Sven-Erik Sjöstrand

The socioeconomic institutions of organizing: Origin, emergence, and reproduction

Abstract The purpose of this article is to contribute to the development of a theory of (organizing) institutions primarily relevant for capitalistic market Economics, a theory which significantly improves our general ability to describe, explain and predict organized or organizational action. Six basic institutions—or infrastructures for human (interaction (the market, the corporation, the (social) movement, the association, the circle and the clan)—are deduced, defined and also finally put together in the form of a repertoire of ideal types. Moreover, two meta -institutions (the state, the anarchy) are added to this initial repertoire of six institutions to allow for the introduction of what could be regarded—at least from some premises—as a more general (i.e., societal) level.

The Organization of Nonprofit Activities

This paper investigates the repertoire of organizational forms in Western societies in order to assess the nonprofit sectors distinctiveness. A repertoire of six different ideal type constructs is presented adding to and reformulating existing theories, which have primarily focused on the “market” and the “firm.” This new extended theoretical platform builds both on theories discussing market, organization, and governmental “failures” and on approaches where homo economicus is replaced by homo complexicus and transactions by interactions. This effort aims at making the nonprofit (or voluntary) sector in society both more visible and theoretically substantiated. At the end of this paper, the theoretical framework is applied by analyzing empirical nonprofit organizations.

Corporate Governance in Modern Financial Capitalism

This insightful book focuses upon corporate governance processes, and explores the conditions required for effective corporate governance and control in 21st century globalized and financialized economies. In presenting a comprehensive study of a cross-border hostile corporate take-over process, describing the actors, institutions and events involved, this book examines and questions the current forms of corporate governance and control – both from a national and a global perspective. Using Old Mutual’s takeover of Skandia as a case study, the authors address corporate governance theory, and highlight its two fundamental dimensions: financial and operational flows.