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While sustainability as a practice has been implemented in education for a long time, the conceptualisation of an impactful sustainability actor has not been as thoroughly formulated. The theory of structuration is relevant as a lens for critical reflection on the transformative potential of individuals educated in sustainability as a practice, who are often described as change-makers and mandated to enact sustainability. This paper examines sustainability agency using materials produced for a set of online sustainability courses. This text corpus is utilised as a representation of climate and sustainability education. The materials repeat systemic framings present in sustainability rhetoric, such as the contexts and targets in which sustainability transformation occurs. Additionally, through a qualitative content analysis of the textual corpus descriptions emerged as attributes of the agents to enact sustainability. This uncovers the juxtaposition between the often-repeated perception that sustainability must be achieved by capable agents and the capacities they possess. Further, our content analysis suggests a rhetorical process of othering within sustainability, for example by positioning "people"—the general population—as the cause of the sustainability crisis, and "us"—the educated—as the solution. Through our findings, the article concludes that when utilising the concept of sustainability agency—be it in theoretical, educational, or practical work—one ought to pay significant attention to the structures wherein the activities take place. The full comprehension of the transformative potential of individual agents ought to include an acknowledgement of the difference between educated capability and capacity—the latter of which necessitates dominance over the structural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social isolation and loneliness are associated with living with a chronic condition particularly where stigma is a factor. Our study aimed to examine the lived experience of adolescents living with HIV in relation to isolation because of their diagnosis and consequences of disclosure. Giddens' structuration theory was used as an analytic framework to identify the potential mechanisms underlying adolescents living with HIV's experiences. Method: Longitudinal in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 adolescents living with HIV aged 15–24 years with each participant taking part in three interviews (total 60) between September 2020 and October 2021. Thematic analysis was performed using Braun and Clarke's steps for coding and analysing qualitative data and informed by the structuration theory framework. Results: The findings indicated that adolescents living with HIV have agency and make conscious choices about sharing their status. However, these choices are influenced by their experiences in their community. The discrimination and negative judgements they often experience prevent them from disclosing their status. Stigma, discrimination, and psychological distress contribute to the isolation that adolescents and young adults living with HIV experience. The limited disclosure itself can lead to them becoming isolated and lonely. Conclusion: The negative experiences which adolescents living with HIV face can have an impact not only on their psychological wellbeing but also on their decision to disclose and seek support. These experiences may lead to social isolation and loneliness, an unintended consequence of their action in protecting themselves from the conditions created by the structures/environment in which they live. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a recent narrowing of the digital divide, there remains a lag in adopting Precision Agriculture Technology (PAT). Based on structuration theory and diffusion of innovations theory, the present study uses semi-structured interviews with forty board members from two U.S. national agricultural boards to determine how internet access impacts farming leaders' knowledge and perceptions of farming PAT innovations. Farming leaders' responses suggest a lack of competition among internet service providers within areas, a reliance on cellular data to complete farming operations, limits to available internet infrastructure, and low perceived technology knowledge. Farming leaders, especially those with high perceived knowledge, noted using various farming technologies that assisted with business operations, entertainment, and social communications. Overall, many participants were willing to adopt more farming technology if they had better internet services and more technological knowledge. Farming PAT diffusion is limited by a lack of access to resources, such as knowledge, workforce, and infrastructure, even among those who tend to be more resource-rich, like farming leaders. These findings highlight how a lack of resources limits a farmer's ability to express agency over the technology they adopt and, by extension, their business operations. These findings have implications for policymakers and stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent years have witnessed an increasing number of manufacturers in developed markets pursuing service-led innovation to secure their sustainable growth and competitive positions. This study compares the manufacturing firm performance outcomes of two types of innovation activities in the value chain (i.e., service innovation and product innovativeness) contingent on institutional environment but in an aspirant market – China. To do so we conducted two studies: A secondary data study (Study 1) used a longitudinal panel dataset of 1,167 manufacturing firms and a robustness study (Study 2) used primary survey data from 171 manufacturing firms. Both studies offer consistent empirical results that in the dysfunctional competition environment, and in contrast to product innovativeness, service innovation is less effective for manufacturing performance but works more effectively for performance in the complicated institutional environment when government support and dysfunctional competition co-exist. The research contributes to the fields of aspirant markets and innovation by developing our understanding of the firm's strategic responses pertaining to innovation in the context of a complicated institutional environment, the latter informed by structuration theory. The paper offers a fine-grained view to manufacturing innovation and provides the practical implications for managers and clear guidance to firms and governments in the aspirant markets in regards to innovation practice, strategy, and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Report: Zeitschrift für Weiterbildungsforschung is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Driven by data proliferation, digital technologies have transformed the marketing landscape. In parallel, significant privacy concerns have shaken consumer–firm relationships, prompting changes in both regulatory interventions and people's own privacy-protective behaviors. With a comprehensive analysis of digital technologies and data strategy informed by structuration theory and privacy literature, the authors consider privacy tensions as the product of firm–consumer interactions, facilitated by digital technologies. This perspective in turn implies distinct consumer, regulatory, and firm responses related to data protection. By consolidating various perspectives, the authors propose three tenets and seven propositions, supported by interview insights from senior managers and consumer informants, that create a foundation for understanding the digital technology implications for firm performance in contexts marked by growing privacy worries and legal ramifications. On the basis of this conceptual framework, they also propose a data strategy typology across two main strategic functions of digital technologies: data monetization and data sharing. The result is four distinct types of firms, which engage in disparate behaviors in the broader ecosystem pertaining to privacy issues. This article also provides directions for research, according to a synthesis of findings from both academic and practical perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how Islam is understood by Muslim women entrepreneurs and considers its influence on their entrepreneurial experiences in the country-specific context of Lebanon. In so doing, we adopt a qualitative interpretative approach, drawing upon 21 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with women entrepreneurs. Accordingly, we present empirical evidence detailing how Muslim women entrepreneurs utilise various aspects and teachings of Islam to make sense of their entrepreneurial decisions. We thus provide insight into how women's entrepreneurship interlocks with Islamic teachings and the restrictions imposed by patriarchal socio-cultural values in Lebanon. This paper advances entrepreneurship research by demonstrating how Islam unfolds as a source of inspiration and resilience for women entrepreneurs, if and when equipped with an Islamic feminist interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of South Africa, what we do know is that huge amount of healthcare data does exist and that they are consciously and unconsciously scattered in bits and pieces across facilities within the country. This has directly or indirectly resulted to underutilisation of data, which affects service delivery to the community. For example, many patients have been wrongly diagnosed, and some others have been given wrong medications due to duplication of prescriptions, which were influenced by lack of real-time information. Consequently, there have been loss and damages to lives, contributing to the mortality rate in the country. This study was undertaken on the premise of these challenges, to develop a conceptual framework that can guide how data could be managed towards improved services within the South African healthcare facilities. The interpretive approach was employed. Qualitative data were gathered from existing works. Structuration theory was applied as a lens to guide the analysis of the data. From the findings, a framework was developed, primarily to guide and advance the waysin which data are stored, retrieved, managed, and used for healthcare improved services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research in this paper adds to the discussion linked to the challenge of capturing and modeling tacit knowledge throughout software development projects. The issue emerged when modeling functional requirements during a project for a client. However, using the design science research methodology at a particular point in the project helped to create an artifact, a functional requirements modeling technique, that resolved the issue with tacit knowledge. Accordingly, this paper includes research based upon the stages of the design science research methodology to design and test the artifact in an observable situation, empirically grounding the research undertaken. An integral component of the design science research methodology, the knowledge base, assimilated structuration and semiotic theories so that other researchers can test the validity of the artifact created. First, structuration theory helped to identify how tacit knowledge is communicated and can be understood when modeling functional requirements for new software. Second, structuration theory prescribed the application of semiotics which facilitated the development of the artifact. Additionally, following the stages of the design science research methodology and associated tasks allows the research to be reproduced in other software development contexts. As a positive outcome, using the functional requirements modeling technique created, specifically for obtaining tacit knowledge on the software development project, indicates that using such knowledge increases the likelihood of deploying software successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses how border guards as members of a state organisation shape the movement of non-nationals into the territory of a nation state. Based on ethnographic fieldwork on the Swiss Border Guard (SBG), it explores the rationalities—understood as stabilised ways of reasoning and acting—that characterise practices within this state organisation. Combining organisational and structuration theory with a street-level bureaucracy perspective allows for a differentiated analysis of the various facets of border guards' everyday work. Four rationalities of border-control practices are identified and compared: security, humanitarian, cost-calculation, and pragmatic rationality. I argue that, by considering both the specific goals and imperatives of border control and the characteristics of street-level bureaucrats acting within a state organisation, these entangled logics explain the complex and incoherent social reality of border control. More generally, the results contribute to organisational theory by pointing to the importance of taking into account that multiple entangled rationalities structure the practices of an organisation's members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kuhn's account of scientific change is characterized by an internal tension between a naturalist vein, which is compatible with the revolutionary perspective on the historical development of science, and an aprioristic or Kantian vein which wants to secure that science is not an irrational enterprise. Kuhn himself never achieved to resolve the tension or even to deal with the terms of the problem. Michael Friedman, quite recently, provided an account which aspires to reconcile the revolutionary and the aprioristic elements of the Kuhnian historiography by placing the latter in the neo-Kantian philosophical framework. In this paper, I suggest that Friedman manages to provide a convincing description of the structuration of scientific knowledge and, further, to present science as a rational enterprise. I argue that despite these virtues Friedman's account faces a major problem with regard to the context of transcendental idealism which he is not willing to abandon. I also argue that discarding transcendental idealism in the way the philosophical perspective of John McDowell does, we can dispose of the flaws of Friedman's account while retaining its virtues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of the 2000s, the concept of Business Model has been explored by scholars from a broad range of business studies and particularly those in the strategic arena. In the last few years, this interest has also been echoed by accounting and management scholars, professionals, standard setters as well as organisations operating more widely in the corporate reporting field worldwide. Despite this extensive attention from academic, professional and institutional fields, it is still not entirely clear what drivers have led to this concept being espoused by such varied fields of research and action, and what implications can be derived from this. Moving from this standpoint, the paper intends to examine the processes and actors that have accompanied the Business Model in its 'journey' from the strategy field to the financial and non-financial reporting fields in order to reveal the similarities and differences that characterise the (disciplinary) attitudes towards the adoption of this concept in these three fields. Accordingly, it provides evidence on the extent to which these three disciplines have to be conceived as static or as subject to continuous change. Drawing on the sociological theory of structuration (Giddens in The constitution of society: outline of the theory of structuration. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1984) applied to disciplinary territories conceived of as social systems, we undertake an in-depth analysis of the articles published in strategy on Business Model as well as the documents released by the International Accounting Standards Board when it formulated the International Financial Reporting Standard 9 and by the International Integrated Reporting Council with respect to the preparation of the International Framework. Our findings support the view that the three arenas have reacted to the adoption of this concept differently, even though some analogies can be observed. Accordingly, the paper intends to contribute to the financial, non-financial reporting and business model literatures and practices, by highlighting the ways in which this concept has entered varied domains of research and action and the extent to which this adoption has affected the foundations and the 'functioning' (Bourdieu in Regards Sociol 17(18):5–27, 1999) of these fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging transactional sex literature in Nigeria strongly suggests that consumerism drives female undergraduate students’ transactional sex. This assessment is factual but incomplete. Such individualist rendition of causation often informs similarly narrow behaviour change interventions, which are limited in effectiveness. To present a more rigorous account of influences on transactional sex, I synthesize and re-interpret emerging transactional sex literature with theoretical content analysis—sensitised by structuration theory. The objective is to demonstrate how some female undergraduate students’ transactional sex is also pre-scripted by their gender socialization and sexualisation, life options/experiences in a male-privileging political-economy, their knowledgeable and purposive actions, and so on. That is, the paper demonstrates how various structural influences, such as the gender structure and political economy, predispose the students toward transactional sex (agency) with older and richer men for money, consumer goods, influence and distinction on campus. The students subsequently draw on, and work on their predispositions toward cross-generational dating and xenocentric goods to engage older and richer males in transactional sex. Xenocentric goods make the students more visible (perhaps alluring) to older and/or richer males in search of younger sexual partners, and orient them to further transactional sex, and so on. Fundamentally therefore, influences on transactional sex are multiple, interdependent and recursive, such that no single influence, for example consumerism, unilaterally determines any student’s engagement in transactional sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As groups develop, members’ knowledge and expectations regarding the task and the group tend to converge. Such convergence allows members to anticipate and coordinate their own and others’ actions, facilitating productive group work. Using zero-history laboratory groups, this study analyzes the presence and trajectory of cognitive convergence as groups worked on a series of three similar tasks. We focus on two types of convergence: anticipatory expectations for future work, and reflective assessments regarding previous group discussions. Results indicate immediate convergence for reflective cognitions but delayed convergence for anticipatory cognitions. Associations among the different types of convergence also vary at the group- and individual-levels of analysis. The discussion addresses measurement implications of both types of convergence in regard to emergence of group-like cognitive structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disaster management officials, as well as the general public, are increasingly using social media to communicate. Such usage has resulted in new and emergent social consequences for disaster management and has reformed the roles of its relevant stakeholders. However, the existing literature on social media use in disasters is still preliminary and incomplete, and does not capture the change in social roles that stakeholders have taken and the consequences of the actions that people take in using social media. In this paper, by using Structuration theory as a meta-theory and by analysing the posts and comments in three officials’ Facebook fan pages in three different disasters, we theorize the social structures (i.e., social roles and social consequences) and the human actions taken by both the public and the disaster management officials during disasters. Furthermore, we explain how the social structures emerge out of the human actions involved, and how the social structures further shape those actions. Our research provides theoretical and practical insights into how the usage of social media in disasters benefits disaster management and reinforces the roles of the different stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although two decades of militarization have normalized the presence of armed forces in eastern DR Congo, civilians continue to resist their power and practices, engaging in heterogeneous repertoires of contentious action. Focusing on resistance against the national army, this article analyzes the forms and effects of these contentious repertoires as well as the factors that shape them. The latter include the intimate and multi-faceted entanglement of civilian and military lives and the high fluidity of dynamics of conflict, insecurity and protection. These factors foster an orientation towards both the socially immediate and the socially imagined. Accordingly, it is appropriate to analyze civilian resistance in eastern DR Congo through the lens of “social navigation,” a term used to conceptualize social practice in volatile settings. Yet, social navigation’s focus on fluidity and flexibility does not allow for fully comprehending civilians’ contentious practices vis-à-vis the military. Following the theory of structuration, these practices are also shaped by relatively durable social structures, such as economic scarcity and deeply rooted socio-political imaginaries and modes of action relating to “stateness,” patronage, and social belonging. The imprint of these structures on social practice renders civilian resistance fleeting, incoherent, and personalized, thereby reducing its potential to undermine the military’s dominance. These observations indicate that even in highly volatile settings, the analysis of durable social structures remains crucial to understanding social practice, including resistance, and its effects on the social order. The analytical approach of social navigation must therefore be complemented by the theory of structuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does French-language sociology deal with aging? This is the question posed by this contribution, which explores articles published within the past fifteen years in various French-language scientific journals. Through a systematic review of the scientific literature, we analyze the evolution of topics in the sociology of aging through five well-known French-language journals of sociology. Three of them are generalist journals ( Revue française de sociologie, Revue suisse de sociologie, Recherches sociologiques et anthropologiques), from France, Switzerland, and Belgium respectively. The remaining two journals, both from France, are specifically devoted to the study of aging (Gérontologie et société, Retraite et société). The results invite further exploration of the influence of the national contexts in which French-speaking European sociologies are structured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food is essential to life-yet the spatial and economic configuration of the conventional food system does not meet nutritional needs and exacerbates issues of food insecurity. Relevant options for policy change have been explored in light of evaluations of geographic disparities in food access, but the dominant 'food desert' discourse often focuses uncritically on insufficient conceptions of access. Understanding the complexity of food deserts is important for moving into meaningful policy action. We present a theoretical position to inspire future empirical research. The ecological model recognizes both endogenous and built environment factors in shaping health. Interventions in the food environment, however, often concentrate exclusively on structural determinants of health (e.g. retail-based initiatives). Yet retail-based interventions are difficult to implement due to governance systems which limit the ability of government bodies to influence private retail development. As well, recognizing the complexity of debates over the influence of structure and agency, we apply structuration theory to food deserts. Behavioral economics further informs both structural and behavioral determinants of health. This approach sidesteps the issue of victim-blaming, as all consumers are viewed as 'predictably irrational' in decision-making. In combining these theories, we challenge methodological and theoretical assumptions by showing the complexity of food desert interventions. Policy recommendations focus on behavioral determinants of health and the opportunities for empowerment through local food systems. These recommendations recognize the limits of translating research into policy and in devising effective food based interventions, and are sensitive to social, economic, and political constraints uncovered throughout the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farm to institution (FTI) programs represent alternative supply chains that aim to organize the activities of local producers with institutions that feed the local community. The current study demonstrates the value of structuration theory (Giddens in J Theory Soc Behav 13(1):75-80, ; The constitution of society: outline of the theory of structuration. University of California Press, Berkeley, ) for conceptualizing how FTI agents create, maintain, and change organizational structures associated with FTI and traditional supply chains. Based on interviews with supply chain agents participating in FTI programs, we found that infrastructure, relationships, and pricing were seen as important factors that enabled and constrained FTI organizing. Additionally, we describe how FTI organizing serves to simultaneously reinforce and challenge the practices associated with traditional supply chains. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed as well as directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the assimilation of information technology by an organization establishing itself in the emerging retail industry in India. We highlight the need for conducting a holistic analysis of the assimilation process that considers the role of various organizational actors, the socio-technical environment, the exogenous factors and the historical context under which the organization is operating. We adopt strong structuration theory, a refinement of Giddens' structuration theory, as the theoretical lens for studying the technology assimilation process. We combine this with actor network theory to incorporate the socio-technical perspectives. An organization in the Indian retail industry is selected as the empirical context. We analyzed the assimilation process as a series of conjunctures and illustrate how the socio-technical changes, the situated actions and the conjuncture's context influence the assimilation process. We also highlight the influence of historical context, and the role of organizational actors and actants in the technology assimilation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Wirtschaftsinformatik -- Zeitschrift Der Angewandten Informatik is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Much of the BPM literature views business process design and implementation as a top-down process that is built on strategic alignment and managerial control. While this view has enabled the design of many IT artifacts for business processes, it is inconsistent with the observation that information infrastructures, including a company's business process infrastructure, are at drift, a term that refers to the lack of top-down management control. The paper contributes to resolving this inconsistency by developing a meta-framework that conceptualizes business processes as emergent organizational routines that are represented, enabled, and constrained by IT artifacts. IT artifacts are developed in processes of functional-hierarchical decomposition and social design processes. Organizational routines have ostensive and performative aspects, forming a mutually constitutive duality. A literature review demonstrates that the propositions offered by the meta-framework have been insufficiently considered in the BPM field. The paper concludes with an outlook to applying the meta-framework to theorize about the interplay of design projects with the subsequent emergence of business processes in organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between diplomatics and genre theory and suggests that the concepts, methods, and philosophical underpinnings involved in both disciplines be combined for the purpose of achieving a fuller understanding of contemporary communicative actions (of which documents constitute a subset) and their broader context. The situated approach and dynamism characterizing the North American school of rhetorical genre studies, including its emphasis on the socially constructed nature of cultural artifacts, provide insights that appear particularly useful to enhance diplomatics' exploratory and explanatory power. Through a critical examination of the 'building blocks' of diplomatics, the paper aims at demonstrating that, in order to continue to be relevant as a method of inquiry, diplomatics needs to move beyond the abstract identification of the enduring components of the documentary universe as a closed system and embrace a more nuanced and inclusive understanding of the social context that shapes, and is shaped by, our communicative actions. As the dialogue between the two disciplines under consideration is supposed to be mutually beneficial, potential contributions of the 'science of the diploma' to genre theory are also explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research on organized events highlights their transitory and distinctive nature. In contrast, we reconceptualize events by challenging their singularity. We focus on events as recurring and organized activities in terms of serial singularities, while still acknowledging their individual distinctiveness. Using a case study of Wikimedia, the formal organizational body that supports and coordinates organizational arenas such as Wikipedia, we show how interorganizational events and structures reinform each other, thereby enabling coordinating and boundary spanning practices. We (re)produce these functions by using an event choreography that targets three different levels of Wikimedia: local grass-roots, national, and transnational events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a conceptual framework to show how agency can be integrated more centrally into new institutionalist work on practice transfer in multinational companies. Drawing on the discussion on institutional multiplicity, we show the potential for agency that subsidiary managers enjoy at the intersection of multiple institutional environments. Referring to structuration theory, we analyze the conditions that shape whether managers can realize this potential. We argue that the nature of host country rules and the abundance of resources at subsidiary level create situations in which subsidiary managers are either enabled or constrained in their ability to influence the transfer process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research assesses the strategic adoption of social media by large global organizations. To contribute to a better understanding of the topic, this exploratory study analyzed social networking sites used by 72 large global companies, and conducted a survey and follow-up interviews with high-level managers from these companies. Our analysis of social networking sites identifies and characterizes the types of social media used, as well as the various organizational purposes for the use of social media. Our exploratory survey and interviews yielded a deeper level of understanding of the adoption of social networking sites by organizations. We employed management fashion theory and adaptive structuration theory to characterize the ways in which advanced information technology can bring about organizational change. Our findings indicate that there is an increased use of social media and social networking sites by organizations that results in the form of passive or active, proactive or reactive, and tactical or strategic uses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on existing research from a zemiological approach, this article seeks to contribute to a more ontological understanding of the production and reproduction of harms associated with wrongful imprisonment in England and Wales. Drawing from Anthony Giddens's theory of structuration, it is argued that whilst the harms of wrongful imprisonment are both complex and devastating, victims need not be perceived as entirely passive. Rather, victims of wrongful imprisonment can be viewed as knowledgeable agents with the intrinsic capacity and agency to strategically cope with and even survive the harms that they experience. The article concludes with personal accounts by victims of wrongful imprisonment that form an identifiable 'survivor' discourse to highlight some of the key critical factors that are vital in helping victims of wrongful imprisonment to re-structure their lives after release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ording to service-dominant logic (S-D logic), all providers are service providers, and service is the fundamental basis of exchange. Value is co-created with customers and assessed on the basis of value-in-context. However, the extensive literature on S-D logic could benefit from paying explicit attention to the fact that both service exchange and value co-creation are influenced by social forces. The aim of this study is to expand understanding of service exchange and value co-creation by complementing these central aspects of S-D logic with key concepts from social construction theories (social structures, social systems, roles, positions, interactions, and reproduction of social structures). The study develops and describes a new framework for understanding how the concepts of service exchange and value co-creation are affected by recognizing that they are embedded in social systems. The study contends that value should be understood as value-in-social-context and that value is a social construction. Value co-creation is shaped by social forces, is reproduced in social structures, and can be asymmetric for the actors involved. Service exchanges are dynamic, and actors learn and change their roles within dynamic service systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes policy convergence and the adoption of globalizing models by higher education states, a process we describe, following Thatcher (), as policy internationalization. This refers to processes found in many policy domains and which increasingly are exemplified in tertiary education systems too. The focus is on governmental policymakers, their transnational networks, and the dilemmas they face in responding to the increasing global diffusion of governance models, such as the new public management. The notion of structuration is introduced to convey the inextricability of autonomy and structural constraint for decisionmakers in globally-situated higher education states. Primary aims are to understand the forces that drive policy internationalization, not least those associated with network power, as well as those factors that generate the basis for continuing forms of localism. It is suggested national policy 'divergences' may aid the worldwide diffusion of governance models rather than necessarily act as impediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current records management methodologies and practices suffer from an inadequate understanding of the 'human activity systems' where records managers operate as 'mediators' between a number of complex and interacting factors. Although the records management and archival literature recognizes that managing the active life of the records is fundamental to their survival as meaningful evidence of activities, the context where the records are made, captured, used, and selectively retained is not explored in depth. In particular, the various standards, models, and functional requirement lists, which occupy a vast portion of that literature, especially in relation to electronic records, do not seem to be capable of framing records-related 'problems' in ways that account for their dynamic and multiform nature. This paper introduces the idea that alternative, 'softer' approaches to the analysis of organizational functions, structures, agents, and artifacts may usefully complement the 'hard', engineering-like approaches typically drawn on by information and records specialists. Three interrelated theoretical and methodological frameworks-namely, Soft Systems Methodology, Adaptive Structuration Theory, and Genre Theory-are discussed, with the purpose of highlighting their contributions to our understanding of the records context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a simple theory of actions against the background of branching time, based on which we propose two versions of an extended stit theory, one equipped with particular actions and the other with sets of such actions. After reporting some basic results of a formal development of such a theory, we briefly explore its connection to a version of branching ETL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

little attention has been paid to the relationship between modularity and near decomposability, extant studies have not unveiled the impact of modularity on incremental innovation completely. We argue that the modular structure is a special case of nearly decomposable structure, in which the interdependencies between modules are specified by design rules, and the degree of modularity is defined by the level of near decomposability and the extent to which intermodule dependencies are specified. The results of our simulation experiments show that in the term of near decomposability, the increase of modularity leads to higher innovation advantage in the short term, but effective communication between modules can help systems with moderate and low modularity gain more innovation benefits in the long term; in the aspect of design rules, modularization may restrict the search space of the incremental innovation within each module, but under some conditions the option value of modularity may offset or even exceed the restriction effect of design rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to examine the effects of husband’s control and frequency of spousal discussion on domestic violence against Cambodian married women, using the 2005 Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey data. The sample included 1,707 married women, aged 16–49 ( M = 35.14). Structural Equation Modeling showed that husband’s control positively predicted both emotional and physical violence. Frequency of spousal discussion positively predicted emotional violence, an association consistent with the idea that a husband holding patriarchal beliefs would interpret women’s more frequent discussion as a violation of Cambodian norms for quiet, submissive wives. Frequency of spousal discussion and husband’s control were positively correlated. The role of gender issues in husband’s control and frequency of spousal discussion are discussed with respect to violence in the lives of Cambodian women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this essay is to briefly review the pillars and the rationale of Giddens’ theory of structuration, and offer a snapshot of the impact of these ideas on research in management accounting. Conceptualised as a way of making sense of social life, structuration theory represents a sensitizing device for researchers, which has be drawn upon “in a selective way in thinking about research questions or interpreting findings” (Giddens, Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age, 1991). In the following pages the duality of structure, the modalities of structuration, the concept of double positioning, the theory of the subject as well as concepts such as ontological security, routines or trust will be reviewed as essential elements of a vocabulary originally framed within Giddens’ The constitution of society (1984). The essay ends sketching the work of Macintosh and Scapens (Management accounting and control systems—an organisational and behavioural approach, 1990), who broke new ground to interpret management accounting systems in light of structuration theory terms and concepts, as well as some of the more recent works in accounting that have built on Giddens’ latest ideas on the The Consequences of Modernity (1990). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 30 years, social theorists have increasingly emphasized the importance of space. However, in empirical research, the dialectical relationship between social interaction and the physical environment is still a largely neglected issue. Using the theory of structuration, I provide a concrete example of why and how space matters in the cultural analysis of an urban social world. I argue that bike messengers—individuals who deliver time-sensitive materials in downtown cores of major cities—cannot be understood outside an analysis of space. Specifically, I connect the cultural significance of messenger practices to the emplacement of those practices inside the urban environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the similarities and differences in pre- and post-Sarbanes-Oxley corporate ethics codes and codes of conduct using the framework of structuration theory. Following the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) legislation in 2002 in the United States, publicly traded companies there undertook development and revision of their codes of ethics in response to new regulatory requirements as well as incentives under the U.S. Corporate Sentencing Guidelines, which were also revised as part of the SOX mandates. Questions that remain are whether these new or revised codes are effective means of communicating changed ethical foci and attitudes in organizations. Centering resonance analysis (CRA) is used to identify differences and similarities across time and industries by analyzing word networks of 46 pre- and post-SOX corporate codes of ethics. Analyses focus on content and structure of generated word networks as well as resulting factors that emerged from the texts. Results are interpreted from the structuration perspective that content and structure of codes are constrained and enabled by system structures while they function to produce and reproduce those structures. Results indicate that corporate codes of ethics are formal discourses of ethics, laws, and control. Code structure has changed across time, with an increased emphasis on compliance in post-SOX codes. Implications for research and practice are discussed in light of findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative product commerce (CPC) solutions span software and services which permit individuals to share product data to improve the design, development, and management of products throughout the product development lifecycle. Drawing upon prior developments in adaptive structuration theory (AST) and media richness theory, I develop a theoretical framework to better understand the role of CPC in enabling collaboration in a product development environment. I study the impact of CPC on product design and development processes using a cross-sectional survey of 36 firms. The study reveals that CPC usage varies across different phases of the product development lifecycle. Preliminary results indicate that CPC has enabled firms to collaborate effectively with external stakeholders, which has resulted in tangible business benefits. I conclude by developing several research propositions which provide a roadmap for conducting future empirical research to measure the impact of CPC on product development, and highlight potential research topics that can be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Merging the climate and politics literatures, this study evaluates whether organizations have a singular, shared political climate or whether sub-climates, “pockets of politics,” exist. Sub-climate formation is investigated by utilizing both political and climate explanations to determine the level of formation. The sample consisted of 891 employees of a retail services firm and the results of the study indicate that political climates do exist and may be best distinguished by defining the employee’s interactional patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that strategic management of a public interest organization not only needs to be aimed at the interests it represents, but it also has to incorporate the organization's internal workings. The functioning of a public interest organization is seen to suffer from a primary dilemma of membership and influence and a secondary dilemma of representation and control. If these dilemmas are not handled adequately, the public interest organization will suffer from a vicious circle of contradiction and conflict, eventually threatening the organization's long-term viability. A case study is elaborated to empirically underpin this proposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the demise of Andersen, LLP and new legislation that puts an end to self-governance in public accounting, the effectiveness of current models of accounting ethics have been seriously called into question. We argue that the profession suffers from fundamental limitations in its ethical framework that makes it impossible to effectively address ongoing ethical problems. The dominant representation of professional behavior is an agency model of ethics, in which the ultimate responsibility for identifying and dealing with ethical dilemmas resides with the individual. We argue that structural forces such as control over resources, meaning systems, and community norms and values also have a strong influence on the actions of accountants and that these must also be considered. The recent legitimation crisis has forced the accounting profession and its constituencies to begin to recognize and address the structural aspects of ethics as they enable and constrain action. We propose a framework based on structuration theory and learning theory that allows for systematic, multi-level investigation of the structural forces that cause ethical dilemmas to arise and to be recognized and that influence the manner in which they are analyzed and resolved. This framework should be capable of continual critique and reconfiguration as environmental conditions change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To contribute to creation of a model for the initial steps in monumental construction in Formative period Mesoamerica (ca. 1100–700 B.C.), this article employs concepts from theories of structuration. It treats evidence of differential durability of construction materials as sources of insight on possible intended and unintended consequences of the construction of earthen platforms by the generations of people who lived through these new construction projects. It explores the changes in spatiality, connection to place, and materialization of time at multiple scales that these construction projects produced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interdependencies are constructed when people gradually build mutual relationships between themselves. In this study the focus is on interdependencies at work, in long-term projects or groups. Viewing interdependence relationships dynamically, as social practices, it is possible to appreciate the complex and situated nature of this formation. The main goal of the study is to develop a theoretical account of the dynamics of the intertwined processes of interdependence construction and collaborative technology appropriation and use. The main dimensions of this account are: (1) how interdependence is constructed and established as a social process, (2) how information and communication are involved in these processes, and (3) in what ways collaborative information technology can contribute to or hamper these processes. The first dimension builds upon structuration theory. Three earlier case studies are re-visited with the approach, with the outcome of several issues to be explored. The theoretical approach opens up an extensive research program of interdependence construction in relation to collaborative information technology appropriation and use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional measures of the effectiveness of marketing communications suggest a specific process by which marketing actions influence consumers. This article offers a broader philosophical perspective on measuring the effectiveness of marketing communications that focuses on interaction as the unit of analysis, rather than the behavior of either the marketer or the consumer. Structuration theory is discussed and offered as a viable foundation for the identification, selection, and evaluation of new measures of effectiveness in an interactive context among active, goal-driven consumers and marketers. Structuration theory focuses on the emergence and evolution of the structure of interaction, which is posited as a critical factor in devising, selecting, and evaluating new measures of the effectiveness of marketing communications. This view broadens the potential set of measures of effectiveness of interactive marketing communications, implying alternative meanings for measures under different interaction structures and combinations of goal states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public accounting profession has long relied on its reputation for integrity and veracity as justification for its professional status and monopoly privilege predicated on claims of acting in the public interest. If such status and privilege are to be justified and sustained, serious consideration of what constitutes ethical behavior, how such behavior is motivated as well as an explicit recognition of the rights and interests of affected parties constitutes an ethical imperative for the profession. Traditionally, work on ethics and auditing is quite narrow, failing to recognize the social context of individual actions, failing to identify the relevant constituencies of the profession, and failing to articulate processes through which the constituencies' interests can be identified. Generally, the accounting literature has taken a cognitive perspective on ethical decision making which views the resolution of ethical dilemmas as primarily a function of the moral makeup of the actor responding within the context of the Code of Professional Conduct. The purpose of this paper is to broaden the theoretical base of ethical research, specifically within the area of professional accounting and more generally in the area of business. We propose the application of structuration theory in conjunction with stakeholder theory and a responsibility ethic. The application of stakeholder theory is a means for identifying affected constituencies. A responsibility ethic recognizes the situatedness of an individual within an ongoing professional community. Structuration theory provides a theoretical framework for articulating and investigating both the structures within which action is carried out as well as the interaction between the social structures and the actors. Taken together, the theories allow for an enhanced ability to define ethical behavior within a business context and to understand the contextual antecedents and consequences of ethical acts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is argued that recent research in the information systems field has tended to either emphasise the structural/collective dimension or the agency/individual dimension, not both. Structuration theory is a more recent attempt to address both agency and structure, however there are a number of issues with the use of structuration theory in information systems research, not the least of which is its lack of recognition of the temporal and longitudinal nature of information systems development. A relatively new philosophy, critical realism, provides the potential for a new approach to social investigations in its provision of an ontology for the analytical separation of structure and agency. The philosophy is introduced and its implications for sociological investigation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]