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Institutional voids are increasingly gaining precedence and research attention due to the increased participation of developing countries in global markets (Mair&Marti, 2009). This theory focuses on the identification of weaknesses in institutions and how these voids result in ineffective functioning of emerging markets (Mair&Marti, 2009). In this study, focus is on collaboration as a strategy used by the emerging markets to overcome the absence of institutional and regulatory frameworks, prevalent in their capital, labour and product markets.Forty (40) South African small-medium enterprises were analysed to determine what the priority collaborative benefits are for firms operating in the emerging market context. The research shows that in emerging markets, collaboration benefits are based on a need to overcome institutional voids i.e. to reduce the costs and risks associated with weak institutions. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Although emerging economies have received increased attention by both firms and academia in recent decades, there is still more that can be done. Calls have been made by both academic authors and journals to conduct research within institutionally voided environments, a call that was answered by this study. Specifically, this study answers calls related to: examining institutional strategies; examining the relationship between nonmarket and market exchanges. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how the nonmarket-market relationship affects firm strategies and behavior in Cambodia, an especially voided country due to their turbulent recent history. A second layer of the purpose was to compare firms and explore their similarities and differences to understand the isomorphic pressures of Cambodia. A qualitative case study approach to the study was undertaken to achieve the study’s purpose. Thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with various managers who have the ability to make strategic decisions in their respective firms. All the interviewees were from the private sector but were scattered throughout different industries and were asked about their experiences and perception of the Cambodian business environment, mainly focusing on the institutional context. The data collected were then structured based on three main themes and corresponding subthemes. This thematic division was the basis for the analysis of the study as well as the conclusion. Based on the analysis of the data, it can be concluded that the nonmarket is indeed superordinate to the market environment in Cambodia. From a macro perspective, the institutional voids affect all firms in Cambodia, and the firms utilize similar variations of four institutional strategies: internalization, substitution, buffering, and bridging. Because the nonmarket environment in Cambodia is so strong, this results in both voids in the market environment and firms becoming more isomorphic. These four strategies were not the only ones identified, other strategies, namely outsourcing and institutional borrowing, were noted as well because of the institutional voids. Theoretically, this study contributes to revising and improving Institutional Theory and reinforcing both Institutional Theory and the Resource-Based View. Social contributions relate to assisting policymakers in Cambodia to understanding their most problematic institutions and developing or improving those institutions. Practical contributions are aimed at practitioners seeking to or doing business in Cambodia, assisting them in understanding the institutional context of Cambodia and knowing how to navigate within its boundaries. This practical contribution can also be considered a social contribution, as more businesses enter Cambodia and as firms grow, the combination of firm entrance and growth creates more jobs and stimulates the economy.

The aim of this study is to contribute to an understanding of the need for collaboration in creating education plans and school placements for children and youth placed in out-of-home care. By interviewing nine representatives from social services, the municipal education department and primary and secondary schools, this study addresses tensions that arise in school planning in the critical phases for this target group: prior to placement in out-of-home-care and upon return home.Previous studies have found that children and youth placed in out-of-home care receive insufficient support for their education, and that collaboration functions better when the collaboration is well-anchored in organizational management, but worse, at an operational level, when there is less understanding of the collaborating partners’ competences and guidelines. This study has used the theory of institutional logics as a framework to highlight the material practices (routines and role descriptions) and symbolic constructions (intentions and values) that constitute each institution’s motive for organizational collaboration in providing schooling for children and youth in out-of-home-care. Through qualitative semi-structured interviews inspired by narrative method, it has emerged that social services are driven by an urgent logic, the education department by a judicial logic and the schools by both a pragmatic and a holistic logic. By creating procedures based on the interviewees' statements regarding prioritized tasks, the framework of institutional logics has clarified the tensions that arise when contrasting logics compete in the critical phases of child and youth placement. These tensions consist of a dichotomy between care and education, neither party seeing the entirety of the needs of the clients/students and shortcomings in communication. This study has also highlighted the presence of institutional voids in the collaboration process. There are elements in collaboration that the parties cannot influence, such as laws and guidelines on confidentiality, approaches to guardians of children and youth in placement as well as difficulties in collaborating with other municipalities as each one has different routines and expectations. / Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med kunskap om samverkan kring planering av skolgång och skolbyte för placerade barn och unga. Genom intervjuer med nio representanter från socialtjänst, utbildningsförvaltning och skola har denna studie kunnat presentera de spänningar som uppstår i planerandet av skolgång i de särskilt kritiska faserna inför en placering och när placerade flyttar hem igen.  Tidigare studier har funnit att placerade barn och unga inte får de förutsättningar de behöver för att klara skolan och att samverkan fungerar bättre när det är väl förankrat i ledningen men sämre på verksamhetsnivå där det finns mindre kunskap om samverkansparternas befogenheter och riktlinjer. Studien har använt teorin om institutionella logiker som teoretiskt ramverk för att synliggöra de materiella praxis (rutiner och rollbeskrivningar) och symboliska konstruktioner (intentioner och ingångsvärden) som utgör var samverkansparts rationalitet och motiv till samverkan inom det organisatoriska fält som är planering av skolgång för placerade barn och unga. Genom kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med inspiration av narrativ metod och tematisk analys har det framkommit att socialtjänsten drivs av en akut logik, utbildningsförvaltningen av en rättslig logik och skolan av både en pragmatisk och en holistisk logik. Genom att skapa gångordningar utifrån intervjupersonernas utsagor om prioriterade arbetsuppgifter i samverkan har logikerna kunnat synliggöra de spänningar som uppstår när logikerna möts i de kritiska faserna. Dessa spänningarna består av en dikotomi mellan behandling och utbildning, att ingen av parterna ser helheten i placerades ärenden och att det brister när det kommer till överlämning av information till varandra. Genom det teoretiska begreppet institutionella vakuum har studien synliggjort att det finns element inom samverkan som parterna inte kan påverka. Det gäller till exempel frågor om lagar och riktlinjer kring sekretess, förhållningssätt till vårdnadshavare samt svårigheten att samverka med externa kommuner när alla kommuner har olika rutiner och förväntningar.