Ad van den Oord, Karen Elliott, Arjen van Witteloostuijn, Melody Barlage, Laszlo Polos and Sofie Rogiest
In this paper, the authors develop a cognitive organization theory (COT) of organizational change. COT was developed in the 2000s, by taking insights from cognitive psychology and…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors develop a cognitive organization theory (COT) of organizational change. COT was developed in the 2000s, by taking insights from cognitive psychology and anthropology to rebuild the foundation of organizational ecology (OE), grounding macro processes of organizational legitimation, inertia and mortality in micro processes of appeal and engagement. COT also explored the micro-level process of organizational change, arguing that four features (i.e. asperity, intricacy, opacity, and viscosity) of an organization's texture impact the appeal of organizational change. However, to data, empirical studies of a COT of organizational change are absent. An important reason is that many of the new COT constructs are not linked to empirical measures. The purpose of this paper is to develop reliable and valid survey measures of COT's key constructs.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors follow a three-step procedure to develop reliable and valid survey measures of COT's key constructs. First, the authors construct survey measures by using existing organizational behavior (OB) scales and develop new scales in consultation with COT experts. Second, the authors apply factor analysis to evaluate convergent and discriminant validity and use Cronbach's α to determine the reliability of the scales. Third, the authors estimate a structural equation model to determine external validity, by exploring whether the measures have the effect hypothesized in COT.
Findings
The authors find that existing OB scales can be used to proxy for COT's key constructs of appeal and engagement. The authors also find that two organizational texture variables (i.e., asperity and opacity) are significantly associated with the appeal of organizational change, further confirming the validity of applying a COT to organization change. The results are promising, proving evidence as to the criterion-related validity of the measures of COT constructs. From the total of 39 coefficients of COT-inspired independent and control variables, 22 are significant.
Research limitations/implications
The authors’ findings illustrate that micro OB and macro OE can be effectively combined in a COT of organizational change. However, the authors' contribution is only a first step, requiring further theoretical and methodological refinement. Theoretically, OB and OE can be integrated further, by linking together more concepts and constructs from the two streams of literature. Methodologically, the link between constructs and empirical measures can be refined, by adding extra scales and items, and collecting more data to validate them.
Originality/value
In this paper, the authors develop a COT of organizational change and link its central constructs to empirical measures, by connecting them to existing OB constructs and developing new scales and items. This opens the door to empirical studies on a COT of organizational change, hereby providing a stepping-stone for further integration of micro OB and macro OE.
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Arjan van den Born, Arjen van Witteloostuijn, Melody Barlage, Saraï Sapulete, Ad van den Oord, Sofie Rogiest, Nathalie Vallet, Zdenko Reguli, Michal Vit, Christian Mouhanna, Damien Cassa, Henriette Binder, Vivian Blumenthal, Jochen Christe‐Zeyse, Stefanie Giljohann, Mario Gruschinske, Hartwig Pautz, Susanne Stein‐Müller, Fabio Bisogni, Pietro Costanzo, Trpe Stojanovski, Stojanka Mirceva, Katerina Krstevska, Rade Rajkovcevski, Mila Stamenova, Saskia Bayerl, Kate Horton, Gabriele Jacobs, Theo Jochoms, Gert Vogel, Daniela Andrei, Adriana Baban, Sofia Chirica, Catalina Otoiu, Lucia Ratiu, Claudia Rus, Mihai Varga, Gabriel Vonas, Victoria Alsina, Mila Gascó, Kerry Allen, Kamal Birdi, Kathryn Betteridge, Rebecca Casey, Leslie Graham and László Pólos
This paper aims to take stock and to increase understanding of the opportunities and threats for policing in ten European countries in the Political, Economic, Social…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to take stock and to increase understanding of the opportunities and threats for policing in ten European countries in the Political, Economic, Social, Technological and Legal (PESTL) environment.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is part of the large EU‐funded COMPOSITE project into organisational change. A PESTL analysis was executed to produce the environmental scan that will serve as a platform for further research into change management within the police. The findings are based on structured interviews with police officers of 17 different police forces and knowledgeable externals in ten European countries. The sampling strategy was optimized for representativeness under the binding capacity constraints defined by the COMPOSITE research budget.
Findings
European police forces face a long list of environmental changes that can be grouped in the five PESTL clusters with a common denominator. There is also quite some overlap as to both the importance and nature of the key PESTL trends across the ten countries, suggesting convergence in Europe.
Originality/value
A study of this magnitude has not been seen before in Europe, which brings new insights to the target population of police forces across Europe. Moreover, policing is an interesting field to study from the perspective of organisational change, featuring a high incidence of change in combination with a wide variety of change challenges, such as those related to identity and leadership.
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One area in which strategy and organizational ecology converge is organizational change. This essay weaves together salient themes in my (and my co-authors’) various writings on…
Abstract
One area in which strategy and organizational ecology converge is organizational change. This essay weaves together salient themes in my (and my co-authors’) various writings on organizational change, and is anchored in the research literature of the last twenty years. Among other ideas developed here, I point out that there is now a convergence of agendas in strategy and ecology, with an important role being played by intraorganizational ecology. I develop the distinction between strong and weak selection approaches to organizational ecology. While the strong selection view does not find empirical support, there is stronger support for the weak selection view. I lay out some key features of an emerging evolutionary synthesis for the study of strategy and organization, and develop an evolutionary approach to organizational change.
John S. Pearlstein and Robert D. Hamilton
The theory presented suggests that underwriters are both advisors and independent agents in the issuerʼs attempt to send “signals” of quality to investors by making pre-IPO…
Abstract
The theory presented suggests that underwriters are both advisors and independent agents in the issuerʼs attempt to send “signals” of quality to investors by making pre-IPO organizational changes. These pre-IPO gambits are intended to increase IPO proceeds, and preemptively address potential investor concerns that would deter them from subscribing. These organizational changes initially can financially benefit founders, early investors and underwriters. But they can also have a longterm impact that some issuers, especially founders, would prefer to avoid. Utilizing signaling and resource-based power, we find that underwriter power is significantly associated with making pre-IPO gambits and lower levels of underpricing.
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Laszlo Tihanyi, Anand Swaminathan and Sarah A. Soule
We use insights from resource dependence, institutional theories and social movement theories to examine the indigenization of subsidiary management in the multinational company…
Abstract
We use insights from resource dependence, institutional theories and social movement theories to examine the indigenization of subsidiary management in the multinational company (MNC). We discuss the effects of interdependence with local organizations, access to critical resources, and MNC legitimacy in the host country on the indigenization of subsidiary management. We consider the impact of local and extra-local social movement activity as well as the local political opportunity structure in the host country. The organizational variables in the framework include international strategy and experience. We suggest implications for further international management research and practice involving the operation of foreign subsidiaries.
J. Ramachandran and Anirvan Pant
We contend that the concept of liability of foreignness is inadequate to describe the set of disadvantages faced by emerging economy multinational enterprises (MNEs) in…
Abstract
We contend that the concept of liability of foreignness is inadequate to describe the set of disadvantages faced by emerging economy multinational enterprises (MNEs) in international markets. In order to address this theoretical gap, we develop the concept of “liabilities of origin” (LOR). We propose that the concept of LOR explains how the national origins of the MNE shape its disadvantages in international markets through three distinctive contexts of the MNE's ongoing activity: the home country context, the host country context, and the organizational context. We argue that in order to understand how emerging economy MNEs overcome their LOR, we need to engage simultaneously with the theoretical perspectives provided by the institutional entrepreneurship and organizational identity literatures. We suggest, further, that the concept of LOR may be useful to understand the character of MNE disadvantage in any international foray where the national origins of the MNE engender legitimacy-based and capability-based disadvantages for the MNE in a host country.
Examines the thirteenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects…
Abstract
Examines the thirteenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.
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Examines the fourteenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects…
Abstract
Examines the fourteenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.