Standards in transitions: Catalyzing infrastructure change

Infrastructures are difficult to change in response to new societal demands. They are entrenched, materially and socio-institutionally, and seem to be ‘locked-in’. Scholars have addressed this problem by, for example, devising strategies for de-entrenchment, alternative path creation and transition management that focus on the process of change (emphasis on ‘how’). In this paper, we take a novel and counterintuitive approach, and focus on standards as a starting point for change (emphasis on ‘what’). We analyze in what manner standards can play a catalyzing role in infrastructure transitions and which standards characteristics facilitate in doing so.Central to our framework are the concepts of gateway technology and compatibility. We analyze three cases, i.e., the modal shift in freight container transport; the transition from barcode to Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID); and the possibility of a Dutch energy transition from natural gas to hydrogen.The article concludes that standards can catalyze infrastructure transitions if, first, their content well-reflects relevant stakeholder interests; and, second, if standard specifications are simple and performance-oriented. Their impact is highest in stable markets and for expanding infrastructures. Under these conditions standards can exploit the forces of entrenchment and socio-technical lock-in to bring about change.     

“We are all so different that it is just … normal.” Normalization practices in an academic hospital in the Netherlands

Internationally, academic hospitals are giving increasing attention to diversity management. This paper sheds light on the actual praxis of cultural diversity management by professionals in workplace interactions. An ethnographic study in a Dutch academic hospital showed that normalization practices were obscuring diversity issues and obstructing inclusion of cultural minority professionals. The normalization of professionalism-as-neutral and equality-as-sameness informed the unequal distribution of privilege and disadvantage among professionals and left no room to question this distribution. Majority and minority professionals disciplined themselves and each other in (re)producing an ideal worker norm, essentialized difference and sameness, and explained away the structural hierarchy involved. To create space for cultural diversity in healthcare organizations in the Netherlands and beyond, we need to challenge normalization practices.     

INCLUSIVE GOVERNANCE IN SOCIAL ENTERPRISES IN THE NETHERLANDS – A CASE STUDY

An element that policymakers and academics often believe to be constitutive in the governance of a social enterprise is the use of inclusive and responsible decision‐making processes. This entails the involvement of various categories of stakeholders. In this paper, a case study is used to explore how a work integration social enterprise based in the Netherlands, AutiTalent BV, has organized its governance. The Netherlands has not developed legislation specifically dealing with social enterprises, in contrast to many other EU Member States (16 out of 28), and it does not require, although it allows for, the establishment of inclusive governance. By examining how (national Dutch) law affects the governance of a work‐integration‐oriented social enterprise, the authors aim to contribute to emerging theory on participatory and inclusive governance of social enterprises – as a legal concept but also as an organizational concept – shaped by (tailor‐made and/or ordinary) law. The case study reveals that the investigated work integration social enterprise has not set up formal inclusive governance, suggesting that a social enterprise may not be stimulated by legislation which allows but not requires the participation of stakeholders in decision making. At the same time, informal direct communication channels exist between the people who influence the decision‐making processes and people from various stakeholder categories.     

The career reality of global managers: an examination of career triggers

This study investigates whether the conceptualization of contemporary careers corresponds with the career realities of global managers, a new type of international work in organizations. Based on in-depth interviews with 45 global managers, or managers having worldwide coordination responsibility, we examine whether their different career moves are triggered by factors that reflect a short-term perspective, a non-hierarchical course, self-management, and internal values. The findings have implications for both the career and international human resource (HR) literature. They highlight that a balanced approach better captures the career realities of global managers and suggest an altered meaning of midcareer experience. They further point to the continuing importance of headquarters, question the necessity of an international career anchor, and indicate the opportunities of flexible global work to achieve a stable family life.     

Characteristics of international work: Narratives of the global manager

This study extends our understanding of the notion of the global manager by empirically examining their personal experiences as coordinators across multiple geographies and cultures. Basing our work on in‐depth interviews, we study narrative fragments of 45 global managers, identifying the most prominent issues in fulfilling the job of worldwide coordinator and the impact of their work on their personal life. The findings further indicate that global managers' experiences are characterized by three tensions: distance versus closeness, hierarchy versus culture, and work flexibility versus family equilibrium. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Career paths of global managers: Towards future research

The aim of this paper is to identify potentially productive areas where future research on global managers’ careers is warranted. Approaching career as a path, we conceptualize a global career path as an intersection of three domains: an individual, an organizational and a global environment domain. To identify, within each domain, the most important factors influencing a global career, we first conducted a review of the literature on boundaryless careers and global managers. This review allowed us to identify those factors that are most relevant to the changing nature of careers and global assignments. We then reviewed past empirical research on international careers to map how previous studies have addressed those factors, further guiding us to formulate directions for future research on global careers. As well as indicating these specific research implications, we propose a contextualized research approach that facilitates understanding of different career moves over time as well as the overall direction of a global career path.