IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eurman/v39y2021i1p46-56.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Institutional work through empathic engagement

Author

Listed:
  • Linneberg, Mai Skjøtt
  • Trenca, Mihaela
  • Noerreklit, Hanne

Abstract

A growing body of literature examines how actors engage with institutions and how they prompt institutional change and evolution. This article takes stock of this knowledge and contributes an affective dimension to the study of how institutional entrepreneurs achieve momentum and field-level impact. The article views institutional work as relational agency and conceptualises empathic engagement as a way for institutional entrepreneurs to relate affectively to other actors and induce cooperation. We demonstrate how empathic engagement by institutional entrepreneurs can nurture communities of practice that co-create change in institutional fields. Our argument hinges on the actors’ affective investment and advances the less developed non-cognitive dimension of institutional work. By integrating empathic engagement into institutional entrepreneurship, we demonstrate how institutional entrepreneurs nurture their ability to engage and cooperate with others to diffuse particular values through institutional work. This integration focuses on the way of knowing generated through empathic engagement: the ability to bring about a consensus by creating frames of reference and identities that others are enchanted by and subscribe to, as opposed to using coercive mechanisms.

Suggested Citation

  • Linneberg, Mai Skjøtt & Trenca, Mihaela & Noerreklit, Hanne, 2021. "Institutional work through empathic engagement," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 46-56.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eurman:v:39:y:2021:i:1:p:46-56
    DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2020.08.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263237320301225
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.emj.2020.08.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hanne Nørreklit & Lennart Nørreklit & Falconer Mitchell, 2016. "Understanding practice generalisation – opening the research/practice gap," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(3), pages 278-302, August.
    2. Christopher Marquis & Michael W. Toffel & Yanhua Zhou, 2016. "Scrutiny, Norms, and Selective Disclosure: A Global Study of Greenwashing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(2), pages 483-504, April.
    3. Falconer Mitchell & Lars Nielsen & Hanne Nørreklit & Lennart Nørreklit, 2013. "Scoring strategic performance: a pragmatic constructivist approach to strategic performance measurement," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(1), pages 5-34, February.
    4. Dima Jamali, 2010. "MNCs and International Accountability Standards Through an Institutional Lens: Evidence of Symbolic Conformity or Decoupling," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(4), pages 617-640, September.
    5. Mihaela Trenca, 2016. "Tracing the becoming of reflective practitioner through the enactment of epistemic practices," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(3), pages 350-369, August.
    6. Dvora Yanow & Haridimos Tsoukas, 2009. "What is Reflection‐In‐Action? A Phenomenological Account," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(8), pages 1339-1364, December.
    7. Klarner, Patricia & By, Rune Todnem & Diefenbach, Thomas, 2011. "Employee emotions during organizational change--Towards a new research agenda," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 332-340, September.
    8. Weik, Elke, 2019. "Value, affect and beauty: The Weird Sisters of institutionalist theory. A ritualist perspective," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 233-243.
    9. Fligstein, Neil, 2001. "Social Skill and the Theory of Fields," Center for Culture, Organizations and Politics, Working Paper Series qt26m187b1, Center for Culture, Organizations and Politics of theInstitute for Research on Labor and Employment, UC Berkeley.
    10. Suddaby, Roy & Ganzin, Max & Minkus, Alison, 2017. "Craft, magic and the re-enchantment of the world," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 285-296.
    11. T. Lawrence & R. Suddaby & B. Leca, 2011. "Institutional work - Re-focusing institutional studies of organization," Post-Print hal-00802293, HAL.
    12. Topal, Cagri, 2015. "A relational perspective of institutional work," Journal of Management & Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(4), pages 495-514, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Richardson, Alan J. & Kilfoyle, Eksa, 2016. "Accounting institutions as truce: The emergence of accounting in the governance of transnational mail flows," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 32-47.
    2. Nyarko, Samuel Anokye, 2022. "Gender discrimination and lending to women: The moderating effect of an international founder," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(4).
    3. Mauro, Sara Giovanna & Cinquini, Lino & Pianezzi, Daniela, 2021. "New Public Management between reality and illusion: Analysing the validity of performance-based budgeting," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(6).
    4. Olivier Boiral & David Talbot & Marie‐Christine Brotherton, 2020. "Measuring sustainability risks: A rational myth?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2557-2571, September.
    5. Hawa, Joelle & Baker, Jonathan & Plewa, Carolin, 2020. "Composing markets: A framework of intentionality in market-shaping," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 47-57.
    6. Roszkowska-Menkes, Maria & Aluchna, Maria & Kamiński, Bogumił, 2024. "True transparency or mere decoupling? The study of selective disclosure in sustainability reporting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    7. Löhlein, Lukas & Müßig, Anke, 2020. "At the boundaries of institutional theorizing: Individual entrepreneurship in episodes of regulatory change," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    8. Andersson, Thomas & Gadolin, Christian, 2020. "Understanding institutional work through social interaction in highly institutionalized settings: Lessons from public healthcare organizations," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(2).
    9. Laura Empson & Imogen Cleaver & Jeremy Allen, 2013. "Managing Partners and Management Professionals: Institutional Work Dyads in Professional Partnerships," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(5), pages 808-844, July.
    10. Mair, Johanna & Reischauer, Georg, 2017. "Capturing the dynamics of the sharing economy: Institutional research on the plural forms and practices of sharing economy organizations," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 11-20.
    11. Ammar Ali Gull & Nazim Hussain & Sana Akbar Khan & Zaheer Khan & Asif Saeed, 2023. "Governing Corporate Social Responsibility Decoupling: The Effect of the Governance Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility Decoupling," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(2), pages 349-374, June.
    12. Cynthia E. Clark & Punit Arora & Patricia Gabaldon, 2022. "Female Representation on Corporate Boards in Europe: The Interplay of Organizational Social Consciousness and Institutions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 165-186, September.
    13. Jeannette A. Colyvas & Spiro Maroulis, 2015. "Moving from an Exception to a Rule: Analyzing Mechanisms in Emergence-Based Institutionalization," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(2), pages 601-621, April.
    14. Caroline Flammer & Michael W. Toffel & Kala Viswanathan, 2021. "Shareholder activism and firms' voluntary disclosure of climate change risks," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(10), pages 1850-1879, October.
    15. Aseem Kaul & Jiao Luo, 2018. "An economic case for CSR: The comparative efficiency of for‐profit firms in meeting consumer demand for social goods," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(6), pages 1650-1677, June.
    16. Modell, Sven & Yang, ChunLei, 2018. "Financialisation as a strategic action field: An historically informed field study of governance reforms in Chinese state-owned enterprises," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 41-59.
    17. Shujun Chao & Shanyong Wang & Haidong Li & Shu Yang, 2023. "The power of culture: Does Confucian culture contribute to corporate environmental information disclosure?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2435-2456, September.
    18. Heyes, Anthony & Lyon, Thomas P. & Martin, Steve, 2018. "Salience games: Private politics when public attention is limited," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 396-410.
    19. Olivier Boiral & Marie‐Christine Brotherton & Léo Rivaud & David Talbot, 2022. "Comparing the uncomparable? An investigation of car manufacturers' climate performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2213-2229, July.
    20. Mario Vaupel & David Bendig & Denise Fischer-Kreer & Malte Brettel, 2023. "The Role of Share Repurchases for Firms’ Social and Environmental Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(2), pages 401-428, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eurman:v:39:y:2021:i:1:p:46-56. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/115/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.