The Production of Institutional Behaviour: A Constructive Comment on the Use of Institutionalization Theory in Organizational Analysis

I argue that the development of institutional theories of the formal structure of organizations have assumed that the implementation of institutional behaviours is a routine activity. This has resulted in a neglect of the problems facing organizations attempting to meet institutional demands. Data from a study of the adoption of professional institutions by accounting associations is used to identify four sources of problems in implementing institutional behaviours: (1) pragmatic difficulties; (2) conflicts with organizational “identities”; (3) inter-organizational conflicts; and, (4) intra-organizational conflicts. Résumé Cette étude soutient que les théories institutionnelles concernant les structures organisationnelles ont présumé que l'adoption de comportements institutionnels s'effectue de routine. Ceci a donc donnée lieu à un oubli des problèmes auxques doivent faire face les entreprises qui tentent de respecter les exigences institutionnelles. Les données d'une étude relative à l'adoption d'institutions professionnelles au sein d'associations comptables est utilisée pour identifier quatre sources de problèmes dans l'adoption de comportements institutionnels: (1) difficultés d'ordre pratique (2) conflits avec les diverses identités institutionnelles (3) conflits intra-organisationnels (4) conflits inter-organisationnels.     

Understanding the leadership perceptions of staff in China's hotel industry: Integrating the macro- and micro-aspects of leadership contexts

The objective of this paper is to understand the leadership perceptions of staff in China's hotel industry. This study integrates the macro- and micro-aspects of leadership contexts by identifying the contextual variables that affect leadership perceptions. In leadership research, industry setting, the hierarchical levels of an organization, and national culture are recognized as the contextual constraints that affect leadership perceptions, and these constraints were used in this empirical study. Four factors emerged from the factor analysis of a survey study: professionalism; integrity; masculinity or yang; and femininity or yin. A key finding indicates that both the industry setting and the hierarchical levels of an organization affect professionalism. Implications for the training and development of future international hospitality leaders and local staff are considered.     

Revenue Sharing with Heterogeneous Investments in Sports Leagues: Share Media,Not Stadiums

This study examines revenue sharing in sports leagues where franchises engage in multiple types of investments. Previous literature typically treats revenues and investments as homogeneous, but we add to the literature by differentiating between investment types and revenue sources. This is important because investment in talent leads to winning, which is a zero-sum game for the league and therefore owners have an incentive to limit talent investment. However, other investments, such as stadiums, are not a zero-sum game, and therefore the implications of revenue sharing are different for the league. We provide sufficient conditions under which it is more efficient to share media revenue compared to stadium revenue. We conclude by providing applications of this model.     

The experience of teleworking: an annotated review

The paper reviews the contemporary literature on the experience of teleworking. Particular attention is paid to the socializing aspects of work and its comparative absence when working from home; economic considerations, both for homeworkers and for the firms; work satisfaction and motivation; supervision; roles and gender issues in homeworking; the organization of time and space; and, lastly, questions of self-discipline. The evidence reviewed is based on various teleworking trials conducted mainly during the 1980s; this information is supplemented by original research conducted by the authors which investigated the pros and cons raised by British Telecom operators who were due to take part in a teleworking trial. These operators anticipated many of the issues faced by those who actually had teleworking experience.     

Least squares model averaging by Mallows criterion

This paper is in response to a recent paper by Hansen (2007) who proposed an optimal model average estimator with weights selected by minimizing a Mallows criterion. The main contribution of Hansen’s paper is a demonstration that the Mallows criterion is asymptotically equivalent to the squared error, so the model average estimator that minimizes the Mallows criterion also minimizes the squared error in large samples. We are concerned with two assumptions that accompany Hansen’s approach. The first is the assumption that the approximating models are strictly nested in a way that depends on the ordering of regressors. Often there is no clear basis for the ordering and the approach does not permit non-nested models which are more realistic from a practical viewpoint. Second, for the optimality result to hold the model weights are required to lie within a special discrete set. In fact, Hansen noted both difficulties and called for extensions of the proof techniques. We provide an alternative proof which shows that the result on the optimality of the Mallows criterion in fact holds for continuous model weights and under a non-nested set-up that allows any linear combination of regressors in the approximating models that make up the model average estimator. These results provide a stronger theoretical basis for the use of the Mallows criterion in model averaging by strengthening existing findings.     

Innovation,external technical linkages and small firm commercial performance: an empirical analysis from Western New York

This paper examines the role of external service linkages in the innovation and market peformance of small manufacturing firms (SMFs). Survey data from a technological cross-section of 146 Western New York SMFs are summarized. The data suggest a helpful role for consultants in the product development efforts of innovative firms, especially those that serve foreign export markets. Several multiple discriminant models are presented, each of which suggests an interactive connection between SMF commercial performance, externa) technical links, innovation propensity and in-house R&D. It is argued that innovative SMFs that exploit specialized technical services perform significantly better than comparably sized firms that rely solely on in-house resources. It is also argued that the quality of a region's producer service environment may have a significant bearing on the growth potential of its SMF population. The paper concludes by discussing the main academic and public policy implications that flow from the empirical results.