The formation of organizations,networks, and markets

“Entrepreneurs” in economic theory are like supermen. Organizers of real world organizations are far less dramatic, playing roles that defy simple unimotivational characterizations. Likewise, “firms” in economic theory are simple black boxes from which come profit maximization assumptions. Real world organizations are much more complex in type, function, and structure. The usual economic distinctions between for-profit businesses, not-for-profit corporations, and government bureaus are often quite inaccurate or misleading. Even the distinction between organizations and markets developed by Ronald Coase ignores an important intermediate category of networks. This paper offers a complete reconceptualization of the role of organizers, organizations, networks, and markets. It is a fundamental challenge to the traditional paradigm of neoclassical economics. The alternative presented here incorporates the basic public choice perspective of Buchanan and Tullock, the new institutionalism of Williamson, and the informational concepts of Hayek. It also introduces the very important notion of correct agency identification for social analysis and what is called “social human capital” within the framework of organizational teams. Organizers, at the most fundamental level, organize new organizations when an organizer or group of organizers perceive a way to pursue their goals and objectives more effectively through the creation of new organizations than through the next best way of pursuing those goals and objectives. It is as simple and complicated as that.     

社区社会组织在社会管理中的协同作用——以杭州市为例

社区社会组织是基层社会领域中最为重要的组织形式之一,在社会管理中可以发挥积极的协同作用。杭州市社区社会组织发展的案例表明,它们在社会资本、制度设计与技术平台方面具有较好的协同动因,并在集结公民意愿、促进居民融合、提供社会服务、调处社会矛盾等方面发挥了积极的协同作用,从而推动了社会管理新格局的形成。政府需要建立健全制度框架和政策法规,为社区社会组织营造良好制度环境,而社区社会组织则需要提高自身能力,拓宽与政府、市场之间的协同领域,并且创新协同方式。     

A ROLE FOR COOPERATIVES IN THE MARKET ECONOMY

ABSTRACT*: This article emphasizes that the cooperative form of organization has an important role to play in developing the institutional variety in the market economy. Cooperatives are important tools for counteracting monopolies and monopsonies. Cooperatives may be analysed in terms of network organizations that enable weaker actors in the market to develop businesses that are beneficial both for themselves as users as well as for the larger national society. The development of new cooperatives is highly dependent on existing social networks in the local environment. Actors trying to promote the establishment of new cooperatives therefore have better chances of success if existing social networks are used as bases for the development of member-owned businesses.     

Development Economics from a Chicago Perspective

The interlocking board directorships among corporations. as well as between corporations and social organizations, is important for defining the modern political economy. This article finds the networks of those interlocks for Koch Industries Inc. and TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation. Moreover, the article extends the networks to describe and analyze the accompanying political network of contributions to Nebraska political campaigns. For corporate and social networks, we utilize conventional theoretical structures to find the new database of those networks for Koch Industries and TD Ameritrade. The new theoretical structure and database concern the campaign contributions of the board of directors in the corporate and social networks, as we trace them to campaigns for federal offices. The new political campaign finance structure we uncover here includes thousands of interconnected campaign finance conduits, through which money flows to political campaigns.     

An Institutional Explanation for Economists’ Theoretical and Methodological Choices

Scientific research in general and economics research in particular is a social act. More specifically, schools of economic thought as well as associations, research groups and conferences are expressions of social organizations within the realm of economics. Historically, studies investigating the methodologies used in economics have focused on the strengths of these social organizations. This study aims to analyze the key roles played by individuals within social organizations in building and reinforcing economics and, in turn, their influence on these individuals. To achieve this goal, we use an institutionalist approach in a broad sense. We show how economics as an academic environment can be presented as an institutional entanglement and how an institutionalist approach can enhance an understanding of why economists adopt a particular theoretical and methodological perspective. It is argued that habits, observations and cognitive abilities should be seriously considered to understand the logic and decision making of economic researchers. We discuss also the importance of forming groups in the process of institutionalizing elements relevant to an economic researcher’s logic and decision making and present an interpretation of mainstream economics in terms of the analytical approach of our study.     

Économie sociale et nouveaux pays industrialisés: Le cas de la Corée du sud

For more than 30 years, South Korea has experienced exceptional economic growth. In the context of such an accomplishment, is any room left for the social economy organizations? The analysis of available legal and economic data shows that whereas these organizations have a nonnegligible place in the Korean economy, on the one hand their role is limited in comparison with their western counterparts, and on the other hand the boundaries between public, capitalist and social economy sectors are blurred. The family in Korea is the most natural factor of socio‐economic integration; in many areas the family substitutes for intermediaries like the social economy organizations. The economic crisis that touched Korea at the end of 1997 contributed to the weakening of the traditional model of family solidarity and offered new prospects for the Korean social economy, especially in the field of social protection and social services. This is similar to what seems to be evolving in Europe.     

情理社会中非营利组织诚信问题研究

随着中国社会结构和社会规范的变迁,社会信任和诚信危机逐步成为社会的焦点。非营利组织是一种新型的社会组织,有别于企业和政府,在交织着关系网络的社会环境中,其诚信问题已然成为组织能否存续和发展的关键,因而,研究非营利组织的诚信问题对构建社会主义和谐社会具有重要的理论和现实意义。     

Breaking Up Old Marriages: The Political Process of Change and Continuity at Work

This article contends that political processes are essential dynamics in creating continuity and change in organizations. A central aim is to inform the debate on change in organizations by conceptualizing and exploring the interplay between actors' political rationales, organizational culture, and new management concepts. Attention is given to the introduction of technical-bureaucratic management concepts for Occupational Health and Safety and the environment through presenting a case study, where both managers' and shop-floor personnel's political behaviour can be examined. The findings illustrate how continuity rather than change often prevails through the existence of more stabilized patterns of politics. The establishment of shared systems of meaning, conceived as the social constitution of the company, is shown to be a central mechanism for the regulation of politics, explaining the selectivity of politics regarding issues, arenas, arguments and actors. In particular, the relative importance of shop-floor personnel's politicking is discussed, and it is shown how their way of politicking differs from the forms found in management. Consequently it is suggested, that studies of political processes, which seek to encompass these forms of politics would benefit from the insights gained in cultural studies.     

Breaking Up Old Marriages: The Political Process of Change and Continuity at Work

This article contends that political processes are essential dynamics in creating continuity and change in organizations. A central aim is to inform the debate on change in organizations by conceptualizing and exploring the interplay between actors' political rationales, organizational culture, and new management concepts. Attention is given to the introduction of technical-bureaucratic management concepts for Occupational Health and Safety and the environment through presenting a case study, where both managers' and shop-floor personnel's political behaviour can be examined. The findings illustrate how continuity rather than change often prevails through the existence of more stabilized patterns of politics. The establishment of shared systems of meaning, conceived as the social constitution of the company, is shown to be a central mechanism for the regulation of politics, explaining the selectivity of politics regarding issues, arenas, arguments and actors. In particular, the relative importance of shop-floor personnel's politicking is discussed, and it is shown how their way of politicking differs from the forms found in management. Consequently it is suggested, that studies of political processes, which seek to encompass these forms of politics would benefit from the insights gained in cultural studies.     

Lessons from Environmental Regulation for the Nonprofit Sector

As the third sector's economic and social impact grows worldwide, efforts by governments to regulate the sector have focused on increasing compliance in tax–exempt organizations. This article turns to the environmental sector for guidance, summarizing key characteristics of environmental regulation and noting what strategies are likely to prove useful for application to regulation of nonprofit organizations. The article finds some value in promotion of market–based enforcement schemes, but little value in promulgation of laws specifying governance structures and performance standards by a central authority. The most promising opportunity for improvement of the nonprofit regulatory process involves incorporation of financial incentives into monitoring schemes.     

新型农村社区协同治理模式的构建

城镇化和新型社区建设、户籍制度改革、社会组织发展和农业税费的取消,大大改变了农村基层社会的治理基础,农村社区治理方式需要创新。新的协同治理模式,要吸收社会组织参与到决策、执行、监督和服务机构中来,并且要结合农村社区的自身特点来规划实施途径。     

福建省非公有制新经济企业和经济类新社会组织思想政治工作调研及对策思考

非公新经济组织和新社会组织是创意经济和社会管理的生力军,思想政治工作担当着人的价值建设的历史使命。在对福建省非公新经济组织和新社会组织调研的基础上,提出完善社会化思想政治工作的“三层次四模块”模式,着力建设以“共建共享”长效激励为基石的学习型组织,以推动企业思想政治工作的现代化。     

政府与社会组织的互动模式——基于北京市某区的实地调查

在社会管理创新的形势下,来自诸多领域的社会组织与政府的合作已初见端倪。文章通过对北京市某区的实地调查,与政府相关部门及13家社会组织的半结构式访谈,从资金来源、项目实施、注册年检、项目介入四个维度实证研究了政府与社会组织的互动情况,并归纳出了四种合作模式,即强伴生模式、伴生模式、弱伴生模式、无伴生模式。     

我国社会中介组织发展中存在的问题及解决思路

在中央大力倡导政企、政资、政社分开的过程中，加大中介组织的发展力度对于促进了经济的健康发展和社会的稳定尤为重要。本文就我国社会中介组织的现状进行分析，指出了在发展中存在的问题并提出了相应的解决思路。     

MEASURING THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF VOLUNTEER WORK GLOBALLY: CONCEPTS,ESTIMATES, AND A ROADMAP TO THE FUTURE

ABSTRACT: This article explores alternative approaches for measuring the economic value of volunteer work, develops a methodology for producing global estimates of this value using existing data sources, and identifies a new data source that promises to yield significantly improved data on which to base such estimates in the future at both the global and national levels. Both volunteering through organizations and directly for individuals are considered. Different approaches to valuation, including the replacement cost, opportunity cost, and social benefits approaches and both observed and reported market proxies, are examined. Based on a number of criteria, the replacement cost method using observed market wages is recommended. Using this method, the article estimates that ‘volunteerland,’ if it were its own country, would have the second largest adult population of any country in the world, and would be the world's seventh largest economy. The article concludes by discussing a new International Labour Organization Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work that adopts the basic method for defining and valuing volunteer work outlined here and promises to generate a much more robust and coherent body of data on volunteer work than has ever been available both globally and nationally.     

Consumer misperception of eco-labels,green market structure and welfare

Eco-labels are essential for informing consumers about products’ environmental characteristics. However, the many different labels consumers encounter can be confusing, which makes assessing environmental quality associated with each label difficult. How does consumer misperception of competing eco-labels affect market structure and welfare? This article provides theoretical insight into this issue by using a double-differentiation model in which three products compete: an unlabeled product and two distinctly eco-labeled products, one with a medium and one with a high level of environmental quality. The study investigates the effects of consumers’ imperfect information when they perceive all eco-labels as a sign of the same high environmental quality and consider each label as a unique product. This misperception can weaken the firm that provides the greenest product, though paradoxically this situation is not always detrimental to social welfare. However, depending on the certifying organizations, consumer misperception can induce firms to use a greenwashing strategy and encourage nongovernmental organizations and regulators to introduce less stringent standards.     

论民间组织的三维社会空间:实体、社会心理和虚拟网络

民间组织的社会空间存在实体、社会心理和虚拟网络三个维度。文章认为,在政府主导的强国家、弱社会传统体制迈向主要由国家、市场、社会构成的多元现代社会管理体制的过程中,往往是显性的民间社会组织的实体和制度空间受到关注,而对社会心理空间和虚拟网络空间及二者与实体制度空间的整合与平衡没有给予足够的重视,从而使得国家面临在自上而下层层传导中执行力下降、政策效能降低,体制认同递次减弱等多方压力。因此,一个良好的社会空间,需要调整国家—社会关系,实现实体制度、社会心理和虚拟网络等三个维度的对接、融合和集成。     

Forest certification in Russia: Challenges of institutional development

This article examines the implementation of voluntary forest certification in Russia and the role it has played so far as a mechanism of multi-level governance with the potential to create sustainable forestry. The evidence was gathered from a data-set of over a hundred in-depth interviews with individuals from business, communities, state and non-governmental organizations in several major forestry regions in the European and Far-Eastern parts of Russia. The respondents' views regarding the nature and effects of certification were wide ranging. Certification is associated with new and powerful tools that are an alternative to coercive state governance, which may become instrumental in ensuring law enforcement and sustainability. At the same time, the combination of commercial drivers behind certification and the lack of social controls may lead to the institutionalization of existing, not necessarily desirable, forestry practices. Our paper shows that the inconsistent outcomes of certification are highly related to path-dependent social institutions and local practices. The expectations for internationally-devised schemes aimed at establishing sustainable forest management can be easily thwarted by the behavior of individuals involved at the local level. Greater focus on low-level actors is required for effective realization of multi-level governance in Russian forestry.     

国外社会创业组织绩效评价模式与整合研究

社会创业组织的存在与社会经济进步和民主治理密切相关,但目前对社会创业组织绩效评价的系统研究还比较缺乏。本文首先从基于社会或财务分析角度以及研究方法与过程角度分别介绍了国外经典的基于平衡计分卡的绩效评价模式、基于投资社会回报的绩效评价方法、基于影响机制的绩效评价模式和基于研究方法论的绩效评价思想,然后构建了一个社会创业组织整合指标体系,旨在为后续研究提供相应的理论分埽与指导框架。     

基于社会责任的企业组织变革研究

全球性的竞争压力使得企业的经营风险和压力快速增加,竞争已经发生着深刻的变化,变革就成为这一时代的主题,企业新一阶段的组织变革要符合社会责任倡导的基本要素,本研究以社会责任理论为支撑,推敲组织变革与社会责任理论的契合点,构建基于社会责任的组织变革理论框架,剖析社会责任对组织变革的影响因素,使企业组织在结构设计、制度确立、文化培育方面按照社会责任的要求改革。