The Work of Meanings in Institutional Processes and Thinking

Zilber, Tammar B.

doi:10.4135/9781849200387.n6

Cited by 115 publications

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“…With its emphasis on contextualized meaning systems, their mobilization for political ends, and their contribution to the work of institutional reproduction (Zilber, 2008), this paper recognizes the importance of values, meaning and culture in institutional processes. At the same time, it illustrates the reciprocal role of institutionalized governance structures in constituting the political context within which meanings are mobilized (Scott, 2008).…”

Section: /47mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We further show how institutional governance structures may be contested and realigned when they conflict with interests that are legitimized by dominant institutional logics. We suggest that this form of contestation and adjustment constitutes one mechanism by which institutional frameworks are tested, stretched and reproduced or redefined.With its emphasis on contextualized meaning systems, their mobilization for political ends, and their contribution to the work of institutional reproduction (Zilber, 2008), this paper recognizes the importance of values, meaning and culture in institutional processes. At the same time, it illustrates the reciprocal role of institutionalized governance structures in constituting the political context within which meanings are mobilized (Scott, 2008).…”

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Struggles for Meaning and Struggles for Control: The Diffusion of Bandwagon Technology in Two Institutional Environments

Guérard

2009

SSRN Journal

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Using comparative case studies, this paper shows how institutional contexts influence the process of diffusion of a complex technology by determining the pattern of material resources and authority available to actors in their struggles to control the technology, and by constituting the discursive resources that may be mobilized in their struggles to shape its meaning in preferred ways. The paper also reveals how governance structures may be contested and realigned when they conflict with interests legitimized by dominant institutional logics. This form of contestation and adjustment constitutes one mechanism by which institutional frameworks are tested, stretched and reproduced or redefined. 1 We thank Jean-Philippe Bonardi, Peer Fiss, Robin Gustafson, Mariann Jelinek, John Meyer, Tammar Zilber and participants in the 2008 Academy of Management symposium on the "Travel of Health Care Ideas: International Perspectives" as well as participants in the 2007 EGOS subtheme on Innovation and Institutions for their helpful comments on earlier renderings of the data and ideas in this paper. The authors are also grateful to the "Fondation du 450 e anniversaire" of the University of Lausanne, to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and to the Fonds québécois pour la recherche sur la société et la culture for their financial support of this research. 4/47How does the nature of the institutional environment influence decisions about the adoption of advanced technology within an institutional field? Reciprocally, how might organizational decisions about technology contribute to the maintenance or adaptation of institutional frames? Although there is a vast literature on the diffusion of technological innovations (Ferlie, Fitzgerald, Wood, & Hawkins, 2005;Greenhalgh, Robert, Bate, Macfarlane, & Kyriakidou, 2005;Rogers, 2003;Ryan and Gross, 1943), and although institutional theory has frequently been mobilized to explain the diffusion of managerial innovations and ideas (Abrahamson, 1991;DiMaggio and Powell, 1983;Meyer and Rowan, 1977;Tolbert and Zucker, 1983), there is surprisingly little work that has examined the specific role that institutionalized structures and meaning systems may play in the process of diffusion of technological artifacts, or on how these decisions might eventually challenge institutional frames.In this paper, we address these issues by examining the diffusion process for a complex medical technology -positron emission tomography, or the PET scanner -in two institutional contexts, one of which is more market-oriented (Switzerland) and the other more centrally managed by a public agency (Quebec). The comparison allows us to untangle the role of the institutional environment in the diffusion process by holding the object of diffusion constant.The PET scanner is a particularly interesting technology for this study because it is complex, extremely expensive, and was initially at least, quite controversial, creating excitement in the medical community while engaging health c...

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Section: /47mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Struggles for Meaning and Struggles for Control: The Diffusion of Bandwagon Technology in Two Institutional Environments

Guérard

2009

SSRN Journal

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“…In fact, this tendency to concentrate on analyzing discourses without thoroughly assessing material consequences in terms of adoption behavior is not confined to research on the diffusion of CSR practices, but has been described as a limiting factor of much diffusion research from an institutional theory perspective within the past years (Zilber 2008;Mazza and Alvarez 2000). In order to contribute to closing these gaps, I will combine existing theoretical arguments from institutional theory in order to derive empirically testable propositions on how reporting by infomediaries on codes of conduct within an industry should interrelate with organization's adoption behavior.…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dressing up for Diffusion: Codes of Conduct in the German Textile and Apparel Industry, 1997–2010

Scheiber

2013

J Bus Ethics

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I study the diffusion of codes of conduct in the German textile and apparel industry between 1997 and 2010. Using a longitudinal case study design, I aim to understand how the diffusion of this practice was affected by the way important ''infomediaries''-a trade journal and a professional association-shaped its understanding within the industry. My results show that time-consuming processes of meaning reconstruction by these infomediaries temporarily hampered but finally facilitated the broader material diffusion of codes of conduct within the industry. These findings detail existing conceptualizations of code diffusion as they demonstrate how infomediaries-through creation, use, and reconstruction of explanatory accounts as well as frames of reference-participate in defining the relevance and meaning of CSR practices. I move beyond prior empirical work as I explicitly assess not only processes of meaning construction evolving around a CSR practice but also how these processes over time coincide with quantitative patterns of its material diffusion. Implications of my findings for existing research on the diffusion of codes of conduct specifically and CSR practices in general as well as for conceptualizations of diffusion from institutional theory are discussed.

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“…The ways in which for example goals are set, strategic plans are defined, and how decisions are interpreted to make sense are embedded within wider institutional dynamics of meaning (Zilber 2008).…”

Section: Institutionalization Dynamics In the Organizational Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such processes are however dynamic and ongoing, and the objectives are not always realized (Zilber 2008).…”

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confidence: 99%

Organizing and Disorganizing Strategic Communication: Discursive Institutional Change Dynamics in Two Communication Departments

Grandien

Johansson

2016

International Journal of Strategic Communication

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The Work of Meanings in Institutional Processes and Thinking

Cited by 115 publications

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Struggles for Meaning and Struggles for Control: The Diffusion of Bandwagon Technology in Two Institutional Environments

Struggles for Meaning and Struggles for Control: The Diffusion of Bandwagon Technology in Two Institutional Environments

Dressing up for Diffusion: Codes of Conduct in the German Textile and Apparel Industry, 1997–2010

Organizing and Disorganizing Strategic Communication: Discursive Institutional Change Dynamics in Two Communication Departments

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