Background: Sustainability is realized by companies to different extends as plenty of pressures operate on projects which influence the outcome. One specific influence are the actors who make sense of the pressures based on organizational and personal experiences. By the combination of institutional logics and organizational sensemaking theory, organizational influences in form of pressures and logics (forming the macro-level) and personal views based on individual sense making (micro-level) are combined to a micro-macro connection. The integration of the both theories leads to a deeper understanding on ‘sustainability integration’. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to understand how individuals handle sustainability in a project in a multinational company with has a focus in sustainability. It is of most interest how the influences, represented by the concept of institutional logics, are constructed by the sensemaking of the actors. Research question: How do employees make sense of a project with a sustainability purpose based on institutional logics? Method: The research design of this thesis is an exploratory case study with data collection by the hands of semi-structured interviews. Abductive reasoning was applied. An epistemological position of constructivism and interpretivism was taken. Conclusion: The findings of this study show that organizational pressures are not explicitly noted by each individual. A collective sensemaking is found in the fact that a sustainable project must be affordable for the customers to meet their needs. This finding however, can be traced back to the organizational level which is coined by a strong value culture.

xvii, 191 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / For over a century, researchers from diverse intellectual disciplines have tried to explain the emergence of regional business clusters. I contribute to research on cluster emergence by applying an institutional logics framework to model how cluster emergence is influenced by such factors as supportive institutional logics, knowledge spillover, labor pooling, and technological uncertainty. This study is guided by the research question: How do institutions, specifically, varying levels of a congruous institutional logic, affect regional cluster emergence? Using the passage of the 1978 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) as a catalyst for business cluster emergence in the renewable energy sector, this study examines the emergence of wind and solar energy manufacturing clusters. I test hypotheses about the positive influences of a congruous institutional logic across U.S. metropolitan statistical areas to see if the relative prevalence of a congruous institutional logic results in more firms and greater levels of clustering. For example, a pro-environmental sentiment among human populations aligns, or in other words, is congruous, with renewable energy manufacturing. I use fixed effects estimation to test several hypotheses regarding positive direct and moderating effects of institutional alignment on cluster emergence. I find that congruous institutional logics have a positive direct influence on clustering, and as technological uncertainty increases, this positive direct influence is enhanced. I find only partial support for the moderating influence of congruous institutional logics on the positive direct effect of positive externalities on clustering. This study contributes to practice and theory by building a model and supporting hypotheses on the influence of institutional fit on regional cluster emergence. / Committee in charge: Michael Russo, Chairperson, Management; Jennifer Howard-Grenville, Member, Management; Alan Meyer, Member, Management; Glen Waddell, Outside Member, Economics

Business incubators have become an integrated part of innovation systems worldwide, designed to support innovative entrepreneurship and regional development. However, empirical research on incubated firms show mixed results on innovation and growth. In this paper, 18 Swedish incubators, top-ranked and funded by government innovation programs, are studied through the lens of the institutional logics perspective. Multiple conflicts in state and market logics are highlighted and discussed, as well as implications for new venture creation and future research on business incubators as influential institutional actors.

Au travers d'une étude de cas unique et interprétative de la profession médicale, cette thèse propose d'étudier l'usage des artefacts dans la dynamique conjointe des logiques institutionnelles. Pour comprendre la façon dont le changement s'opère, nous avons suivi l'institutionnalisation d'une nouvelle logique émergente. Des médecins généralistes légitiment leur rôle dans le champ médical par la création d'un mouvement social à la croisée de plusieurs mondes : une logique professionnelle et une logique basée sur l'évidence. Après avoir rassemblé les différents objets épistémiques mobilisés (Knorr -Cetina, 2001), une analyse biographique d'une cinquantaine de médecins a été réalisée par le biais du cycle herméneutique (Bleicher, 1980 ; Myers, 2013). L'originalité de ce travail se fonde sur l'approche socio-matérielle des pratiques (Orlikowski, 2005) perçues à la fois comme des traceurs du changement et comme des "performateurs" du changement. Dans le premier cas, d'un point de vue méthodologique, il est possible de faire émerger plusieurs logiques institutionnelles (Friedland, 2012) en analysant l'évolution des objets utilisés par les médecins dans le temps (Gherardi, 2012) pour comprendre l'agencement des acteurs au cours du changement institutionnel (Lounsbury & Crumley, 2007). Dans le second cas, et à portée théorique, la compréhension de la performativité des objets fournit des explications conceptuelles quant à la propagation d'une logique (Orlikowski & Scott, 2008). Nous explicitons le rôle des énoncés performatifs d'Austin (1962) dans le changement de choix de logique chez les individus à travers une nouvelle notion : le déclic. / This research is in depth interpretative case study looking at the raised of contesting practices in the medical profession. In the 1970s, a social movementemerged in France defending the return of professional values that have been absorbed by the prevalent managerial logic. Actors shaped an innovative ‘hybrid’logic (Reay & Hinings, 2009) setting in between professional and evidence - based of medicine logic (Mendel & Scott, 2010). This study explains how a social movement have challenged successfully the dominant logic, and how the vision came to be incorporated into the field configuration. A large amount of qualitative datawere collected via interviews, archives, and ethnography, and analysed withhermeneutics cycles methodology (Bleicher, 1980; Myers, 2013). I created fifty biographies and focused on the different epistemic objects professionals were using to defend and diffuse the project (Knorr-Cetina, 2001). The contribution of analysing sociomateriality in the process of change is twofold. Theoretically it explained the performative dimensions of a transformation of logic (Orlikowski, 2005). Methodologically it offers new possibilities for identifying institutional logics in a field (Thornton et al., 2012). Findings allow me to illustrate the Austinian perspective of performativity which highlights the formal cooperation between actors (Austin, 1965).

Great challenges often require the combined strength of various actors. Especially in areas that are shaped by fast technological development such as the application of additive manufacturing (AM) in life sciences, the interplay of different fields of expertise, including experts from industry, academia and government, is needed. While the collaboration of diverse actors can constitute a vast potential for innovations, it also entails a major challenge to negotiate among diverse individual interest, backgrounds, beliefs, and value systems. One field of research that can help to understand the consequences of such differences in the interests and beliefs in organizational settings is the institutional logics perspective. Institutional logics account for broader institutional value systems that guide actors’ cognition and actions. When organizations embody multiple logics, scholars speak of logic multiplicity. However, the consequences for organizational functioning that arise from logic multiplicity are still discussed among scholars, ranging from an enhanced innovativeness, to an increased conflict potential and organizational dismiss. In order to better understand logic interaction and its implications for organizational functioning, an embedded-case study was conducted. The embedded-case study focused on AddLife at Uppsala University, a competence center in its early phases of formation which is concerned with the advancement of applications of AM in life sciences. Based on semi-structured interviews and documentational data, three different logics were captured for three main stakeholder groups in AddLife. Further, the interaction of these logics during the early phases of competence center formation was analyzed, corroborating the role of logic compatibility (whether logics imply consistent goals). This study’s findings suggest that common goals have been found in AddLife, but some differences regarding the different logics’ implied goals remain, stressing the role of active mediation. Further, the study suggests that building strong intra-organizational ties is pivotal during the early phases of competence center formation, proposing a framework that encompasses three main approaches to build such ties. The first approach is to create a sense of community, including to reinforce synergies, to ensure engagement, and to connect projects. The second approach is to establish an open communication flow which comprises to clarify roles, to encourage asking questions, and to match expectations. Finally, the third approach is to organize personal meetings in order to establish relationships in the first place and to enable discussions.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att beskriva och förstå hur de sportsliga och ekonomiskalogikerna tar form, samt jämföra hur spänningen påverkar investeringsbeslut i svenska elitfotbollsklubbar.Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och genomfördes med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer med respondenter från tre elitfotbollsklubbar i Allsvenskan och Superettan. Datainsamlades även in från litteratur och vetenskapliga artiklar.Teori: Den teoretiska referensramen utgörs av teorier om institutionella logiker, spänningen mellan logikerna i fotbollsklubbar och vilka sportsliga och ekonomiska förutsättningar somsvenska elitfotbollsklubbar står inför.Empiri: Studien innehåller intervjuer med fem respondenter från tre svenskaelitfotbollsklubbar. Två fotbollsklubbar från Allsvenskan samt en fotbollsklubb frånSuperettan. Respondenterna har haft befattningen ekonomichef, sportchef ellerstyrelsemedlem.Slutsats: Fotbollsklubbar är komplexa organisationer där verksamheten är en ideell föreningmen bedrivs som ett företag. Vid investeringar uppstår en spänning mellan sportslig ochekonomisk logik. Logikerna är situationsbaserade och den logik som prioriteras skiftarberoende på den sportsliga och ekonomiska situation som fotbollsklubbarna befinner sig i.Trots att det alltid är en balansgång mellan logikerna prioriteras ofta den ekonomiska logiken på grund utav fotbollsklubbarnas ekonomiska historia. Det är vanligt att arbeta medsin ungdomsakademi, eftersom att det är både ekonomiskt försvarbart och kan genereraintäkter vid en möjlig spelarförsäljning i framtiden.

The purpose of this work was to contribute with increased knowledge about the role of principals as decision-makers in today's education system. This was done by examining 12 principals' experience and actions in relation to a law change that has meant an opportunity to introduce grades from year 4. Factors that were expressed as being able to influence the principals' decisions regarding earlier grades were their personal attitudes to and experiences of grades, teachers' attitude, contextual factors and science. The results indicated that the principals experiences a high degree of autonomy in the decision regarding earlier grades, although most principals involved teachers and/or the management team in the decision-making process. In general, the principals felt it was positive that they were the ones who made the decision about introducing earlier grades, although several principals expressed that it was strange and that there were risks in relation to equivalence. Many of the principals expressed that they would have preferred the state to have made the decision, especially if it was the same decision as their own. The results indicated that the principals would prefer an education system were decisions that affect their work would be delegated directly to them, alternatively that the state would make these decisions. A resistance to the decision about grades being made at the board- or municipal-level could imply a dissatisfaction with today's education system were the board or the municipal can have a significant influence on how a school is organized and thus on the principal's daily work and possibilities to make decisions. A professional and bureaucratic logic was expressed in a somewhat higher degree than the logic of market in the principals' experience and action in relation to the possibility to introducing earlier grades.

Studien hade till syfte att genom kvalitativa intervjuer undersöka hur professionella såg på ADHD-symtom hos flickor, samt hur de ansåg att arbetet med att upptäcka ADHD hos flickor i en tidigare ålder kunde underlättas, både genom samarbete och enskilt arbete. Fem semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med fem olika professioner; en kurator från Barn- och Ungdomspsykiatrin (BUP), en socialsekreterare, en skolkurator, en lärare samt en fritidspedagog. Resultatet från intervjuerna analyserades med hjälp av en teoretisk referensram innehållande genus och organisationsteori. Huvudresultatet visade på skilda kunskaper om ADHD hos flickor, men visade även att intresset för ytterligare utbildning inom området var stort. På grund av bristande utbildningsmöjligheter försvårades arbetet med att upptäcka ADHD för flertalet av professionerna. Resultatet visade även otydliga rutiner och icke fungerade kommunikation mellan organisationerna vilket ledde till ett bristfälligt samarbete. Slutsatsen som drogs var att utbildningsmöjligheter, verktyg och samarbete mellan professionerna behövde utvecklas för att upptäcka diagnosen hos flickor. / The aim of this study was to explore how professionals view ADHD symptoms in girls, and how they think the work procedure could develop to be able to find ADHD in younger girls, both through individual work and cooperation. Five qualitative semi-structured interviews were done with five professions; a counsellor from the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (BUP), a school counsellor, a social worker, a teacher and a leisure educator. The material was analysed using a theoretical framework of gender and organisation theory. A major result showed various levels of knowledge when it came to ADHD in girls, but a large interest in further education. Due to lack of educational opportunities, detecting ADHD in girls was made more difficult. The results also described unclear routines and dysfunctional communication between organizations. The conclusion that was drawn was that lack of education, tools and cooperation contributes to girls not being diagnosed.

Despite its benefits, output controls are less prevalent than its counterpart input controls in public sector agencies. Performance budgeting aligns the input of resources with the output of products and services systematically, enabling assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of organizational activities. Yet, implementing performance budgeting is challenging, as observed in the Swedish Armed Forces, thus constituting a suitable case to explore this thesis’ research question – why do public sector agencies seldom succeed implementing performance budgeting?   The inquiry is grounded in the multi-layered institutional framework of performance budgeting by Ho ​(2018)​ which, along with extant literature, is developed into propositions guiding the data gathering. The empirics are examined from a discursive perspective with the theory of multiple institutional logics​ (Besharov & Smith, 2014)​ and its technical dimension with the sociology of translation ​(Latour, 1999)​. Findings indicated that the present financial model did not achieve performance budgeting due to a lack of internal transparency, as the model were perceived as convoluted, and that military and financial performance were assessed and reported in separate structures. Looking ahead from an institutional perspective, the recently developed evaluation model, might assist the development of performance budgeting as its underpinning logic of mission command seems compatible with program logic. However, current lack of standardization and managerial infrastructures are indicative of an ineffective translation process, limiting the representational value of the accounting and performance inscriptions, thus limiting their ability facilitate stable spatial and temporal control.

The aim of this qualitative study is to understand the processes around the prevention of child endangerment in deportation processes in Germany focusing on street-level bureaucrats. Eight social welfare professionals directly working with refugee minors and having experiences with deportation processes where refugee minors are or were involved distributed along three Federal States participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted online and were analysed afterwards by using discourse analysis. Strong engagement, emotional involvement, frustration, and anger but also objective views and uncertainty when it comes to the prevention of child endangerment in deportation processes emerged. The deportation process is viewed as something very horrible and not compatible with the best interests of the child leading to cases of child endangerment. Responsibility for this was attributed to the system/state, street-level bureaucrats, as well as parents. Prevention of child endangerment in this context is seen as very difficult as there appear to be barriers at different levels where improvement is needed, containing a professional and personal level, the parental level, and a political and state level. The results were discussed then by using the concept of institutional logics and Lipsky’s theory of street-level bureaucracy. The street-level bureaucrats’ reasoning and practice are informed by several institutional logics which are interpreted and valued differently and raise conflicts which need to be solved. The human rights logics and national state logics, as well as logics of professionalism and logics of bureaucracy play an important role in this context.