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

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

IS DESIGN A SOLUTION FOR THE SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES' FUTURE?

This article develops the idea put forward by Washington and Ventresca (2004) that institutions can sustain an emergent strategy in a given field. Ordinarily considered as stable elements of that field, these institutions may be subject to change. This theoretical approach is the object of a case study set in the framework of a contest. Organized by the General Council of the Loire and aimed at SME located in its constituency, the contest goal is to encourage innovation through design. By design, one must understand a creation produced by Man for industrial and commercial use. An emergent strategy is defined as new when situated within a defined context and a specific period of time. An exploratory case study has been conducted in order to help understand how this integration works. It takes into account qualitative data such as the RFID patch project led by the DOING Company within the framework of “Design Concept” Contest. Based on the mechanisms formulated by Washington and Ventresca (2004), this analysis has been elaborated to illustrate how an emergent strategy can be successfully incorporated. Several empirical questions subsequently follow: “What are the characteristics that allow business managers settled in the Loire district to adopt a design strategy? Which fields of activity in the Loire area are the most inclined to be compatible with the design strategy? Which business projects are the most eligible for partnership with designers? How will the General Council choose the subjects for the contest in order to initiate change within institutions?

The impact of the migration processes on the low cost airlines’ routs between EU countries and Poland after its accession to the EU, and on the territorial cohesion of Polish regions.

After the accession of Poland to the European Union in 2004 we could observe two phenomena: huge emigration of Poles to the old member states of the EU (mainly to United Kingdom and Ireland) and on the second hand a very dynamic increase in the number of flight destinations from regional airports served by low cost carriers (what meant also increase in the number of passengers). The aim of this article is to answer the question, whether directions of the emigration after accession of Poland to the European Union had a significant impact on the routes of low cost airlines in Poland. Whether we can say, that the migration forced LCCs to establish new flights and connections in a particular direction or not? And if yes - to what extent. What is happening when emigrants are coming back to Poland. If there are significant relation between movement of migrants and number of flights of low cost carriers from Polish airports? Finally, can we say, that growing emigration and growing number of LCCs flights helped to improve territorial cohesion of Polish regions with the core of Europe? What is the scale of this improvement and what is the mechanism of this? What kind of policy can regional authorities introduce in this area to strengthen territorial cohesion of Polish regions with the rest of Europe? To answer all these questions authors want to compare and analyze statistics of migration and original data concerning number and destination of LCCs flights from Polish regional airports. To answer questions stated above statistical methods will be used.

RNA catalysis in model protocell vesicles.

We are engaged in a long-term effort to synthesize chemical systems capable of Darwinian evolution, based on the encapsulation of self-replicating nucleic acids in self-replicating membrane vesicles. Here, we address the issue of the compatibility of these two replicating systems. Fatty acids form vesicles that are able to grow and divide, but vesicles composed solely of fatty acids are incompatible with the folding and activity of most ribozymes, because low concentrations of divalent cations (e.g., Mg(2+)) cause fatty acids to precipitate. Furthermore, vesicles that grow and divide must be permeable to the cations and substrates required for internal metabolism. We used a mixture of myristoleic acid and its glycerol monoester to construct vesicles that were Mg(2+)-tolerant and found that Mg(2+) cations can permeate the membrane and equilibrate within a few minutes. In vesicles encapsulating a hammerhead ribozyme, the addition of external Mg(2+) led to the activation and self-cleavage of the ribozyme molecules. Vesicles composed of these amphiphiles grew spontaneously through osmotically driven competition between vesicles, and further modification of the membrane composition allowed growth following mixed micelle addition. Our results show that membranes made from simple amphiphiles can form vesicles that are stable enough to retain encapsulated RNAs in the presence of divalent cations, yet dynamic enough to grow spontaneously and allow the passage of Mg(2+) and mononucleotides without specific macromolecular transporters. This combination of stability and dynamics is critical for building model protocells in the laboratory and may have been important for early cellular evolution

A pluralistic approach to the philosophy of classification

Any classification system should be evaluated with respect to a variety of philosophical and practical concerns. This paper explores several distinct issues: the nature of a work, the value of a statement, the contribution of information science to philosophy, the nature of hierarchy, ethical evaluation, pre- versus postcoordination, the lived experience of librarians, and formalization versus natural language. It evaluates a particular approach to classification in terms of each of these but draws general lessons for philosophical evaluation. That approach to classification emphasizes the free combination of basic concepts representing both real things in the world and the relationships among these; works are also classified in terms of theories, methods, and perspectives applied

Facet Analysis Using Grammar

Basic grammar can achieve most/all of the goals of facet analysis without requiring the use of facet indicators. Facet analysis is thus rendered far simpler for classificationist, classifier, and user. We compare facet analysis and grammar, and show how various facets can be represented grammatically. We then address potential challenges in employing grammar as subject classification. A detailed review of basic grammar supports the hypothesis that it is feasible to usefully employ grammatical construction in subject classification. A manageable and programmable – set of adjustments is required as classifiers move fairly directly from sentences in a document (or object or idea) description to formulating a subject classification. The user likewise can move fairly quickly from a query to the identification of relevant works. A review of theories in linguistics indicates that a grammatical approach should reduce ambiguity while encouraging ease of use. This paper applies the recommended approach to a small sample of recently published books. It finds that the approach is feasible and results in a more precise subject description than the subject headings assigned at present. It then explores PRECIS, an indexing system developed in the 1970s. Though our approach differs from PRECIS in many important ways, the experience of PRECIS supports our conclusions regarding both feasibility and precision

Research Skills for the Future: An Interdisciplinary Perspective

This article is a response to a Viewpoint & Discussion article published in this journal: Ulrich, W., & Dash, D. P. (2013). Research skills for the future: Summary and critique of a comparative study in eight countries. Journal of Research Practice, 9(1), Article V1

Synthetic Classification and Diverse Communities

This brief paper argues that a synthetic approach to classification can alleviate all of the major concerns that are commonly raised about how Knowledge Organization Systems (KOSs) may disserve various communities. It surveys how a synthetic approach can potentially address a variety of concerns regarding KOSs and social diversity