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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
31

Framing of the Roles of Academic Libraries in Lithuania (Discourse Analysis) / Lietuvos akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenų konstravimas (diskurso analizė)

Petraitytė, Simona 16 December 2013 (has links)
The goal of the dissertation is by disclosing the key institutional powers of the external environment affecting academic libraries in Lithuania, identify the peculiarities of the framing of Lithuanian academic libraries’ roles and the influence of the process on the stability and variation of academic libraries. The object of the study – roles of academic libraries in Lithuania – is analysed from the perspective of new institutionalism, which affords the researcher’s ground for the identification and explanation of certain pressures of the institutional environment on organizations and their modes of activity. The discourse analysis of official documents of Lithuanian universities (long- and short-term strategic activity plans and annual reports) highlights the factors and agents which have the most impact on the stability and change of roles of libraries. It is stated that the entrenchment and stability of the framed roles of academic libraries is subject to the support and aid rendered by the institutional powers. The stability of the roles of Lithuanian academic libraries is to the greatest extent influenced by the support from various professional networks and authoritative financial agents, and the culturally established typical image of the activity of a certain library. Roles of academic libraries framed within the framework of the prevalent discourses of modernity, market and quality, reflect the institutional logics of the academic library which is based on the... [to full text] / Disertacijoje keliamas tikslas – atskleidus pagrindines išorinės aplinkos institucines jėgas, veikiančias Lietuvos akademines bibliotekas, nustatyti Lietuvos akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenų konstravimo ypatumus ir šio proceso įtaką akademinių bibliotekų stabilumui bei kaitai. Disertacijos objektas – Lietuvos akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenys – tiriamas iš teorinės naujojo institucionalizmo perspektyvos, leidžiančios nustatyti ir paaiškinti tam tikrą institucinės aplinkos spaudimą organizacijoms ar jų veiklos būdams. Atliekama Lietuvos valstybinių universitetų strateginių dokumentų diskurso analizė išryškina akademinių bibliotekų išorinės aplinkos veiksnius ir veikėjus, darančius didžiausią įtaką bibliotekų vaidmenų stabilumui ir kaitai. Disertacijoje nustatyta, kad konstruojamų akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenų įsitvirtinimas ir stabilumas priklauso nuo to, kiek jis yra remiamas ir palaikomas institucinių jėgų. Lietuvos akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenų tvirtumui didžiausią įtaką daro įvairių profesinių tinklų ir autoritetingų finansinių veikėjų palaikymas, kultūriškai susiformavęs tipizuotas tam tikros bibliotekų veiklos vaizdinys. Vyraujančių modernumo, rinkos ir kokybės diskursų ribose konstruojami akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenys atspindi akademinių bibliotekų institucinę logiką, kuri grindžiama naudingumo ir efektyvumo kriterijais, o tų pačių veikėjų dominavimas rodo egzistuojančią bendrą institucinę aplinką, ribojančią naujų vaidmenų įsitvirtinimo galimybes.
32

Lietuvos akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenų konstravimas (diskurso analizė) / Framing of the roles of academic libraries in Lithuania (discourse analysis)“

Petraitytė, Simona 16 December 2013 (has links)
Disertacijoje keliamas tikslas – atskleidus pagrindines išorinės aplinkos institucines jėgas, veikiančias Lietuvos akademines bibliotekas, nustatyti Lietuvos akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenų konstravimo ypatumus ir šio proceso įtaką akademinių bibliotekų stabilumui bei kaitai. Disertacijos objektas – Lietuvos akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenys – tiriamas iš teorinės naujojo institucionalizmo perspektyvos, leidžiančios nustatyti ir paaiškinti tam tikrą institucinės aplinkos spaudimą organizacijoms ar jų veiklos būdams. Atliekama Lietuvos valstybinių universitetų strateginių dokumentų diskurso analizė išryškina akademinių bibliotekų išorinės aplinkos veiksnius ir veikėjus, darančius didžiausią įtaką bibliotekų vaidmenų stabilumui ir kaitai. Disertacijoje nustatyta, kad konstruojamų akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenų įsitvirtinimas ir stabilumas priklauso nuo to, kiek jis yra remiamas ir palaikomas institucinių jėgų. Lietuvos akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenų tvirtumui didžiausią įtaką daro įvairių profesinių tinklų ir autoritetingų finansinių veikėjų palaikymas, kultūriškai susiformavęs tipizuotas tam tikros bibliotekų veiklos vaizdinys. Vyraujančių modernumo, rinkos ir kokybės diskursų ribose konstruojami akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenys atspindi akademinių bibliotekų institucinę logiką, kuri grindžiama naudingumo ir efektyvumo kriterijais, o tų pačių veikėjų dominavimas rodo egzistuojančią bendrą institucinę aplinką, ribojančią naujų vaidmenų įsitvirtinimo galimybes. / The goal of the dissertation is by disclosing the key institutional powers of the external environment affecting academic libraries in Lithuania, identify the peculiarities of the framing of Lithuanian academic libraries’ roles and the influence of the process on the stability and variation of academic libraries. The object of the study – roles of academic libraries in Lithuania – is analysed from the perspective of new institutionalism, which affords the researcher’s ground for the identification and explanation of certain pressures of the institutional environment on organizations and their modes of activity. The discourse analysis of official documents of Lithuanian universities (long- and short-term strategic activity plans and annual reports) highlights the factors and agents which have the most impact on the stability and change of roles of libraries. It is stated that the entrenchment and stability of the framed roles of academic libraries is subject to the support and aid rendered by the institutional powers. The stability of the roles of Lithuanian academic libraries is to the greatest extent influenced by the support from various professional networks and authoritative financial agents, and the culturally established typical image of the activity of a certain library. Roles of academic libraries framed within the framework of the prevalent discourses of modernity, market and quality, reflect the institutional logics of the academic library which is based on the... [to full text]
33

De sociala perspektivens betydelse hos barn och ungdomar där det finns misstanke om ADHD / Social perspectives in cases of children and adolescents with suspected ADHD

Darwich, Yosef, Österman, Sanna January 2014 (has links)
Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur professionella inom elevhälsan på tre skolor samt en specialenhet inom barn och ungdomspsykiatrin förhåller sig till sociala perspektiv hos barn och ungdomar där det finns misstanke om ADHD samt hur ser möjligheterna och förutsättningar för ett sådant förhållningssätt. Hur ser elevhälsan och BUP på orsaksförklaringar för denna målgrupp där misstanke om ADHD föreligger. Studien har en kvalitativ forskningsansats och är baserad på sju semistrukturerade intervjuer med socionomer och psykologer inom elevhälsan och BUP. Analysen av resultatet har skett med nysinstitutionell organisationsteori. Resultatet visar att de professionella ansåg att det var av stor vikt att granska de sociala perspektiven vid misstanke om ADHD. De intervjuade kunde i sina respektive verksamheter urskilja en rad orsaksförklaringar i barn och ungdomars sociala miljö hos dem med ett beteende likt ADHD, utöver en neuropsykiatrisk förklaringsmodell. Faktorer som ansågs vara speciellt problematiska var uppväxtmiljö och en resurssvag skolmiljö som ställer högre krav på barn och ungdomars självständighet. Majoriteten av de professionella menar att möjligheterna och förutsättningarna för att anlägga ett socialt perspektiv i fall hos barn och ungdomar med beteende likt ADHD försvåras av organisatoriska och ekonomiska orsaker. Respondenterna utrycker att socionomens med sin yrkeskunnighet ej alltid ses som självklar när det kommer till misstanke och utredning av ADHD. Respondenterna menar att läkaren och till viss del psykologer har mandat att sätta diagnosen ADHD. Detta menar respondenterna har lett till en mer ensidigt tolkning av beteende likt ADHD där den neuropsykiatriska förklaringsmodellen i många fall dominerar när man misstänker eller utreder ett barn för beteende likt ADHD. De intervjuade önskar ett mer nyanserat perspektiv vid misstanke om ADHD där man kan utreda olika orsaksförklaringar i större utsträckning. / The aim of the study was to examine attitudes of healthcare and support workers, in three Swedish primary schools and one special unit for child and adolescence mental health (BUP), towards the social aspects of children and adolescence with suspicion of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The study further aimed to investigate to what extent the health services provide opportunities and favourable conditions for stimulating a social perspective when there is a suspicion of ADHD, and what explanations health services professionals give where suspicion of ADHD exists. The study was carried out using qualitative methods and was based on seven semi-structured interviews with social workers and psychologists within educational health and support services and BUP. The outcomes of the interviews were analysed using an organisational theory based on neo-institutionalism. The results showed that health services professionals considered the social perspective to be of high relevance when investigating cases of suspected ADHD. Interviewees from different operational areas were able to identify a number of potential causes to a behavior like ADHD in the children’s social environments in addition to the neuropsychological explanation model. A number of potential factors were identified by the interviewees, including the children’s upbringing environment and a lack of resources in schools, where higher and higher demands of independence are put on children and adolescence. A majority of the interviewed health care professionals pointed to a high degree of difficulty in applying a social perspective explanatory model to children exhibiting behaviour reminiscent of ADHD due to organisational and economic circumstances. The general view was that this was made difficult due to the lesser or greater influence of particular professional groups, leading to what the interviewees referred to as a one-sided interpretation of behaviour similar to ADHD favouring the neuropsychological model. The interviewees desired a wider perspective when a suspected case of ADHD emerges where one can utilise the different explanatory models to a greater extent.
34

A política pública para a educação superior no Brasil (1995-2008) = ruptura e/ou continuidade? / The public policy for higher education in Brazil (1995-2008) : rupture and/or continuity?

Carvalho, Cristina Helena Almeida de 17 August 2018 (has links)
Orientador: Francisco Luiz Cazeiro Lopreato / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Economia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-17T12:52:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carvalho_CristinaHelenaAlmeidade_D.pdf: 6108979 bytes, checksum: 37d2e82e1db978ca3fd45ad90ddbd44c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: O objetivo da tese foi compreender a relação complexa da política pública para a educação superior, entre 1995 e 2008, por meio do arcabouço teórico da vertente histórica do neoinstitucionalismo. Por meio da análise tridimensional da política (polity, politics e policy), a pesquisa procurou reconstruir o ambiente multifacetado do processo de gestação da política pública, que tem início na constituição da agenda pública e perpassa a formulação e a implementação da política educacional nos governos dos presidentes Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995 a 2002) e Luís Inácio Lula da Silva (2003 a 2008). O fio condutor é a dinâmica da Arena Decisória de Educação Superior, na qual a política pública gestada pelo MEC influenciou e foi influenciada pelo conjunto de atores governamentais e sociais. A política pública foi entendida como um conjunto sistêmico interdependente de sete pilares, a saber:autonomia, centralização do poder decisório, avaliação, formação de professores, flexibilização curricular, expansão e financiamento, que contribuíram para intervenção do Poder Público em prol da expansão da educação superior.O exame da complexidade de cada um desses elementos possibilitou responder a primeira indagação proposta pela tese. A despeito da agenda sistêmica traduzida nas recomendações do Banco Mundial e da UNESCO, a disputa política conformou certo resultado que materializou os interesses divergentes, e, portanto, não foi produto exclusivo da intervenção externa. Levando-se em conta as especificidades de cada momento histórico, o trabalho re-construiu o ambiente socioeconômico e as limitações fiscais, a fim de estabelecer uma análise comparativa entre as duas presidências. A conclusão da tese é que, em que pese os inúmeros elementos de continuidade, há vários indícios de ruptura. O traço de continuidade fica claro, sobremaneira, na formulação legislativa, em prol do modelo de expansão da educação superior pela iniciativa privada, que tem o PROUNI como sua maior expressão, assim como a evidência de inércia institucional, associada à dependência das trajetórias percorridas (path dependence). O traço de ruptura e mudança institucional na gestão de Lula consubstanciou-se na retomada do protagonismo da União na educação superior, que se traduziu no crescimento intensivo e extensivo das IFES. Mais do que isso, sobreveio a mu- dança, sobretudo, no 2º mandato,do padrão de financiamento que combina ao acréscimo de recursos às IFES para pessoal, custeio e investimento, as verbas destinadas ao alunado do segmento federal / Abstract: The goal of the thesis was to understand the complex relationship of public pol icy for higher education between 1995 and 2008 through theoretical part historical new institutionalism. Through tridimensional policy analysis (polity, politics and policy), the survey sought to rebuild the multifaceted environment of gestation process of public policy, which begins in the building of public agenda and follows the formulation and implementa tion of educational policy during the governments of Presidents Fernando Henrique Cardo so (1995-2002) and Luís Ignácio Lula da Silva (2003 to 2008). The leitmotiv is the dynam ics of higher education decision-making Arena in which public policy born by MEC influ enced and was influenced by the state and social actors. Public policy was understood as a set of seven systemic interdependent pillars, namely: autonomy, centralization of decision-making, evaluation, teacher training, curricu-lum, flexible expansion and funding, which contributed to public authority intervention in support of the expansion of higher education. The examination of the complexity of each of these elements enabled answer first proposed by thesis quest. Despite systemic agenda translated on the recommendations of the World Bank and UNESCO, the dispute policy followed the right result that has materialized the divergent interests, and was therefore not exclusive product of external intervention. Taking into account the specificities of each historic moment, the work reconstruct-ed the socioeconomic environment and fiscal constraints, in order to establish a compara-tive analysis between the two presidencies. The conclusion of the thesis is that in weighing the various elements of continuity, there are several signs of rupture. The point of continui-ty becomes clear, particularly, in formulating legislative, in favor of model of higher educa tion expansion by private initiative, which has as its PROUNI greatest expression, as well as evidence of institutional inertia, associated with the dependency of trajectories travelled (path dependence). The trait of rupture and institutional change in the management of Lula consolidate on resumption of state leadership in higher education, which has resulted in extensive and intensive growth of IFES. More than that, the change takes place, particular-ly in the second mandate, the standard of financing that combines to increase resources to IFES staff, costing and investment budgets and recourses of the student enrollment of federal segment / Doutorado / Política Social / Doutor em Ciências Econômicas
35

Theorizing state-diaspora engagement as a social practice: the curious case of Narendra Modi's diasporic activism

Hill, Mark A. 30 April 2018 (has links)
To make sense of why states are dramatically shifting their agendas to focus on their diasporic population abroad, this project builds a theoretical model which makes sense of decisive shifts in political behavior between states and their external populations. A two-fold argument is presented to explain these shifts. First, analyses of diaspora should treat diaspora not as a bounded entity but as a process or social practice. This allows for a multi-level analysis which neither negates the role individuals play in the formation of diasporic identity nor denies the agency of states which actively engage in their own unique approach to identify, label or shape what constitutes their diaspora. Second, state-diasporic engagement practices can be better understood as an institutional practice, which in turn allow us to explain state behavioral change in terms of their diasporic populations and what factors elucidate diaspora to respond. It also allows us to ask two-fold questions - a) who the sending state targets, why they are targeted and when states increase their engagement with their diasporic populations abroad; and b) what policy tools states develop to encourage dependable contributions of the diaspora to its political agenda. These theoretical arguments are then applied to address the modern Indian state's approach and its shifting agenda to its diaspora. The intent is to provide a historical foundation from which to make sense of why the Indian diaspora evolved from a political liability under Jawaharlal Nehru to an instrument of strength in the early 1990s. This thesis concludes with an exploration of the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi's discourse and state practices and suggests that India's accelerated engagement of the Indian diaspora to be representative of a muscular Hindu nationalist agenda. In short, Modi's engagement of the Indian diaspora should be understood as part of a nation-building project which seeks to communicate to both domestic and international audiences alike that India and Indians are first and foremost Hindu. / Graduate
36

What Is Needed to Enable a Cultural Shift in the Market Research Department at the Gangler Company?

Davis, Brooke 12 1900 (has links)
This thesis investigates how to create an environment for organizational change within the Market Research Department at the Gangler Company (a US-based consumer products company). I explore what is influencing the current cultural environment and which of those influencers can be shifted to encourage organizational change toward the “ideal” culture that the organization has identified. Using new institutionalism as the theoretical approach, I discuss the significance of institutional forces (such as the economy and the rise in technology) on the cultural elements (i.e. behaviors, ideas, material artifacts and social structures) in the Market Research Department. Lastly, I show that by understanding those institutional influences, I can better assess what cultural elements can be shifted and which cannot. Of the cultural elements that are able to be shifted, I recommend three interventions that the organization should employ: 1) from a contrive culture to a culture of candor, 2) from a culture of division to a culture of cohesion, and 3) from a culture of knowing to a culture of learning.
37

Chef i en högpresterande kultur : implementering av ett globalt managementkoncept i lokala organisationskulturella kontexter

Riestola, Päivi January 2013 (has links)
The subject matter of this thesis is governance principles in global management concepts and the application of such principles by managers at a local level. The thesis includes a case study on a foreign-owned Swedish group of companies that has introduced the management concept of High Performance Culture in all of its consolidated group countries. Global management concepts usually originate from the United States and make use of neorational governance principles. High Performance Culture is a management concept that puts increased performance and individualisation in the foreground. In addition, the concept advocates co-determination and self-development. The governance principles further promote employee autonomy orientation and self-development in addition to a leader-centric approach. The case study results indicate a discrepancy in the requirements of the governance principles of the management concept, highlighting the various dimensions of cultural layers and values to which managers in the same organisation are subject. The same values had an effect in different ways on the managers’ interpretation and handling of the management concept. This interpretation and handling of the management concept tools led to an implementation that partially opposed what the French management team and management concept advocated. The managers choosing to oppose the governance principles of the management concept can be seen as an example of modern individualism, according to which people are increasingly questioning rigid and hierarchic authority while showing initiative and assessing one’s own personal work. Hence, the values of modern individualism can act as a counterforce to neorational governance principles. / <p>Akademisk avhandling för avläggande av doktorsexamen i Arbetsvetenskap, som med tillstånd av Fakultetsnämnden vid Fakulteten för humaniora och samhällsvetenskap, vid</p><p>Karlstads universitet framläggs till offentlig granskning fredagen den 25 oktober 2013 kl. 13.00, sal C203, Högskolan i Borås.</p>
38

Terapeutens rätt : rättslig och terapeutisk logik i domstolsförhandlingar

Jacobsson, Maritha January 2006 (has links)
In this dissertation, I explore a quite unique legal situation, namely administrative court hearings relating to coercive interventions: the Care of Young Persons Act (LVU), Care of Abusers (Special Provisions) Act (LVM), and the Compulsory Psychiatric Care Act (LPT). There are three central participatory roles in the court hearings: The official party is the authority who files the application for coercive intervention – either a chief psychiatrist or a social welfare board (typically represented by a social worker or sometimes a lawyer assisted by a social worker), whereas the citizen party is the person about whom the application is brought. The citizen party is represented by a legal representative. The professionals represent two different logics: therapeutic and judicial. The purpose of this dissertation has been to study the tension between therapeutic and judicial logic in court hearings relating to compulsory care. With theoretical concepts from Scott (1995) and Wetherell &amp; Potter (1998), it is possible to say that the therapeutic and judicial logics are built up by institutional elements that are communicated through interpretative repertoires. Three questions are central: 1. How do professional participators handle the different role expectations embedded in therapeutic and judicial logic? In this case, I am particularly interested in role conflicts faced by social workers and psychiatrists. 2. How do different institutional elements (regulative, normative/cognitive) play out in the court hearings? 3. To what extent can these court hearings be considered a scrutinizing order of discourse, where the arguments of official party are subjected to critical examination? In my analysis I am inspired by both critical discourse analysis and organizational theory, more precisely, new institutionalism. These two perspectives provide useful insights and make it possible to combine the micro- and macro levels in the analysis. Data for the analysis consist of 43 court hearings and 31 interviews, gathered from two different county administrative courts in Sweden. All written documents used and produced by the courts are also part of our data. The dissertation consists of five studies that indicate that the court hearings hardly can be described as a scrutinising order of discourse. In spite of this, the court constantly finds that the legal criteria for coercive intervention are satisfied. Neither the official party nor the legal representative argue according to a judicial logic. Instead, therapeutic logic dominates the order of discourse. When the arguments for compulsory care are therapeutic, they are not explicitly related to the criteria in the law. In my interpretation, the reason why the conflict between therapeutic and judicial logic is not realised can be found in the existence of a logic of normalisation. This ideological logic of normalisation can be found in most of the institutions in the Swedish society and are built on the idea of traditional welfare norms.
39

A instrumentalização da política urbana no município de São Paulo: uma análise do Fundo de Desenvolvimento Urbano / The instrumentalization of urban policy in the municipality of São Paulo: an analysis of the Urban Development Fund

Paim, Debora Gambetta 30 April 2019 (has links)
A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo compreender como as regras formais e informais que determinam a decisão alocativa do Fundo de Desenvolvimento Urbano do município de São Paulo são capazes de influenciar o conflito distributivo no âmbito da política urbana municipal. Para isso, foram analisados os processos ou etapas decisórias do fundo entre 2003 e 2016, afim de identificar os loci ou arenas decisórias nas quais se deu a tomada de decisão, os atores envolvidos e seu papel no processo, os critérios utilizados na priorização de secretarias e projetos, além de realizar uma análise quantitativa da distribuição entre pastas e áreas da política. Para tanto, procurou-se operar em uma lacuna teórica entre a ciência política e os estudos urbanos ao se empregar a literatura neoinstitucionalista em especial suas vertentes histórica e sociológica, particularmente a sociologia da ação pública, com a instrumentalização de políticas públicas com o intuito de entender os reflexos de um instrumento que se insere no contexto de instrumentos urbanísticos de recuperação da valorização da terra urbana. O estudo demonstra que o FUNDURB, ao determinar o processo de decisão sobre a alocação de recursos, limita parcialmente o comportamento dos atores e, dessa forma, estabelece relações assimétricas de poder entre diferentes demandas e interesses. Além disso, foram identificados efeitos próprios da instrumentalização como previsto pela literatura, na medida em que a vinculação e subvinculação de receitas produzem inércia e evitam questionamentos sobre a problematização em torno de uma política de desenvolvimento urbano. Ademais, os critérios utilizados para a alocação de recursos revelaram lógicas dissimuladas pela adoção do instrumento e realçaram o caráter seu arrecadatório, posicionando-o em um contexto mais amplo dentro do processo orçamentário da prefeitura de São Paulo / This research aims to understand how formal and informal rules that determine the allocation of resources of the Urban Development Fund (FUNDURB) of the municipality of São Paulo are able to influence the distributive conflict within the municipal urban policy. To that end, the decision-making processes or steps of the fund between 2003 and 2016 were analysed, in order to identify the loci or arenas where decisions were taken, along with the actors involved and their role in the process, as well as the criteria used in the prioritization of departments and projects, in addition to conducting a quantitative analysis of the distribution among departments and policy areas. The research operates in a theoretical gap between political science and urban studies and, therefore, it employs new institutionalist literature particularly its historical and sociological streams, particularly the sociology of public action, with the instrumentalization of public policies in order to understand the reflections of an instrument that is inserted in the context of urban land value recovery. The study shows that the FUNDURB, while determining the decision-making process on resource allocation, partially limits the behaviour of the actors and thus establishes asymmetric power relations of power among different demands and interests. Moreover, effects of the instrumentalization were identified, as predicted by the literature, as public earmarking produce inertia and avoids questioning over the problematization around urban development. Furthermore, the criteria used in the allocation of resources revealed a disguised logic in the adoption of the instrument, which lies within a broader context of the budgetary process of the municipality of São Paulo
40

Organizing project-based operations : The interplay of content, context and social processes

Miterev, Maxim January 2017 (has links)
Project-based organizations (PBOs) are becoming increasingly widespread and important for the modern economy and society. Thus, they attact significant scholarly attention to their distinctive features. The unit of analysis employed by the majority of the studies is the project-based organization as a whole. Hence, the locus of attention stays at the organizational level, whereas project-related effects are discussed in terms of aggregate properties. With very few exceptions, projects as distinct entities do not feature prominently in the discussion of project-based organizations. This observation creates an interesting paradox. In particular, when projects are discussed as separate units of analysis, their complex organizational dynamics, idiosyncrasies, and institutional embeddedness are among important loci of attention. However, when projects and project collections are discussed within the context of the PBO, the very same aspects tend to be downplayed. Most commonly, projects are either neglected or implicitly assumed to be homogeneous, interchangeable atomic units without internal structure or dynamics, obediently following orders of the parent organizations. Their internal organizational properties are overlooked and the individual-level variables are assumed to have little or no influence on the project outcomes. This thesis questions these assumptions and posits that understanding the dynamics at the project operations level might have important implications for explaining the effectiveness of management arrangements in the PBO. In particular, this thesis aims to explore the factors that shape project-based operations in the setting of the project-based organization. The thesis examines three particular factors which affect organizing of the project-based operations: (1) the content of operations; (2) the context of operations; and (3) the social processes at the operational level. Structurally, the thesis comprises a cover essay and four appended papers (three of them published in international peer-reviewed journals). Largely inductive in nature, the thesis builds on two research studies. The first study represents an in-depth “insider” case study of project-based operations in the Operations division of a large pharmaceutical company. It employs a combination of data collection methods, including semi-structured interviews, participant observations, and document analysis. The second study represents a structured framework-based literature review. Recognizing the organizational properties of projects, the thesis draws upon several literature streams within organization theory and design to analyze the empirical data. The results elaborate how the organizing of project-based operations in the PBO is shaped by the interplay between the content, intra-organizational and wider institutional contexts, as well as endogenous social processes. The thesis contributes to the literature on project-based organizations by developing an institutional, as well as extending a contingency perspective on organizing project-based operations. Further, the results call for revisiting the conceptualization of the PBO by questioning the view of projects as atomic and homogeneous units. Finally, the thesis contributes to the literature by developing an organization design perspective on the PBO. In terms of managerial implications, the thesis offers a few frameworks which can be used to support the decision-making process in a PBO. In particular, Paper I develops a contingency model of program management competences (the 3C model), Paper II derives a framework that can help PBO managers in evaluating the sources of isomorphic pressure on individual projects and programs, while Paper IV puts forth an organization design model for the PBO. At a more general level, Paper II discusses how the identified isomorphic processes within the PBO can limit flexibility, innovation, and efficiency. Finally, the cover essay discusses the important factors that need to be scrutinized in order to assess organizing of the project-based operations, such as the technical content, the project landscape and social landscape or the influence of institutionalised practices and models. / <p>QC 20170508</p>

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