustheorie im Mittelpunkt der Diskussion

Corporate social responsibility: a myth? The example of the 'Round Table Codes of Conduct' in Germany

This paper is concerned with why and how multinational companies (MNCs) voluntarily engage in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), especially in social standards. The first part describes the prevailing perspectives on the CSR debate. Then, with the New Institutionalism in Sociology, an alternative view on CSR is discussed. The third part develops the argument that the ‘traditional’ rational institutional myth developed by Meyer and Rowan should be replaced or supplemented by a CSR myth. After that, the case study of “Round Table Codes of Conduct” provides an example of how MNCs deal with this emerging CSR myth

East-west corporate networking: A theoretical approach

In recent years after the beginning of the transition process, firms in Central and Eastern European countries have been trying hard to find access to international markets and production chains. Rapidly changing institutional, technological and demand conditions together with decades of isolation from world markets do not let ,,stand-alone strategies appear very successful in this context. The paper presents networking activities as a promising alternative for Central and Eastern European firms (CEEF) to organize international transactions. As several theories show, network forms of organization can - by establishing an atmosphere of trust and stability and by pooling resources and information - make it possible for network members to realize an economic advantage over external competitors that is higher than in markets or hierarchies. Among various types of networking activities, it is especially long-term-orientated relations that offer the possibility for CEEF to participate in an international exchange of crucial technologies and to upgrade their position in global production chains in the long run.

Der soziologische Neo-Institutionalismus. Eine organisationstheoretische Analyse- und Forschungsperspektive auf schulische Organisationen

Der organisationssoziologische Neo-Institutionalismus ist bislang in den Erziehungswissenschaften kaum oder nur ansatzweise rezipiert worden. Dieser Befund steht in Kontrast zu der bedeutenden Stellung, die neo-institutionalistische Ansätze in der internationalen Organisationsforschung sowie auch in der deutschen organisationstheoretischen Diskussion einnehmen. Mit der Zielsetzung, das Potenzial einer neo-institutionalistischen Perspektive auf schulische Organisationen aufzuzeigen, gibt der vorliegende Beitrag zunächst einen Überblick über theoretische Grundzüge und aktuellere Weiterentwicklungen des soziologischen Neo-Institutionalismus. Anhand der zentralen neo-institutionalistischen Argumentationen und Erkenntnisse werden in einem zweiten Schritt die Situation des deutschen Schulwesens sowie aktuelle Schulreformvorhaben diskutiert. Dabei zeigt sich aus neo-institutionalistischer Sicht im Schulsektor eine Vielfalt möglicher Analyse- und Forschungsbereiche. (DIPF/Orig. )Organization-sociological neo-institutionalism has so far hardly been taken account of by educational science. This finding runs counter to the importance of neo-institutional approaches in international research on organization and in the German debate on organization theory. It is the author´s aim to point out the potential inherent in a neo-institutional perspective applied to school organization. She therefore sketches the theoretical foundations and present developments of sociological neo-institutionalism. Based on the central neo-institutional lines of reasoning and insights, she then discusses the situation of the German school system as well as present-day plans for school reform. It is shown that, from the neo-institutional point of view, the school sector offers a variety of possible fields for analysis and research. (DIPF/Orig.

Pfadabhängigkeit als Forschungsprogramm für die Agrarökonomie

More than a decade ago, path dependence turned out to become a promising research program for agricultural economics. This article reviews important trends in path dependence research and highlights its role in the economics of technology, institutional economics, agricultural economics, and organization theory. Due to potential inefficiencies of path dependent processes, more and more researchers focus on path creation which has as yet not been understood very well. The implications of these recent developments for research questions and methodology of agricultural economics are sketched.efficiency, generating momentum, mindful deviation, path creation, path dependence, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,