20 research outputs found
The blind spots of interdisciplinarity in addressing grand challenges
When implemented effectively, interdisciplinary research can produce practical impact towards addressing societal âgrand challengesâ while also generating novel conceptual insights that advance theory. However, despite decades of calls for interdisciplinarity, research communities continue to become more siloed and less impactful. This paper aims to highlight the obstacles to interdisciplinary work contained within the accounting community, specifically those associated
with Interdisciplinary Accounting Research (IAR). We argue that, in order to overcome these obstacles and produce more effective and impactful interdisciplinary work, we require four IAR practices: Problem-solving, Public engagement, Professionalism and Performance Revision. Our purpose is to identify challenges as well as solutions that reduce the friction that accounting academics experience when collaborating with scholars outside their research discipline, especially when it concerns addressing grand challenges
Institutional voids and organization studies: Towards an epistemological rupture
In this essay, we critique the usage of the term âinstitutional voidâ to characterize nonWestern contexts in organizational studies. We explore how âconceptual stretchingâ of
institutional voids â specifically, the theoretical and geographic expansion of the concept â
has led not only to poor construct clarity, but also pejorative labeling of non-Western
countries. We argue that research using this term perpetuates an ethnocentric bias by deifying
market development and overlooking the richness and power of informal and non-market
institutions in shaping local economic activity. We call for an âepistemological ruptureâ to
decolonize organizational scholarship in non-Western settings and facilitate contextually
grounded research approaches that allow for more indigenous theorization
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The morality of informality: exploring binary oppositions in counterfeit markets
In seeking to explain the persistence of the informal economy â defined as the set of economic activities that are illegal yet legitimate to some large groups â scholars often focus on instrumental economic factors; in doing so, the role of morality is often overlooked. In response, we conduct a qualitative study of Pakistani counterfeit bazaars, to understand how market participants construct moral legitimacy in a way that justifies participation in, and thus contributes to sustaining, the informal economy. We reveal how the terms âcounterfeitâ (representing the informal economy) and âauthenticâ (representing the formal economy) function as an oppositional pair, both within the emic perspective of market participants but also within a baseline etic perspective of Western Intellectual Property regimes. Compared with this baseline, we find that market participants engage in three types of semantic transformation (invalidation, reframing and inversion) that shape moral assessments of authentic and counterfeit consumption. Through our study, we first contribute to a better understanding of how legitimacy in the informal economy is constructed. We also contribute to theory on âlegitimacy as perceptionâ, indicating how moral legitimization can occur through a dynamic of binary opposition between what is deemed to be âmoralâ and âimmoralâ. Our final contribution is towards understanding how morality around counterfeit consumption is constructed
CSR decoupling within business groups and the risk of perceived greenwashing
Research Summary:
Given the growing legitimacy of corporate social responsibility (CSR), many firms engage in symbolic communication to showcase CSR without undertaking commensurate substantive actions. This âCSR decouplingâ can create a risk of perceived greenwashing, which, in turn, may negatively affect a firm's performance. In this study, we explore an unexamined antecedent of decoupling: interfirm affiliation. Specifically, we use the structure of Business Groups (BGs) to investigate CSR decoupling across rather than within firms. We find that apex firms within a group are more likely to engage in CSR decoupling compared with nonâapex firms and, importantly, are partially shielded from greenwashing perceptions by the market. Our research contributes to the literatures on decoupling, perceived greenwashing, and the role of BGs and their CSR practices.
Managerial Summary:
Companies that engage in symbolic communication about corporate social responsibility (CSR) without substantive actions risk being perceived as âgreenwashers,â a perception that harms firm performance. Our study demonstrates how, in certain contexts where firms are affiliated with others, this may not occur. For instance, apex firms within Business Groups (BGs)âwhere firms are interconnected through equity and social relationshipsâcan report on the CSR actions of nonâapex affiliates without providing commensurate substantive actions of their own. Importantly, the control and coordination abilities of these apex firms protect them from greenwashing perceptions. This study, therefore, demonstrates the role of BGs in shaping CSR practices and provides insights for managers to understand the potential risks and benefits of affiliations within BGs
From global formulation to local legitimation : the trajectory of urban sustainability
Cette thĂšse considĂšre le dĂ©veloppement d'une idĂ©e puissante dans l'espace transnational â celle de "mythe du monde " - et analyse l'effet de ce mythe sur les structures et discours organisationnels contemporains. Ma recherche porte sur les transformations du dĂ©veloppement durable au XXe siĂšcle et examine les effets de ce mouvement dans le contexte de la gouvernance urbaine. Trois articles composent cette thĂšse, reposant chacun sur un pilier thĂ©orique distinct. La premier est la littĂ©rature relative aux « dĂ©pendances de sentier », qui encadre l'Ă©mergence transnationale du dĂ©veloppement durable comme un processus de nĂ©gociation du sens. Le concept de rĂ©gime dâintermĂ©diation constitue le deuxiĂšme pilier thĂ©orique de cet ouvrage et permet dâĂ©clairer les mĂ©canismes et acteurs responsables de la diffusion du mythe aux acteurs locaux. Le dernier chapitre repose sur une thĂ©orie des rĂ©cits institutionnels et souligne comment les nouvelles organisations lĂ©gitiment leurs principes fondateurs - et leur existence mĂȘme - grĂące Ă une combinaison stratĂ©gique de discours locaux et transnationaux. Chacun de ces articles emploie une mĂ©thode qualitative d'Ă©tude de cas, proposant une approche chronologique des processus en jeu. Le premier chapitre utilise une mĂ©thode de gĂ©nĂ©alogie conceptuelle portant sur lâidentification de glissements de sens au sein de textes clĂ©s marquant des moments historiques. Le deuxiĂšme chapitre emploie une analyse historiographique dâarchives institutionnelles visant Ă dĂ©finir les stratĂ©gies d'un intermĂ©diaire central dans la diffusion de lâidĂ©e de dĂ©veloppement durable auprĂšs de partenaires locaux. Le troisiĂšme chapitre utilise une mise en contraste de contextes institutionnels afin de souligner les similitudes et diffĂ©rences entre les rĂ©cits de deux des plus grands projets de dĂ©veloppement urbain durable au monde. L'objectif de cette thĂšse est triple. Je dĂ©montre, dâabord, comment une dimension apparemment Ă©vidente de la gouvernance organisationnelle n'est pas le rĂ©sultat statique d'un processus d'institutionnalisation rationnel mais plutĂŽt un produit mallĂ©able, objet de nĂ©gociations discursives permanentes. DeuxiĂšmement, je souligne l'impact d'un mythe transnational sur le discours dâorganisations locales, Ă©clairant par la mĂȘme comment un mythe peut ĂȘtre utilisĂ© comme ressource stratĂ©gique dans la construction une lĂ©gitimitĂ©. J'illustre, enfin, lâeffet retour que peuvent avoir les applications locales du mythe sur les discours transnationaux, participant Ă la redĂ©finition du mythe Ă lâĂ©chelle mondiale au fil du temps.This dissertation focuses on the development of a powerful idea in transnational space â referred to here as a âworld mythâ â and demonstrates the effect of this myth on contemporary organizational structures and discourses. My research takes the environmental movement in the twentieth century as an object of study, examining the effects of this movement within the context of urban governance. There are three theoretical pillars which comprise the dissertation: The first is the literature on path generation, which frames the transnational emergence of environmentalism as a process of negotiation around meaning. The second pillar is based on the concept of regime intermediation, illuminating the mechanisms and actors behind myth diffusion to local actors. The final chapter is founded upon a theory of organizational narratives, highlighting how new organizations legitimate their founding principles â and indeed their very existence â through a strategic combination of local and transnational discourse. These three papers all employ qualitative case study methods, oriented around a process thinking approach. The first chapter is based upon a conceptual genealogy method, identifying changes in meaning contained within key texts at specific junctures in time. The second chapter employs a historiographic archive analysis of organizational reports, to trace the strategies of one influential intermediary charged with diffusing environmentalism to local recipients. The third chapter uses a contrast of contexts approach to highlight the similarities and differences between narratives in two of the largest urban sustainability projects in the world. The objective of this dissertation is threefold: First, I demonstrate how a taken-for-granted aspect of organizational governance is not a static outcome of a rational institutionalization process, but rather a malleable product subject to ongoing discursive negotiations. Secondly, I highlight the impact of a transnational myth upon local organizational discourse and narratives, and identify how a myth can be used as a strategic resource to build legitimacy. Finally, I illustrate the feedback that local adaptation provides for transnational level discourse, defining the transnational conceptualization of the myth over time
Evolving conceptualizations of organizational environmentalism
Over the past 30 years, organizations of many different kinds have introduced environmental preoccupations into decision-making, engaging with â and in many cases co-constructing â a striking array of rankings, best practices, standards and other governance tools. However, there has thus far been surprisingly little exploration of the evolving normative implications of environmentalism: existing organizational research treats environmentalism as a static, uniform and quasi-naturalistic phenomenon. In this article, we argue instead that environmentalism is fluid and multifaceted, evolving over time to produce differing conceptualizations that become affiliated with â and mobilized by â particular groups of actors. Using the theoretical framing of path generation, we identify how environmentalism follows a path characterized by episodes of re-conceptualization and re-labelling, a discursive evolution reflecting incremental yet consequential interactions with other institutional paths. We engage in a conceptual history to identify junctures where environmentalism meets with other institutional trajectories, facilitating shifts in meaning. We identify moments of crookedness in the transnational environmental path that are symbolically reflected in label changes â from the emergence of âsustainable developmentâ in the 1980s, to âsustainabilityâ in the 1990s, and more recently, an offshoot towards âresilienceâ. Those label changes are not only, we propose, symbolic markers but are also performative and entrench consequential regime transformations with regard to environmentalism. Through our exploration, we contribute to theory development while also generating empirical implications: theory-wise, we identify mechanisms of path generation that inform broader debates around path dependence. Empirically, we illustrate how different variants of environmentalism are connected to specific meaning systems, exhibiting affinity with different organizational fields
Inhabited Actors : Internalizing Institutions through Communication and Actorhood Models
We argue that accounts of relationships among actors, actorhood and institutions are predominantly based on a spatial metaphor of actors operating within institutions. We outline how an inversion of this metaphor â i.e., the perspective that institutions inhabit actors â may prove generative for theory, particularly with respect to recent discussions about the microfoundations of institutions. We outline how communication and actorhood models function as transmission mechanisms of institutions from one actor to another. We conclude with a discussion of how the inverted metaphor of institutions inhabiting actors can be useful for future theoretical developments