Internationalization of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the healthcare industryhas experienced rapid growth in the recent decade. Although research on understanding thisprocess and what drives it has been conducted, previous studies are limited in recognizing thefull influence of both domestic and foreign institutional environments. This study investigatesthe internationalization of four Swedish SMEs operating in healthcare markets through aninstitutional-based perspective, asking how and why SMEs internationalize and how theymanage different institutional environments. By analyzing the empirical case findings in thelight of a theoretical framework based on internationalization theory, institutional theory andinstitutional entrepreneurship we attempt to answer our research questions mentioned above.The thesis concludes that internationalizing SMEs experience a large range of barriers ofwhich most can be effectively overcome by cooperation and access to networks with keyopinion leaders. Findings on managing the institutional environment pointed to that thedomestic institutional environment can act as a driver for internationalization, while theability to influence and change foreign institutional environments were found to be nearimpossible for a single firm. However, our study shows that attempts at institutional changecan be achieved through cooperation together with other firms, organizations and mostimportantly influential networks with key opinion leaders. Internationalizing SMEs within thehealthcare industry might not be institutional entrepreneurs in its true sense; however theyhave the possibility of getting there.

The purpose of this study, is to investigate the dynamics of reforms (i.e. why and how) in the delivery of public services and management controls in an Irish local authority, paying particular attention to the role of a newly appointed CEO and austerity measures. The case study method is adopted. Several complementary socio-political theoretical lenses are adopted to give greater emphasis to agency and structure including concepts such as institutional entrepreneurship, institutional contradictions, institutional change, organisational change and power. Such theoretical pluralism illuminates the complex nature of public service reforms in an Irish local authority, as it sought to realise services efficiency targets in times of austerity. This study makes important contributions to research on public service deliveries and management controls. As far as its author is aware, this study is the first of its kind to detail the unfolding journey of reform in the delivery of services and management controls in an Irish local authority that faced the significant challenges of austerity. Hence, for this reason alone the research contributes significantly towards the development of new knowledge in this important area. Furthermore, an in-depth process-oriented account of a purposeful institutional entrepreneur, utilising management accounting information, power and communication, in reforming the delivery of public services and management controls, is provided. Also revealed is how external factors, such as the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent central government funding cuts, enabled rather than constrained, institutional entrepreneurship. In addition, the case findings informed, how in conditions of austerity, the fundamentals of budgetary control became easier to enforce.

Yes / We use data from in-depth interviews with business lobbyists in Brussels to investigate why they choose to join lobbying coalitions. We find that lobbyists face two competing institutional incentives. First, they are confronted with incentives to ally with other European organisations, develop multilateral policy messages, and communicate messages to the Commission and the Parliament. Simultaneously, they face inducements to join narrower coalitions, develop bilateral policy messages, and direct those messages at the Council. Lobbyists’ receptivity to these incentives – and thus their choices of lobbying coalitions – differs with their age, educational background, and with the type and ownership structure of the organisations they represent. Combined, our findings contribute to the limited, mainly American literature on interest coalitions by demonstrating that lobbyists operate in complex institutional environments, and that their interpretations of and reactions to institutional complexity are shaped by individual- and organisational-level factors.

The thesis explores issues relating to transformative change in the context of marine governance in the Coral Triangle, and the effects of such change processes on policy, stakeholder relations and management activities. Paper 1 studies how change-oriented actors (institutional entrepreneurs) operating at the international level can introduce and purposefully navigate large-scalechange processes. Paper 2 studies the impact of resource inequality on multi-stakeholder collaboration, and tackles the literature of boundary work so as to increase its usefulness for understanding complex, multi-level governance initiatives. Paper 3 explores how narratives about the marine environment are entwined with and influence critical aspects of marine ecosystem governance such as resource allocation, day-to-day management actions, stakeholder relations, and long-term ecological monitoring. Paper 4 investigates how actors at the local level can capture opportunities at higher institutional levels while at the same time catalyzing local potential for change by focusing on the interplay between strategies,opportunity and context. The results show that institutional entrepreneurship requires understanding of how strategies can be matched with opportunity and context, for example by offering a way for other actors to address key priorities and add value to their organizations. The results also show that behind the scene organizing is often a precondition for the introduction of transformative change. Shifting the process from an informal track to a formal track where ideas about transformative change can be deliberated among a broader set ofstakeholders is thus a major challenge. Moreover, a strong narrative is key to successfully introducing and driving transformative change. In this sense, the ability to articulate and distribute a narrative which tells a compelling story about the broader system is critical. Finally, power dynamics are constantly at play in transformation processes due to resource asymmetries. The thesis shows that differences in resources may influence the credibility, legitimacy, and salience of transformative change. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Submitted. Paper 3: In press.</p>

Abstract The resolution of humanitarian crises in, for example, ethnic conflict regions, is dependent on the interaction of different actors. They need to collectively engage to change the conflicting parties’ perception of one another and their ways of interacting. The efforts of these institution-changing networks can be seen as an integral element of a change process to transform harmful societal practices which have become institutionalized over decades into socially and economically conducive practices. Located at the cross-roads of sociological institutionalism and critical entrepreneurship discourse this study borrows from both the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing rooted business network mobilization approach and organizational legitimacy discussion. It provides processual and contextual understanding of how individual actors act in the process of forming collectives for institutional change as an early stage of a peace-building process. The data of this study consists of a set of conversations with governmental, non-governmental and private sector actors and observations and secondary data about the peace-building and democratization process in Myanmar/Burma. These were used to produce insight into individual actors’ acting for forming institution-changing networks. Pluralism, non-linearity and non-teleology were identified as characteristics of institutional entrepreneurial acting in turbulent and unpredictable contexts generally. Exploring the pluralist characteristic further, the study identifies in Myanmar/Burma’s peace-building context reticence, adaptability, incentivization, and perseverance as ways of acting to instigate the forming of networks and the creation of legitimacy therein. Due to the underlying non-linearity and non-teleology of these ways of acting the formation of networks is referred to as process of becoming. Theoretically this study responds to the need for processual conceptualizations of networks changing over time through a rich and locally contextualized understanding of network forming processes. Methodologically, it advocates for a network- or meso-level approach to help transcending the distinction between individual and structure levels of analysis which allows viewing institutional entrepreneurship processes where they are enacted. Practically, this study gives guidance to business actors about balancing the conduct of business and building society at the same time. / Tiivistelmä Humanitaaristen kriisien ratkaisu esimerkiksi alueilla, joissa on etnisiä konflikteja, riippuu eri toimijoiden vuorovaikutuksesta. Heidän täytyy pyrkiä verkostoissa vaikuttamaan konfliktin osapuolten vuorovaikutustapoihin ja näkemyksiin toisistaan. Näiden instituutioita muuttavien verkostojen pyrkimykset voidaan nähdä keskeisenä osana prosessia, joka muuttaa ajan saatossa institutionalisoituneita haitallisia yhteiskunnallisia käytäntöjä sosiaalisesti ja taloudellisesti hyödyllisiksi käytännöiksi. Tämä tutkimus sijoittuu sosiologisen institutionalismin ja kriittisen yrittäjyyden diskurssin yhtymäkohtiin. Se pohjaa keskusteluun organisatorisesta legitimiteetistä sekä liiketoimintaverkostojen mobilisoinnin lähestymistapaan, joka juontaa juurensa teollisten markkinoiden tutkimuksesta. Tämä tutkimus tarjoaa prosessuaalisen ja kontekstuaalisen näkökulman yksittäisten toimijoiden toimintaan kollektiivien muodostumisen prosessissa, joka tähtää institutionaalisen muutoksen aikaansaamiseen rauhanrakentamisprosessin varhaisessa vaiheessa. Tutkimuksessa hyödynnettiin kansalaisjärjestöjen, yksityissektorin ja valtiollisten toimijoiden haastattelujen lisäksi havaintoja ja sekundaariaineistoa rauhanrakentamisen ja demokratisointisoinnin prosesseista Myanmarissa/Burmassa. Aineiston pohjalta syvennettiin ymmärrystä yksittäisten toimijoiden toimimisesta instituutioita muuttavien verkostojen muodostumisessa. Pluralismi, epälineaarisuus ja epäteleologisuus tunnistettiin institutionaalisen yrittäjämäisen toimimisen ominaispiirteiksi turbulenteissa ja arvaamattomissa konteksteissa. Pluralistisia ominaisuuksia tarkasteltiin syvemmin ja Myanmarin/Burman rauhanrakennusprosessin kontekstissa pidättyväisyys, sopeutumiskyky, kannustimien asettaminen ja pitkäjänteisyys tunnistettiin tavoiksi käynnistää verkostojen muodostuminen ja niiden legitimiteetin luominen. Näiden toimintatapojen epälineaarisuuden ja epäteleologisuuden takia verkostojen luomiseen viitataan muodostumisen prosessina. Teoreettisesti tämä tutkimus vastaa tarpeeseen käsitteellistää muuttuvia verkostoja prosessuaalisesti luomalla moninaisen ja paikallisesti kontekstualisoidun ymmärryksen verkostojen muodostumisen prosessista. Metodologisesti tutkimus edistää verkosto- ja mesotason lähestymistapaa, joka auttaa ylittämään yksilön ja rakenteen tasojen erotuksen ja mahdollistaa institutionaalisen yrittäjämäisen prosessin tarkastelun sen toteuttamistasolla. Käytännössä tämä tutkimus antaa neuvoja liike-elämän toimijoille samanaikaisesti tapahtuvaan liiketoiminnan harjoittamiseen ja yhteiskunnan rakentamiseen.

Abstract This research explores social entrepreneurship within the Islamic context through a number of perspectives. While there has been plenty of scientific research on social entrepreneurship during the last decades, non-Western settings are largely missing from academic research. Nevertheless, social entrepreneurship is also practiced in non-Western nations, no less so in the GCC countries. This research explores the multifaceted nature of social entrepreneurship within the Islamic GCC context through three qualitative research papers. The strong role and influence of social entrepreneurship was seen as the connecting theme between these three papers. Social entrepreneurship comes in many shapes and sizes and is visible at many levels of organization. Nation states display it as do even wider, shared belief systems. The multifaceted nature of social entrepreneurship is revealed when approached from several perspectives. The first paper approaches it from a social and commercial perspective, utilizing a case study method. The second paper is a conceptual paper that approaches social entrepreneurship from a more religious and philanthropic perspective by focusing on zakat. In the third paper, social entrepreneurship is studied from the perspective of leadership and state using a historical case study. The findings of these three papers reveal that the interaction between the different functions of social entrepreneurs is both complex and multifaceted. One of the reasons for this is that the boundaries within which the social entrepreneurs operate are highly multidimensional. The Islamic context encompasses both institutional entrepreneurship and Islamic philanthropy, and sees them as essential and often also inseparable parts of it - perhaps even more so than in a Western context. This research shows that the state has a strong supporting role in social entrepreneurship and even acts as social entrepreneur. Thus, in the Islamic context, the effects of social entrepreneurship (through zakat institutions) actually foster the interaction and spread of social entrepreneurs, institutional entrepreneurs and Islamic philanthropists across multiple institutional spheres. / Tiivistelmä Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkitaan sosiaalista yrittäjyyttä islamilaisessa kontekstissa useasta eri perspektiivistä. Vaikka viimeisten vuosikymmenten aikana on tehty paljon akateemista tutkimusta sosiaalisesta yrittäjyydestä, tutkimus länsimaiden ulkopuolisisissa konteksteissa on ollut hyvin vähäistä. Siitä huolimatta sosiaalista yrittäjyyttä on harjoitettu myös muualla kuin länsimaissa, kuten myös Persianlahden arabivaltioissa, GCC maissa. Tämä tutkimus käsittelee sosiaalisen yrittäjyyden monitahoista ilmentymää islamilaisissa GCC maissa kolmen kvalitatiivisen artikkelin kautta. Sosiaalisen yrittäjyyden vahva rooli ja sen erilaiset vaikutukset ovat yhdistävä teema näissä kolmessa artikkelissa. Sosiaalinen yrittäjyys ilmenee monessa eri muodossa ja eri kokoisissa yrityksissä ja sen vaikutus on nähtävissä useissa organisaation eri tasoissa. Sosiaalista yrittäjyyttä on havaittavissa myös valtiotasolla ja jopa suuremmissa uskomuskunnissa. Sosiaalisen yrittäjyyden monitahoisuus ilmenee, kun sitä lähestytään useasta perspektiivistä. Ensimmäinen artikkeli lähestyy tätä ilmiötä sosiaalisesta ja kaupallisesta perspektiivistä hyödyntäen tapaustutkimusta tutkimusmenetelmänä. Toinen tutkimusartikkeli on käsitteellinen tutkimus, joka lähestyy sosiaalista yrittäjyyttä enemmän uskonnollisesta ja filantropisesta lähtökohdasta keskittymällä zakat-käsitteeseen. Kolmannessa artikkelissa sosiaalista yrittäjyyttä tutkitaan johtamisen ja valtiotason näkökulmista historiallisen tapaustutkimusmenetelmän avulla. Tutkimuksen tulokset paljastavat, että vuorovaikutus sosiaalisten yrittäjien eri toimintojen välillä on sekä monimutkaista että monitahoista. Yksi selitys tälle on, että rajapinta jonka puitteissa sosiaaliset yrittäjät toimivat, on erittäin moniulotteinen. Institutionaalinen yrittäjyys ja islamilainen filantropia ovat erottamaton osa sosiaalista yrittäjyyttä islamilaisessa kontekstissa, ehkä jopa suuremmassa määrin kuin länsimaisissa konteksteissa. Tämä tutkimus osoittaa että valtiolla on vahva avustava rooli sosiaalisessa yrittäjyydessä ja valtio voi jopa käyttäytyä sosiaalisen yrittäjän tavoin. Täten sosiaalisen yrittäjyyden vaikutus islamilaisessa kontekstissa (zakat-instituution kautta) vahvistaa sosiaalisten yrittäjien, institutionaalisten yrittäjien ja islamilaisten filantrooppien vuorovaikutusta ja vaikutusvallan leviämistä yli instituutiorajojen.

During the year of 2015 and the large migration wave that hit Europe, many unaccompanied young refugees came to Sweden. For this particular group, the challenge is to become integrated to the labour market in order to receive a permanent residency permit in Sweden after they graduate their upper secondary education. Over the past few years, it has become more evident that the state is not able to handle the integration process alone, and that it is time to shed light on contemporary initiatives deriving from other actors, such as civil society organisations. The question is whether these initiatives have been successful in bringing about change, and in what ways. The purpose of this thesis was therefore to analyse the civil society organisation Right To Play that uses sports as a tool for labour market integration, through the theory of Institutional Entrepreneurship by identifying its rationales, resources, and relations that are used to prompt institutional change. Through three semi-structured interviews and one observation, together with secondary data, a narrative analysis of their stories was conducted. The results showed that the organisation manage to mix a set of strong rationales of sports, labour market integration, and youth agency, to transform the youth from being passive receivers of integration to become active agents and important human resources within the organisation, and to connect the youth with other actors in the society through external relations. The study also concluded that the elements of rationales, resources, and relations, that are used to investigate the power of an organisation to prompt institutional change, also helps the organisation to become resilient in times of crises.

If you have an idea about applying a proven technology to improve the processes in a new area of society, what does it take to implement it in a way that it has wide impact and endures? This is a relevant question particularly now, at the dawn of the age of 'big data', as information and communication technologies are adopted in many areas to harness the ability to collect, retrieve and analyse large amounts of information, and be made available at the level of individual users. Extraordinarily powerful devices developed in recent years offer much promise, but as many examples, such as Betamax, WAP-technology, HD DVD and netbooks, show that even potent technologies may fail to gain predominance and survive. The concept of institutional entrepreneurship is a useful framework to analyse these complex issues as it embodies a comprehensive analytical perspective, combining attention to the institutional environment as well as to the efforts by interested and re-sourced actors. I use this concept to I investigate the efforts to introduce mobile technology into health care in England and Finland. I employ a distinct research strategy that avoids a retrospective bias, through the collection and analysis of qualitative data before known outcomes, from a wide range of technology, care, regulatory and intermediary organisations. I uncover some of the difficulties to technology adoption and develop arguments about the types of efforts and the impact of context at the early moment stage that contribute to the further development of the concept of institutional entrepreneurship.

Dans des contextes institutionnels complexes, la mise en oeuvre d'innovations nécessite la collaboration d'une grande variété d'acteurs. Cette recherche propose d'enrichir la notion émergente et très peu conceptualisée d'entrepreneuriat institutionnel collectif. Guidés par des ouvrages et des articles de référence, elle enrichit la grille de lecture de l'entrepreneuriat institutionnel en la transposant dans un contexte d'action collective, grâce aux notions de leadership pluriel et d'équipe de travail. Elle porte ainsi un regard sur les micros dynamiques de l'action entrepreneuriale, en ce qu'elles relèvent d'un caractère structuré et organisé, impliquant l'action de plusieurs individus agissant sous l'égide d'une seule entité, le collectif. Le terrain de la recherche a consisté en une recherche-action menée auprès d'un dispositif collectif (EPSP, Espace Partagé de Santé Publique) qui prône une approche novatrice en termes de nouvelle santé publique depuis sa création en 2007 dans le sud de la France. Les éléments relatifs à la structure de l'action entrepreneuriale permettent de saisir les différents aspects de la collaboration d'un ensemble d'acteurs. Le collectif, mêlant l'hétérogénéité des compétences et permettant la distribution des rôles sur différents niveaux de structuration, constitue une plateforme d'échanges et de mise en commun de tout un ensemble de ressources, partagées dans un effort collaboratif. Le pilotage de l'action entrepreneuriale s'opère à différents niveaux de structuration dévoilant notamment l'émergence de leaders (formels et informels), une vision commune travaillée et partagée favorisant l'accès aux ressources rares réparties dans le champ. / In complex fields, change requires cooperation from numerous dispersed actors with divergent interests. Guided by reference works and articles, we draw on complementary insights from institutional and plural leadership in team theories to enrich the emerging notion of Collective Institutional Entrepreneurship. In this sense, this work focuses on the micro mechanisms by which actors engage collectively in entrepreneurial actions and highlights the structural and organized character involving the action of many individuals acting under the same entity: the "Collective". Our research is based on a case study called the "Espace Partagé de Santé Publique", which has been established in 2005 to favor social innovations targeting disabled individuals. Collective Institutional Entrepreneurship takes many forms varying from the institutional work in witch actors are involved. It shows how collective institutional entrepreneurship relies on shared competencies and on the sharing of multiple resources derived from a diversity of actors working in a collaborative effort. This case study shows how experiments such as EPSP are conducive to the emergence of Collective Institutional Entrepreneurship involved in the design and implementation of a social innovation. The platform provides a large set of various resources, and institutional entrepreneurs can use its to establish a social innovation project. Regarding the structure and dynamics of Collective Institutional Entrepreneurship, the main results of this study invite future investigations to consider the richness of collective dynamics to apprehend complex institutional changes.

[pt] Este estudo se propõe a entender como empreendedores sustentáveis - empreendedores que tentam resolver problemas ambientais e sociais, além de gerar riqueza econômica - atuam como empreendedores institucionais, iniciando mudanças divergentes nas normas e modelos mentais construídos socialmente. Unindo a pesquisa em empreendedorismo com a teoria institucional, o objetivo deste estudo foi elucidar como empreendedores sustentáveis: identificam, avaliam e decidem explorar oportunidades de negócios; mobilizam recursos através das lógicas de causation, effectuation ou bricolagem e tentam se legitimar e convencer stakeholders para o seu negócio. Para o entendimento do processo histórico e do contexto da formação do empreendimento optou-se pelo método de múltiplos estudos de caso. Consonante com a literatura, os resultados mostraram que os empreendedores sustentáveis se utilizam de um misto de causation e effectuation na exploração das oportunidades, variando a lógica conforme o contexto. A incorporação da ótica institucional permitiu revelar que a lógica de causation é utilizada em um contexto de busca de legitimidade e convencimento de stakeholders. Por outro lado, verificou-se que as estratégias de convencimento pelos empreendedores como a teorização podem apresentar variações ao longo do tempo, numa lógica de effectuation, à medida que novos desafios e oportunidades surjam. Ao combinar a perspectiva da teoria institucional à pesquisa em empreendedorismo, unindo as estratégias de legitimação e convencimentos dos stakeholders aos mecanismos da ação empreendedora em empreendimentos sustentáveis, esta pesquisa preenche uma lacuna de pesquisa em ambas áreas. / [en] In this study, I assume that sustainable entrepreneurs, i.e, entrepreneurs who tackle environmental and social problems while also creating economic wealth (Schaltegger and Wagner, 2011), act as institutional entrepreneurs, promoting divergent changes in the models, schemas and norms of a given organizational field. By combining both entrepreneurship research and institutional theory, the aim of this research is threefold: to uncover how sustainable entrepreneurs 1) identify, evaluate and decide to explore business opportunities; 2) mobilize resources through mechanisms known in the entrepreneurship literature as causation, effectuation, and bricolage, and 3) legitimate their businesses and change institutions so as their products/services get accepted. The method used in this research was the multiple case study to get rich and detailed data, making a thorough understanding of the historical process and context of the venture creation possible. Confirming prior research, the results suggest that entrepreneurs use both effectuation and causation logics to explore opportunities. However, the institutional theory lens in this study suggests that the use of causation logic is intended at gaining legitimacy and attracting stakeholders. On the other hand, results also suggest that theorization strategies used by sustainable entrepreneurs may take an effectual approach, changing its arguments in an experimental and iterative way as stakholders face new necessities and challenges. By combining entrepreneurship research to institutional theory, this study fills a literature gap in both areas.