Hybrid laws: constitutionalizing private governance networks

s.a.: Das Recht hybrider Netzwerke. Zeitschrift für das gesamte Handelsrecht und Wirtschaftsrecht 165, 2001, 550-575.. Italienische Fassung: Diritti ibridi: la costituzionalizzazione delle reti private di governance. In: Gunther Teubner, Costituzionalismo societario. Armando, Roma 2004 (im Erscheinen)

Toward a Strategic Perspective of Human Resource Management

[Excerpt] The current decade has brought yet another transformation in the practice and study of human resource management (HRM). The field, for better or for worse, has discovered, and indeed begun to embrace, a strategic perspective. The intellectual energy currently being invested in discussions of the nature, extent, and desirability of this development is a clear indication that something of significance is afoot. Understand it or not, believe in it or not, like it or not, strategy is well on its way to becoming an important paradigm behind much of what HR professionals do and think

Towards a sinthomatology of organization?

In this paper I attempt to further the emerging Lacanian-inspired study of management and organization by introducing his notion of the sinthome. The sinthome must be understood as a necessary support of subjectivity rather than a pathological formation. In the Lacanian conceptualization of subjectivity, it enables the registers of the Symbolic, the Imaginary and the Real to be knotted together in a specific way,and thereby regulates the distribution of jouissance that takes shape within their ?knot?. Therefore, the sinthome can be thought of as the specific constellation of the registers in a socio-historical context, by organizing jouissance and giving a superficial sheen of consistency to the subject. It reproduces itself in the registers and ensures the superficial coherence of an ideological discourse. I argue that the three functions by which the sinthome reproduces itself in the registers, namely consistency, hole and exsistence,provide a fruitful and novel theorization of how subjectivity, discourse and jouissance are entangled in organizational contexts

Introducing conflict as the microfoundation of organizational ambidexterity

This article contributes to our understanding of organizational ambidexterity by introducing conflict as its microfoundation. Existing research distinguishes between three approaches to how organizations can be ambidextrous, that is, engage in both exploitation and exploration. They may sequentially shift the strategic focus of the organization over time, they may establish structural arrangements enabling the simultaneous pursuit of being both exploitative and explorative, or they may provide a supportive organizational context for ambidextrous behavior. However, we know little about how exactly ambidexterity is accomplished and managed. We argue that ambidexterity is a dynamic and conflict-laden phenomenon, and we locate conflict at the level of individuals, units, and organizations. We develop the argument that conflicts in social interaction serve as the microfoundation to organizing ambidexterity, but that their function and type vary across the different approaches toward ambidexterity. The perspective developed in this article opens up promising research avenues to examine how organizations purposefully manage ambidexterity

Disentangling Achievement Orientation and Goal Setting: Effects on Self-Regulatory Processes

Creativity has been underscored as a key factor to organizational adaptability and competitiveness in today\u27s rapidly changing business environment. Designing as well as managing work environments that facilitate creativity have therefore received growing attention, resulting in a multitude of research examining the social-psychological work environment. Few studies, however, have focused on the contribution of the physical work environment to supporting creativity in the workplace. This study focuses on the role of the physical environment in supporting creativity in organizations by identifying specific physical features and attributes of the work environment perceived to promote or inhibit creativity. The research design compares four organizations publicly acclaimed for their innovative social-psychological work environments, but which are distinctly different in terms of the physical work environment. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected by means of survey questionnaires [N = 1 30). Results indicate that the physical work environment exerts indirect influence on creativity by contributing to two significant social-psychological conditions that are conducive to creativity, namely dynamism and freedom. The study specifies attributes of the physical work environment perceived to be positively and negatively associated with both of these conditions

Corporate envy and emotional dynamics in the internal selection process of corporate venturing initiatives

Corporate venturing initiatives, which exemplify corporate entrepreneurial behavior, follow an evolutionary path of variation, selection, and retention. While their external selection is a consequence of their performance, their internal selection is subject to forces of complementarity and legitimacy, and how well competition from other initiatives is overcome. This chapter aims to unfold the dynamics of the internal selection process of initiatives, focusing on its emotional dimensions. Assuming that organizational agents have a deliberate role in guiding the internal selection process of initiatives, the chapter examines how organizational agents' emotional dynamics influence this process. The chapter draws its theoretical basis from the intraorganizational evolutionary perspective and the literature on emotions in organizations. The case of a corporate venturing initiative and the narratives of four managers involved directly and indirectly in the initiative are used to illustrate how the emotional dynamics of organizational members evoked envy toward a venturing initiative and directly impacted its degree of competition and complementarity with other interacting initiatives, ultimately hampering its selection

Human Resources Strategy: The Era of Our Ways

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss some of the main features and trends in human resources (HR) strategy. Inasmuch as people are among the most important resources available to firms, one could argue that HR strategy should be central to any debate about how firms achieve competitive advantage. But this “people are our most important asset” argument is actually fairly hollow in light of the evidence. Far too many articles on HR start with this premise, but the reality is that organizations have historically not rested their fortunes on human resources. The HR function remains among the least influential in most organizations, and competitive strategies have not typically been based on the skills, capabilities, and behaviors of employees. In fact, as Snell, Youndt and Wright (1996:62) noted, in the past executives have typically tried to “take human resources out of the strategy equation--i.e., by substituting capital for labor where possible, and by designing hierarchical organizations that separate those who think from those who actually do the work.

A Theoretical Exploration of Firms\u27 Decisions About Flexible Benefits Plans

The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of current theories for organizations\u27 decisions about employee benefits, an area that has traditionally received little attention from researchers in the field of human resource management. Drawing on organizational and economic theories, we offer alternative explanations for observed patterns in the adoption and design of flexible benefits plans. By critically analyzing current theories in the context of flexible benefits plans, we hope to gain insights not only into the factors that may determine organizations\u27 benefits decisions, but also into the strengths and weaknesses of the theories themselves. We find that the conflicts, overlaps and limitations inherent in the theories as applied to benefits issues are substantial. The implications for future research are discussed

Introduction to \u3cem\u3eThe Economics of Social Institutions\u3c/em\u3e

This volume includes thirty-six important contributions to the economics of social institutions by leading figures in the history of the field. Its nine Parts are: Early Contributions, Methodological and Conceptual Issues, Old Institutionalism, New Institutionalism, Social Costs, Growth and Development, Institutions and Change, Institutions and Organizations, and The Third Sphere of the Economy and Institutions. This set of topics provides a comprehensive review of the origins and development of the economics of social institutions. It addresses the main theoretical and policy concerns that have occupied contributors to the approach. The economics of social institutions has a been well-established research program for over a century, and continues to evolve and develop new areas of investigation. This collection provides researchers, scholars, and interested students and extensive review of the leading contributions to the subject. It can be used to advance future thinking about the economics of social institutions and as a key resource for university teaching and education