Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

Environments

Tirsdag 15. november 2005Forelesning 3

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

Core question

• Which factors determine how organizations relate to their environments?

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

Outline

1. Levels of environments

2. Characteristics of environments

3. Interdependence of Organizations and Environments

4. Buffering and bridging tactics

5. Change at multiple levels

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

1. Levels of environments

• Organizational sets:– Those organizations that a focal organization interacts

with.

• Organizational domain– Range of products/services, types of

clients/consumers

• Both view the environment from the standpoint of a focal organization

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

1. Levels of environments

• Organizational populations:– Aggregats of organizations that are similar in kind

(newspapers, hospitals, restaurants etc.)

– What determines the boundaries of populations?• Blueprint for organizational action• Dominant competences• Organizational forms – normative enforcement

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

1. Levels of environments

• Interorganizational communities– Geographical group of organizations– Collectively beneficial structures within the community

– But what about hierarchical linkages?

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

1. Levels of environments

• Organizational fields:– ”collection of interdependent organizations operating

with common rules, norms, and meaning systems.”• Interdependence and coevolution• Disappearance and emergence• Intermediary between organizations and larger

societal structures

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

2. Characteristics of environments

• Material-resource environments– Task environment (all aspects relevant for goal setting

and attainment)

– Stocks of resources (dependence on others for resources)

– Sources of information (uncertainty)

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

2. Characteristics of environments

• Institutional environments

– Regulative institutions

– Normative institutions

– Cultural-cognitive institutions

– Eksempel: Norske Skog og Union

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

2. Characteristics of environments

• Cultural-cognitive institutions

– Rationalized myths

• ”Organizations receive support and legitimacy to the extent that they conform to contemporary norms of the ”appropriate” way to organize.”

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

2. Characteristics of environments

• Institutional foundations of material-resource environments

– Technologies are shaped by social intentions and concerns

– Markets are socially constructed– Rules regulate activity– Institutions shape the nature of preferences and

courses of action

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

2. Characteristics of environments

• Technical control– Output control (What you produce is important)

• Institutional control– Procedural and structural control (How you do it is

important)

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

2. Characteristics of environments

BanksHospitals

Manufacturing

RestaurantsSchools

Stronger

Stronger

Weaker

Weaker

Institutional controls

Technical controls

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

3. Interdependence of Organizations and Environments

• Organizations interpret and choose their environments – Enactment– Attention structure (cannot attend everything)– Information systems (what you measure)

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

3. Interdependence of Organizations and Environments

• Organizations can influence their environment– Large org– Advertising– Lobbying – PR

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

3. Interdependence of Organizations and Environments

• Organizational boundaries may change– Expansion and contraction

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

4. Buffering and bridging

• Technical buffering tactics – Techniques that seal off the core technology from

the environment– Create stability and predictability

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

4. Buffering and bridging

• Technical buffering tactics – Coding (controlling inputs)– Stockpiling (keeping a stock of resources)– Leveling (keeping input and output steady)– Forecasting (anticipation of demands)– Adjusting scale (keeping output at the right level)

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

4. Buffering and bridging

• Technical bridging tactics• Techniques that secure support from other organizations

that are important – Bargaining– Contracting– Co-optation– Hierarchical contracts– Joint ventures– Strategic alliances– Mergers– Associations– Government connections

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

4. Buffering and bridging

• Institutional buffering tactics• Tactics that allow organizations to not

really adjust to changes in institutions– Symbolic coding– Decoupling (display elements that are

normatively required but have no real impact)

– Avoidance (ways to not comply)

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

4. Buffering and bridging

• Institutional bridging tactics• Tactics that create conformity with

environmental demands– Categorical conformity– Structural conformity– Procedural conformity– Personell conformity

Senter for teknologi, innovasjon og kultur (TIK) - Universitetet i Oslo

5. Change at multiple levels

• Two main processes: adaptation and selection– Sub-organizational level– Organizational level– Population level– Field level