Maxim Voronov

The Myth of Individualism-Collectivism: A Critical Review

Abstract The authors critically assess the dimension of individualism-collectivism (I-C) and its various uses in cross-cultural psychology. They argue that I-C research is characterized largely by insufficient conceptual clarity and a lack of systematic data. As a result, they call into question the utility of I-C as an explanatory tool for cultural variation in behavior, suggest alternative dimensions for cross-cultural research, and interpret the weaknesses of research on I-C as illustrative of a general trend in social psychology.

Sustainability in entrepreneurship: a tale of two logics

Given the uncertainty surrounding the role and meaning of sustainability in business practice, it is important to explore the legitimacy drivers that newcomers (entrepreneurs) to a field derive from balancing sustainability and profitability. Drawing on the institutional logics literature and Bourdieu’s notion of habitus, this article theorizes how the characteristics of the field, as well as entrepreneur characteristics and actions, influence the legitimacy derived from adhering to the field-prescribed balance between sustainability and profitability. First, regarding the role of field-level factors, we discuss how the impact of field-imposed expectations on entrepreneur legitimacy may be amplified for dominant and mature fields. Second, regarding the role of micro-level factors, we highlight that whilst previous experience of the field-prescribed balance between sustainability and profitability may amplify the impact of field-imposed expectations on legitimacy, strategic actions can suppress this impact.

The role of domination in newcomers’ legitimation as entrepreneurs

Drawing on Bourdieu’s social theory, we theorize two facets of legitimacy bestowed upon newcomers entering a field: institutional legitimacy, which represents the extent to which newcomers conform with the field’s current power arrangements (‘fit in’) and innovative legitimacy, which pertains to the extent to which newcomers challenge these arrangements (‘stand out’). We conceptualize newcomers’ ability to be endowed with these two facets of legitimacy by field incumbents as a necessary condition to be legitimized as ‘entrepreneurs’ and highlight the forces of domination inherent in this process. We further discuss the intricate and possibly conflicting relationship between incumbents’ expectations about the need for newcomers to fit in and stand out and how newcomers can artfully navigate between these two demands by artfully managing the meaning associated with their and others’ activities. Finally, we discuss the relationship between newcomers’ endowment with legitimacy and the reproduction or transformation of the field’s power arrangements.

Toward Engaged Critical Management Studies

Critical Management Studies defi nes itself as a counterforce to mainstream organizational research, which is dominated by instrumental reasoning and bottom-line concerns. Scholars whose work has been broadly classifi ed as falling within CMS have sought to challenge the assumption that management is a neutral, value-free activity concerned with attaining the instrumental goals of organizations, which themselves serve a common good. Instead, CMS is concerned with ‘questioning of taken-for-granteds, both about practice and its social and institutional context.... [and] Identifying and questioning both purposes, and confl icts of power and interest’ (Reynolds, 1998: 192). It aims to expose and reform the mundane and frequently unnoticed practices that privilege some groups (and individuals) at the expense of others and thereby create injustices in organizations and in society at large (for a more detailed overview, see Adler et al., 2006). Critical researchers also note that ‘conventional’ organizational research tends to take a managerial point of view, and in aiming to help managers attain their objectives, such as maximum productivity, it pays insuffi cient attention to the socioeconomic conditions within which organizations function (Adler et al., 2006; Alvesson and Willmott, 1992) or the potentially detrimental impact of these prerogatives on other organizational stakeholders. The needs of employees, for example, are considered only from an instrumental perspective—if at all—and within a predetermined structure. By tackling the central issues in organizational life, such as power, politics, domination, and identity formation, CMS seeks to offer more than a theoretical alternative but may accord closely with the experiences of

Institutional complexity and logic engagement: An investigation of Ontario fine wine

We contribute to research on institutional complexity by acknowledging that institutional logics are not reified cognitive structures, but rather are open to interpretation. In doing so, we highlight the need to understand how actors engage with institutional logics and the creativity that such engagement implies. Using an inductive case study of the Ontario wine industry, we rely on the notion of scripts to explicate how actors engage with the aesthetic and the market logics that are entrenched in their field. Our findings reveal two scripts that are used to adhere to the aesthetic logic (farmer and artist) and one that is used to adhere to the market logic (business professional). We find that not only can actors enact two different scripts to adhere to an institutional logic, but also that flexible script enactment takes place within interactions with specific audiences. Thus, we found no unique match between particular logics and specific audiences, but rather that the aesthetic and the market logics, and their underlying scripts, are relevant in the interactions with each of the audience groups, albeit to varying degrees. These findings have important implications for research on institutional complexity.

Taking Power Seriously in Strategic Organizational Learning.

Purpose – This paper argues that failing to grasp thoroughly the influence of power on the strategy‐making process can severely inhibit the potential of strategy making as a vehicle of organizational learning.Design/methodology/approach – First the organizational learning perspective on strategic management is sketched and an attempt is made to show how it takes the social aspects of organizing more seriously than earlier perspectives on strategy. It is also noted how this iteration responds or at least has the potential to respond to some of the critiques directed at earlier thinking on strategy from critical management studies (CMS). Then CMSs critique of organizational learning theories is noted and the critiques to re‐conceptualize blockages to learning and knowledge creation are built on.Findings – An attempt has been made to show that, as in earlier perspectives on strategy, there is still insufficient attention being paid to the role of power in strategic change. This places severe limitations on ...

Beyond the Ivory Towers Organizational Power Practices and a“Practical” Critical Postmodernism

The aim of this article is to consider how the important insights offered by critical management studies (CMS) can be made more accessible to wider audiences and used to inform organizational practice. The authors start by briefly discussing the main ideals and aims of CMS, touching on the heterogeneity of the field and focusing on the issues that CMS scholars have had to address to find receptive ears among non-CMS scholars and practitioners. They then proceed to suggest how CMS may become better able to reach those audiences by offering more accessible concepts and methodologies. The notion of organizational power practices is introduced as a way to facilitate that task by making CMS-inspired investigation of power more accessible and relevant to everyday organizational concerns.

Toward a Practice Perspective on Strategic Organizational Learning.

– The purpose of this paper is to add to the emerging literatures on organizational learning and strategic management by developing a practice perspective on strategic organizational learning (SOL). While the literature on SOL has been growing, much of it has targeted exclusively practitioners and has not yet elaborated the mechanics and the micro‐dynamics of SOL. This paper is an initial attempt at exploring two important aspects of SOL: deep‐structure politics, and sensegiving., – The paper reports a qualitative case study of a major construction project undertaken by a mid‐size urban university as a part of its strategic change initiative., – Several ways in which deep‐structure politics shaped SOL at the research site are highlighted. The findings suggest that deep‐structure politics and sensegiving can shape identity processes in the context of SOL in important ways, such as dramatically altering the identity of the project team and symbolically separating it from the host institution., – The paper enriches the predominantly practitioner literature on SOL with empirical examination of the practices of SOL.

Toward a Toolkit for Emotionalizing Institutional Theory

Abstract As institutional theory increasingly looks to the micro-level for explanations of macro-level institutional processes, institutional scholars need to pay closer attention to the role of emotions in invigorating institutional processes. I argue that attending to emotions is most likely to enrich institutional analysis, if scholars take inspiration from theories that conceptualize emotions as relational and inter-subjective, rather than intra-personal, because the former would be more compatible with institutional theory’s relational roots. I review such promising theories that include symbolic interactionism, psychoanalytic and psychodynamic perspectives, moral psychology, and social movements. I conclude by outlining several possible research questions that might be inspired by attending to the role of emotions in institutional processes. I argue that such research can enrich the understanding of embedded agency, power, and the use of theorization by institutional change agents, as well as introduce a hereto neglected affective facet into the study of institutional logics.

PUTTING NEW WINE IN OLD BOTTLES: UTILIZING RHETORICAL HISTORY TO OVERCOME STIGMA ASSOCIATED WITH A PREVIOUSLY DOMINANT LOGIC

In this paper, we seek to highlight how adherence to a dominant logic is an effortful activity. Using rhetorical analysis, we show that the use of rhetorical history provides a key mechanism by which organizations may convince audiences of adherence to a dominant logic, while also subverting or obscuring past adherence to a (currently) subordinate logic. We illustrate such use of rhetorical history by drawing on the case study of Ontario wine industry, where wineries use rhetorical history to demonstrate adherence to the logic of fine winemaking, while obscuring the industry’s past adherence to the now-subordinate and stigmatized logic of alcohol making. Implications for future research on institutional logics are discussed.