Institutional entrepreneurs on opportunity formation and exploitation in strategic new industry

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuanwei Cao ◽  
Yipeng Liu ◽  
Chunhui Cao

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of institutional entrepreneurship in opportunity formation and opportunity exploitation in developing emerging strategic new industries. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the focal literature focussing on institutional entrepreneurs’ role in opportunity formation with special attention to opportunities for institutional entrepreneurs in emerging economy. A multi-method approach consisting of historical case studies and event sequencing is applied to track the historical development of the solar energy industry in two case contexts and to investigate the role of institutional entrepreneurs in this process. Findings – Investigation of two cases illustrates that different types of institutional entrepreneur, as represented by individual entrepreneurs and local government, in the context of massive institutional change – such as the Grand Western Development Program and the Thousand Talents Program in China – have varied effects on triggering and inducing institutional change and innovation to explore and exploit opportunities in emerging new industries. Practical implications – The significance of local context for the nature and scope of institutional entrepreneurship in emerging economy is worthy of further research. The top-down process of institutional innovation dominated by local government might cause myopic outcome and distortion of market opportunities. Indigenous individual entrepreneurs with well-accumulated political capital and strong perceived responsibility could be the main actors to introduce incremental institutional change by combining bottom-up and top-down processes and promoting sustained new industry development through creating and seizing institutional opportunities and market opportunities. Originality/value – This paper illustrates the close relationship between institutional environment and opportunity formation in emerging economies, contributes to the understanding of contextualizing institutional entrepreneurs in different regional contexts and discloses the problems involved in local government acting as an institutional entrepreneur.

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 458-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Martin-Sardesai

Purpose This study aims to explore how management control systems (MCS) compliment institutional entrepreneurship. It provides a case illustration of how the Vice Chancellor (VC) as an institutional entrepreneur used MCS to bring about a change in an Australian public sector university in anticipation of an externally imposed research assessment exercise. Design/methodology/approach This case study gathered qualitative data through key informant interviews (including deputy VCs, research managers, executive deans and heads of departments) and a review of university and other electronic policy-related documents. Findings The study contributes to an understanding of the external environment that drives university leaders to become institutional entrepreneurs, and what they precisely do to facilitate the internal dynamic change in line with political demands. Research limitations/implications Being a single case study, care should be taken in generalizing the findings. However, it raises significant issues that deserve further attention, for example, the impact of change on the working life of academics. Practical implications The research study identifies the proposed imposition of a research assessment exercise as an enabling condition under which an institutional entrepreneur could promote and activate a new vision. It provides useful insights for other universities operating in the rapidly changing environment. Originality/value In identifying the way institutional entrepreneurs bring about change by promoting a vision and operationalizing it through MCS, the research study extends literature on institutional entrepreneurship MCS and organizational change.


2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 1665-1687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamal A. Munir ◽  
Nelson Phillips

In this paper, we adopt a discourse analytic methodology to explore the role of institutional entrepreneurs in the process of institutional change that coincides with the adoption of a radically new technology. More specifically, we examine how Kodak managed to transform photography from a highly specialized activity to one that became an integral part of everyday life. Based on this case, we develop an initial typology of the strategies available to institutional entrepreneurs who wish to affect the processes of social construction that lead to change in institutional fields. The use of discourse analysis in analysing institutional change provides new insights into the processes through which institutional fields evolve as well as into how institutional entrepreneurs are able to act strategically to embody their interests in the resulting institutions.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 573-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
José María González-González ◽  
Constancio Zamora-Ramírez ◽  
Ignacio García-Hernández

Purpose – This paper aims to improve the knowledge about the strategic actions of institutional entrepreneurs in the configuration of the institutional pillars of an emerging field such as the Spanish renewable energy sector, as well as to illustrate the role of these actors in the fight against climate change. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a single case study conducted in a company that entered the renewable energy sector in the ‘90s, and currently is a national and international reference in the generation of thermosolar power. The results of this case study are analysed and interpreted according to the New Institutional Sociology. Findings – The paper identifies and analyses the strategic actions developed by the company to configure the regulative, normative and cognitive pillars of its institutional context, such as the establishment of inter-actors relationships, the mobilisation of constituent actors, the use of sanctions and rewards, the employment of consultants and the public dissemination of knowledge and social awareness. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the development of the specialised literature about the institutional entrepreneurship which is very scarce in relation to the actions of institutional entrepreneurs in emerging fields. Likewise, this study allows managers to know the role of those entrepreneurs to configure the behaviour patterns that could be accepted and assumed by those entering the sector later on.


2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 284-314
Author(s):  
Michael Opara ◽  
Oliver Nnamdi Okafor ◽  
Akolisa Ufodike ◽  
Kenneth Kalu

PurposeThis study adopts an institutional entrepreneurship perspective in the context of public–private partnerships (P3s) to highlight the role of social actors in enacting institutional change in a complex organizational setting. By studying the actions of two prominent social actors, the authors argue that successful institutional change is the result of dynamic managerial activity supported by political clout, organizational authority and the social positioning of actors.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a field-based case study in a complex institutional and organizational setting in Alberta, Canada. The authors employed an institutional entrepreneurship perspective to identify and analyze the activities of two allied actors motivated to transform the institutional environment for public infrastructure delivery.FindingsThe empirical study suggests that the implementation of institutional change is both individualistic and collaborative. Moreover, it is grounded in everyday organizational practices and activities and involves a coalition of allies invested in enacting lasting change in organizational practice(s), even when maintaining the status quo seems advantageous.Originality/valueThe authors critique the structural explanations that dominate the literature on public–private partnership implementation, which downplays the role of agency and minimizes its interplay with institutional logics in effecting institutional change. Rather, the authors demonstrate that, given the observed impact of social actors, public–private partnership adoption and implementation can be theorized as a social phenomenon.


Author(s):  
Nicholas Dew

Economists have long argued that the prevailing institutional structures of the economic system produce a particular spectrum of entrepreneurial activity. However, these institutions themselves change over time, sometimes as the result of entrepreneurial behaviour. This paper investigates the idea of institutional entrepreneurship from a Coasian perspective. This perspective puts transaction-cost-reducing institutions at the centre of the analysis, and examines the role of institutional entrepreneurs in constructing and transforming these economically valuable artefacts. The paper presents a case study of an institutional entrepreneur and concludes that, from a Coasian perspective, institutional entrepreneurship is one type of entrepreneurial behaviour that seems worthy of further research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 4022
Author(s):  
Pernilla Gluch ◽  
Stina Månsson

Over the past two decades, sustainability professionals have entered the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. However, little attention has been given to the actual professionalization processes of these and the leadership conducted by them when shaping the pace and direction for sustainable development. With the aim to explore how the role of sustainability professionals develops, critical events affecting everyday sustainability work practices were identified. Based on a phenomenological study with focus on eight experienced environmental managers’ life stories, and by applying the theoretical lens of institutional entrepreneurship, the study displays a professionalization process in six episodes. Different critical events both enabled and disabled environmental managers’ opportunity to engage in institutional entrepreneurship. The findings indicate how agency is closely interrelated to temporary discourses in society; they either serve to support change and create new institutional practices towards enhanced sustainability or disrupt change when agency to act is temporarily “lost”. To manage a continually changing environment, environmental managers adopt different strategies depending on the situated context and time, such as finding ambassadors and interorganizational allies, mobilizing resources, creating organizational structures, and repositioning themselves.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Baafi ◽  
Abraham Ansong ◽  
Kennedy Etse Dogbey ◽  
Nicodemus Osei Owusu

PurposeThis study explores the role of transformational leadership, transactional leadership and resource supply in enhancing innovative work behaviour using the mediation model.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data was gathered from 314 local government staff from the six metropolitan assemblies in Ghana. Structural equation modelling was used for the analysis.FindingsThe results suggest that transformational and transactional leadership behaviours provided an impetus for innovative behaviours. Also, resource supply was found to mediate the relationship between transformational leadership behaviours and innovative work behaviour.Practical implicationsPublic managers can improve the innovative behaviour of public servants by providing resources for innovation, setting up proper reward structures, communicating vision clearly and clarifying performance expectations.Originality/valueThis is the first study to investigate innovative work behaviour within the Ghanaian local government sector and the context of a developing country in Africa. The study extends the literature on innovative work behaviour by exploring the role of leadership and resource supply.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-490
Author(s):  
Simone Pulcher ◽  
Marco Guerci ◽  
Thomas Köllen

Purpose Research on the diffusion and adaptation of LGBT diversity management practices has, until now, rarely considered the role of unions in this process; where it has done, the consideration has largely been cursory or tangential. In order to contribute towards overcoming this research gap, the purpose of this paper is to focus more closely on this issue, within the Italian context. Design/methodology/approach Theoretically based on the notion of institutional entrepreneurship, the paper analyses the ways in which trade unions contribute to the diffusion of LG-inclusive policies. Empirically this study is based on qualitative interviews with representatives from the unions, LGBT activists and individuals from those companies that have received support from the unions in terms of shaping their initiatives. Findings Italian unions act as institutional entrepreneurs in the sexual orientation field by framing the issue of the inclusion of LGBT workers as an issue of including minority groups under the broad umbrella of equality in workplaces, and by cooperating with LGBT associations. The latter provides the unions with two different things. First, with more legitimacy, from the viewpoint of LGBT employees; second, with the specific competencies in dealing with these issues. The accomplishments of the unions consist of arranging single agreements concerning the establishment of “punishment systems” for discriminatory behaviours, rather than promoting inclusion-oriented behaviours within the organization. Originality/value This paper highlights the role of unions, and in doing so, focusses on a hitherto marginalized actor in the process of adapting LGBT diversity initiatives. In focussing on the Italian context, it adds an important perspective to a discourse that has previously consisted of predominantly Anglo-American views.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael K. Mickson ◽  
Alex Anlesinya ◽  
Ebenezer Malcalm

PurposeThis study examines the mediation role of diversity climate in the relationship between transformational leadership, transactional leadership and job satisfaction from the two-factor perspectives of intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfactions among local government servants in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses cross-sectional data from 322 employees in local government service of Ghana in the Greater Accra Region using purposive and stratified sampling methods. Bootstrapping method of mediation estimated using structural equation modelling is employed to test the hypothesized relationships.FindingsThe results find a differential effect of leadership behaviours on intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction, where transformation and transactional leadership relate positively to intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction respectively. Furthermore, the empirical findings reveal that diversity climate has mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and intrinsic job satisfaction, implying that diversity climate is an important process through which transformational leadership behaviours can elicit intrinsic job satisfaction among local government servants. Surprisingly, however, diversity climate does not serve as an important transmission mechanism in the relationship between transactional leadership and extrinsic job satisfaction.Practical implicationsThis means that public sector leaders or managers can improve intrinsic job satisfaction among local government servants and by extension public sector employees by creating an ideal climate for diversity by transforming the work environment through leadership, specifically, transformational leadership behaviours.Originality/valueAlthough studies abound on the link between leadership behaviours (transformational and transactional) and job satisfaction, the mediating effect of diversity climate as a mechanism in this relationship is very scarce and rare to find. Hence, our study has made original contributions to theory and practice by highlighting the role of diversity climate in converting leadership behaviours, specifically; transformational leadership into creating intrinsically satisfied workers in the public sector.


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mário Franco ◽  
Maria de Fátima Santos ◽  
Isabel Ramalho ◽  
Cristina Nunes

Purpose – Marketing has been seen as one of the greatest problems faced by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but simultaneously one of the most important activities for their growth and survival. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to determine the importance and role of entrepreneurial marketing in SMEs. Design/methodology/approach – To reach this goal, a qualitative approach was adopted, with two case studies (SMEs) selected. As data-collecting instruments, interviews and documentary analysis were used, and the data-treatment technique was content analysis. Findings – The empirical evidence obtained shows that the importance of entrepreneurial marketing is recognized, but that it differs considerably according to firm size. In the SMEs studied, marketing is informal and reactive to market opportunities and the founder-entrepreneur has an influence on the decision-making process. Practical implications – The study contributes to the existing research about the role the founder-entrepreneur can have in the firm's ability to develop entrepreneurial marketing activities. From a practical viewpoint, the study has found that entrepreneurial marketing is based on networking to build and support marketing activity and it is associated with the use and development of the marketing management competencies of their entrepreneurs. Originality/value – The study is innovative because the authors are able to outline empirically new issues for future investigation in this area of scarce research. Second, an integrative and holistic model is proposed for entrepreneurial marketing in SMEs and this represents the primary contribution of the study.


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