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

Exploring the Role of Instruments in the Transformation of Logics: The Case of Socially Responsible Investment

The purpose of this article is to explore the role of instruments in the transformation of institutional logics and their associated practices at the micro level. Based on an ethnographic study, this article compares two working groups — one responsible for equity and the other for fixed-income investments — in an asset management company attempting to integrate new demands for socially responsible investment (SRI). These two working groups both sought to change their investment processes through the introduction of Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2434177 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2434177 2 new calculative devices. The equity group was perceived to be more successful than the fixed-income group in introducing SRI because of its greater ability to fabricate calculative devices capable of mediating between financial returns and social responsibility. Elaborating on these findings, the article argues that instruments can effect institutional change when actors come to believe that available instruments are sufficiently flexible and incomplete to act as “mediating instruments” between practice and institutional change

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 and methodological contributions are outlined for both institutional and practice theories

A managerial perspective on the Porter hypothesis The case of CO2 emissions

investors and companies are increasingly aware that climate change and its associated needs for reducing CO2 emissions are likely to impact structurally many areas of the economy. This paper offers a contribution to understand these impacts on companies' strategy, by studying management systems. A typology is introduced based upon a two stage model. At stage one, the firm becomes aware of the risk and CO2 is a compliance issue. At stage two, the firm is involved in a more global re-assessment of its business portfolio including its relationship with suppliers and clients. The construction is based on three case studies: DuPont (chemicals), Lafarge (building materials) and Unilever (consumer goods). The implications of the analysis for investors are drawn.Corporate Social Responsibility – CO2 emissions – Management Systems – Strategy

Deshkan Ziibi Conservation Impact Bond Project: On Conservation Finance, Decolonization, and Community- Based Participatory Research,

Deshkan Ziibi Conservation Impact Bond Leadership Team (2021), The Deshkan Ziibi Conservation Impact Bond Project: On Conservation Finance, Decolonization, and Community- Based Participatory Research, Western University, London, Canada, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5206/101121ipib, 114 pages. About: This report includes elements of Indigenous and Western forms of knowledge to share a holistic story of the Deshkan Ziibi Conservation Impact Bond (DZCIB). The authors sought to write this report being guided by a “Two-Eyed Seeing” perspective1, bringing together Indigenous and Western ways of knowing, seeing, and being. As a reader, you are implored to reflect on the colonial legacy which continues to disempower Indigenous value systems and ways of life. You are encouraged to approach this report with an open mind and heart, challenge your base assumptions, and embrace the integration of diverse value systems and worldviews. This project was conducted in the spirit of reconciliation, decolonization, and indigenization. All three are recognized as continuous processes that occur on many levels including: intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, organizational, and national

A Managerial Perspective on the Porter Hypothesis -The Case of CO2 Emissions

Over the past decade, the debate on climate change has dramatically shifted. The strong evidence presented by the scientific community through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) process established by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has largely settled the discussion about whether an action should be taken to stabilize atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs) (Parry et al., 2007). Climate change is now acknowledged as being a serious global threat which demands an urgent response. For example, the Stern Review on the economics of climate change estimates that without any global action, the overall costs and risks of climate change would be equivalent to losing at least 5% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) each year, which could rise to 20% if a wider range of risks and impacts are taken into consideration (Stern, 2006). The question is: what should be the response to address the challenge of global warming while maintaining at the same time an economic growth (Mc Kinsey Global Institute, 2008)? With this in mind, environmental concerns are becoming an increasing central topic for strategic choices and decision-making by investors around the world.Corporate Social Responsibility ; csr

The Passion of Luc Boltanski: The destiny of love, violence and institution

On Justification: Economies of Worth (Boltanski and Thévenot, 1991/2006) was a synthetic and comprehensive parsing of common goods, goods that could and had to be justified in public. In response to Bourdieu’s critical sociology, they rather provided a robust and disciplined sociology of critique, the situated requirements of justification. They refused power and violence as integral to the operability of justification. They emphasized the ways in which conventions of worth afforded coordination, not their constitution of or by domination. They refused to make either capitalism, or the state, into primary motors of social order. Indeed, they refused social sphere, structure or group as the ground of the good. They emphasized the cognitive capacities of agents. There was no passion, no desire, no bodily affect in these justified worlds. There wasn’t even any account of production of value, of children or money. And while they recognized the metaphysical aspect of the good and even used Christianity as a template for one of their cités, they rigorously excluded religion. The theory was designed to analyze moments of controversy, not quiescence or quietude. In his subsequent work, Boltanksi aimed to address these absences. In this essay, we examine how Boltanksi sought to restore love, violence, religion, production and institution across five texts: Love and Justice as Competences (1990/2012), The New Spirit of Capitalism, co-authored with Eve Chiapello (1999/2007), The Foetal Condition: A Sociology of Engendering and Abortion (2004/2013), On Critique: A Sociology of Emancipation (2009/2011) and La «Collection», Une Forme Neuve du Capitalisme - La Mise en Valeur Economique du Passé et ses Effets (2014) co-authored with Arnaud Esquerre

Product Categories as Judgment Devices: The Moral Awakening of the Investment Industry

Product categories are more than classification devices that organize markets; when reflecting market actors\u27 purposes, they are also judgment devices. Taking stock of the literature on product categories and drawing on the distinction between the faculties of knowing and judging, we elaborate a framework that accounts for how and why market actors include or exclude normative attributes in a product category definition. Based on a field study of the development of Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) funds in France, we describe the phases and conditions of a judgment framework for category definition, for both established and nascent categories. We discuss implications for research on product categories and the workings of markets more broadly

The Use of Management Control Systems to Formulate and Implement CSR Strategy: A Levers of Control Perspective

Little is known about the role of management control systems (MCS) in managing the strategic processes that underpin Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). To enhance our understanding of this phenomenon, this study employs Simons’ (1995) levers of control framework to explore how organizations leverage MCS in different ways in order to drive strategic renewal and trigger organizational change while simultaneously supporting society’s broader sustainability agenda. Drawing on data gathered from France’s largest listed companies – members of the CAC 40 – we provide insights into the structures and processes that companies employ to design, implement and monitor their CSR strategy. In doing so, we provide evidence of the way that organisations seek to attain their CSR objectives, and of the relationship between the management of CSR and other business processes. Of particular interest is the role of the levers of control in enabling managers to identify and manage threats and opportunities associated with CSR strategy, thus forming risk management processes that support organisations in their attainment of strategic objectives. Furthermore, the study provides evidence suggesting the use of MCS has the potential to contribute to society’s broader sustainability agenda through processes that enable innovation, communication, reporting, and the identification of threats and opportunities