Early studies in the sociological stream of new institutionalism contributed much to the study of organization, especially in illuminating organizational isomorphism that might appear in organizational fields. Yet, at the same time, they were limited in accounting for organizational differences in the design of institutions. To help explain such differences, this study introduces a conceptual framework that brings together the Selznick tradition of old institutionalism with recent studies in new institutionalism. The framework includes multiple institutional logics, organizational positions, and organizational belief systems, all of which generate particular contexts that convey varying identities and produce organizational variations in institutional design. To examine the utility of the conceptual framework, I applied it to the design of 240 masters' programs in public affairs that are members of NASPAA, APPAM, or both. I found much variation in the coverage and structure of the programs' curricula. I discovered, for example, that programs that are affiliated only with NASPAA tend to be located in political science, public administration, and public affairs units; to be ranked in the lower-tier; to have been established in 1970 or later; to have the program mission of producing public leaders; to offer MPAd degrees; and to require higher proportions of core hours to be taken in public management. In contrast, programs affiliated only with APPAM or with both NASPAA and APPAM typically are housed in public policy units, ranked in the upper-tier, were founded in 1969 or earlier, focus on generating policy analysts, offer MPP degrees, and require higher proportions of core hours in public policy. Among the implications of these findings are that public affairs education continues to be polarized into two camps, traditional public administration and public policy. The field still lacks agreement about the courses that should be taken and how they should be taught. It seems that differing interpretations of what public affairs is and how it should be taught have helped generate the variation in the design of masters' programs in public affairs. The results of the empirical analyses also demonstrate the utility of the conceptual framework for explaining institutional differences (and similarities). More importantly, the concept of identity may offer a helpful way to combine several key features in studying organizations, including micro versus macro approaches, old versus new institutionalisms, and organizational theory versus organizational behavior. Eventually, this idea promises to enrich the analysis of institutional similarities and differences. / Ph. D.

Att samverka vid socialt arbete är ett aktuellt tema eftersom två nya lagrum har tillkommit under de senaste åren. Dessa tydliggör att samverkan skall ske mellan kommuner och landsting vid arbete med individer med psykosociala problem. Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur samverkansarbetet mellan kommunen och landsting uppfyller individens rätt till social trygghet, jämlika levnadsvillkor och självbestämmande. I studien deltog fyra professionella utförare och sex individer med psykosociala problem, där respondenternas svar har jämförts beträffande om man upplever att samverkan uppfyller lagens intention. Resultatet har analyserats via en induktiv tematisk metod och via systemteorin samt empowerment. Det som framkom överensstämde med befintlig forskning, att samverkan har stor betydelse för att uppnå positiva effekter som leder till en ökad livskvalitet för individen. Vidare förtydligar både vår studie samt övrig forskning att individen bör inkluderas som en resurs i samverkansprocessen, för att uppnå effekter av självbestämmande vilket kan ge en social trygghet. / To cooperate in social work is a current theme as two new sections of the law has arisen in the recent years. These make clear that collaboration should take place between local governments when working with individuals with psychosocial problems. The purpose of the study was to examine how collaboration work between the municipality and county meets the individual's right to social security, equal living conditions and self-determination. In this study, where four professional performers and six individuals with psychosocial problems participated, the respondents' answers to how they experience that the interaction meets the intention of the law where compared. The results were analyzed using an inductive thematic approach and using systems theory and empowerment. The findings were consistent with existing research, that interaction is very important for achieving positive effects that lead to a better quality of life for the individual. Further clarifies both our study and other research that the individual should be included as a resource in the collaborative process, to achieve the effects of self-determination, which can provide a social security.

The IT sector is in constant change and new IT emerges constantly. This enables organizations to adopt new IT at a correspondingly rapid pace. Nonetheless, it is not certain that the adoption of new IT contributes positively to the organization’s existing application portfolio. Hence, the purpose of this study is to provide insights to how organizations adopt IT and the factors that are important to ensure positive effects from adopting new IT. A case study, consisting of semi-structured interviews, was conducted on a Norwegian governmental organization. The majority of current literature on the field are describing IT adoption for commercial for-profit organizations. Since the case-organization is a governmental organization, this study will also aspire to investigate how that influence IT adoption. The empirical findings of this study show that there is a purpose of having a strategy for adopting new IT to an existing application portfolio. A framework describing the adoption process and factors of importance for successfully adopting new IT is provided. Also, the empirical findings show that being a governmental organization does not influence the adoption of IT significantly. However, the findings show that other aspects of each individual organization can have more significant influence on the adoption process. / IT-sektorn är i ständig förändring och ny IT blir ständigt tillgänglig. Detta gör det möjligt för organisationer att ta sig an ny IT i motsvarande snabba takt. Det är dock inte säkert att implementering av ny IT bidrar positivt till organisationens befintliga applikationsportfölj. Därför är syftet med denna studie att ge insikt om hur organisationer tar sig an IT och de faktorer som är viktiga för att säkerställa positiva effekter från adoption av ny IT. En fallstudie, bestående av semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes på en norsk statlig organisation. Majoriteten av befintlig litteratur inom fältet beskriver IT-adoption för kommersiella vinstdrivande organisationer. Eftersom fallstudieorganisationen är en statlig organisation kommer denna studie också att undersöka hur det påverkar IT-adoption i organisationen. De empiriska resultaten från denna studie visar att det finns ett syfte med en strategi för att adoptera ny IT till en befintlig applikationsportfölj. Ett ramverk som beskriver adoptionsprocessen och faktorer som är viktiga för en framgångsrik adoptionsprocess av ny IT finns framtaget. De empiriska resultaten visar också att det att vara en statlig organisation inte påverkar adoption av IT i särskilt hög grad. Resultaten visar dock att andra aspekter av varje enskild organisation kan ha mer inflytande på adoptionsprocessen.