Alexander Styhre – författare

Boken beskriver organisationsteorin från de tidigaste försöken att organisera merkantil verksamhet under antiken och medeltiden till dagens kunskapsbaserade arbete.

Den presenterar teoretiska perspektiv på organisationer kronologiskt och refererar skandinavisk organisationsteori. Den illustrerar teoretiska resonemang med exempel från såväl svenska som internationella företag och organisationer. Boken är grundläggande och lämpar sig väl för introduktionskurser.

Den fjärde upplagan har uppdaterats genomgående och ett flertal exempel från näringsliv och förvaltning har bytts ut och nya referenser och avsnitt har tillkommit. Organisation och organisering har publicerats i dansk översättning (2014) och i en omarbetad norsk upplaga (2014).

Sagt om boken"Nu kommer fjärde upplagan av en mycket läsvärd bok som med all säkerhet kommer att få klassikerstatus. Organisationskunskap kan verkligen innehålla mycket och i detta fall gör författarna en grundlig exposé över olika organisationsteorier från antikens dagar fram till idag. Boken ger heltäckande kunskap inom området och är tänkt att användas som lärobok. Författarna är alla professorer vid Göteborgs respektive Lunds universitet. Språket blir aldrig tungrott och exemplen från olika verksamheter är mångskiftande och läsvärda. Det finns inga illustrationer annat än färgade rutor med praktikfall från arbetslivet. Dessa är uppdaterade i den nya upplagan och flera referenser har lagts till den redan digra listan. Läsningen var riktigt njutbar och gav en bra bild av människors urgamla strävan att organisera sina ansträngningar till gemensamma mål. Här finns också teorier och diskussioner av olika metoder för att uppnå önskvärda resultat. Såväl de historiska avsnitten som de dagsaktuella väcker intresse." Lena Löfgren Bjerner, lektör, BTJ-häftet nr 21, 2015.

Om författarnaUlla Eriksson-Zetterquist är professor vid GRI, Handelshögskolan vid Göteborgs universitet. homas Kalling är professor och chef för Institutet för ekonomisk forskning vid Lunds universitet. Alexander Styhre är professor vid företagsekonomiska institutionen, Handelshögskolan vid Göteborgs universitet.

The Institutional Theory of the Firm examines recent and previous organization theory literature to advocate what Evans (1995) refers to as the "embedded autonomy" of the firm, as well as its role in being simultaneously anchored in, for example, corporate legislation and regulatory practices on the national, regional (i.e., within the European Union) and transnational levels, while at the same time being granted the right to operate with significant degrees of freedom within this legal-regulatory model. Seen in this view, the embedded autonomy of the corporation represents a theoretical view of the corporation that complements the market-based image of the corporation in economic theory.

When advocating the institutional theory model, three forms of embedded autonomy are examined. First, the corporation is enacted as a legal entity sui juris—as a freestanding "legal person" in corporate law and within the regulatory framework that serves to enforce legislation in everyday life settings. Second, the corporation is embedded within what social theorists refer to as moral economies, the norms and values that regulate what are the socially acceptable and legitimate means for conducting business. Third and finally, the corporation is embedded in governance, a relatively complex economic concept that denotes legal and regulatory control on the societal and economic system levels, and on the level of the individual corporation. By combining the three forms of embeddedness, sanctioned by law, norms, and governance, the embedded autonomy of the firm is secured on the basis of a variety of social practices and resources.

This book brings together a diverse literature including management studies, economic sociology, legal theory, finance theory, and mainstream economic theory to advance the argument that the corporation is best understood as what is embedded in a social and economic context, yet best serving its defined and stipulated ends by assuming considerable degrees of freedom to operate in isolation from various stakeholders. It will be of relevance for a variety of readers, including graduate students, management scholars, policy-makers, and management consultants interested in organization theory and management studies.

The Institutional Theory of the Firm examines recent and previous organization theory literature to advocate what Evans (1995) refers to as the "embedded autonomy" of the firm, as well as its role in being simultaneously anchored in, for example, corporate legislation and regulatory practices on the national, regional (i.e., within the European Union) and transnational levels, while at the same time being granted the right to operate with significant degrees of freedom within this legal-regulatory model. Seen in this view, the embedded autonomy of the corporation represents a theoretical view of the corporation that complements the market-based image of the corporation in economic theory.

When advocating the institutional theory model, three forms of embedded autonomy are examined. First, the corporation is enacted as a legal entity sui juris—as a freestanding "legal person" in corporate law and within the regulatory framework that serves to enforce legislation in everyday life settings. Second, the corporation is embedded within what social theorists refer to as moral economies, the norms and values that regulate what are the socially acceptable and legitimate means for conducting business. Third and finally, the corporation is embedded in governance, a relatively complex economic concept that denotes legal and regulatory control on the societal and economic system levels, and on the level of the individual corporation. By combining the three forms of embeddedness, sanctioned by law, norms, and governance, the embedded autonomy of the firm is secured on the basis of a variety of social practices and resources.

This book brings together a diverse literature including management studies, economic sociology, legal theory, finance theory, and mainstream economic theory to advance the argument that the corporation is best understood as what is embedded in a social and economic context, yet best serving its defined and stipulated ends by assuming considerable degrees of freedom to operate in isolation from various stakeholders. It will be of relevance for a variety of readers, including graduate students, management scholars, policy-makers, and management consultants interested in organization theory and management studies.

"Adler, Shani, and Styhre, with contributions from many of the management researchers associated with the FENIX experiment, have documented the essence of collaborative research in organizations. The eighteen chapters in the book provide a window into the complexity of designing and managing collaborative research efforts in organizations . . . and present an approach that is worth reading about, reflecting upon, and exploring further. At Volvo Cars, this collaboration has been an added value to our practice."--From the foreword by Hans-Olov Olsson, CEO and President, Volvo Car Corporation

"Through collaboration, we can deliver research outcomes not possible from solo or single team scholarship. . . . The experiments in collaborative research chronicled in this book are timely and important."--From the foreword by Andrew M. Pettigrew, Professor of Strategy and Organization, Warwick Business school, Associate Dean, Warwick University, U.K.

"> This book responds in a timely manner to a most important subject area. > The editors have a proven track record and are well recognized in their > fields around the world. The cases exhibit broad coverage and the depth is > quite impressive."--> Kenneth L. Murrell, University of West Florida

Collaborative Research in Organizations: Foundations for Learning, Change, and Theoretical Development leverages and sustains the role of management research while increasing the theoretical development of complex organizational and management issues. The true partnership ideal and emergent inquiry process make collaborative research complex and difficult to organize, lead, and manage. This book addresses these needs by revisiting traditional research ideals.

Collaborative Research in Organizations is organized in four sections. Part I, Framing the Challenge, provides grounding in the historical context, the emergent need, and the challenges of working in the borderland between academy and industry. Part II, Lenses and Mechanisms, presents a range of collaborative research approaches, concepts, frameworks, and mechanisms, positioning collaborative research as something other than one of many qualitative approaches. Part III, Illustrations, are intended to provide specific examples of collaborative research projects in a variety of companies and industries that show how collaborative research is realized. Most of the illustrations are based on collaborations between FENIX Program researchers at the Stockholm School of Economics and Chalmers University of Technology and leading Swedish organizations leveraging the Scandinavia tradition of boundary-spanning learning endeavours. Part IV, Lessons, highlights the common denominators between the different studies, addresses some of the critiques of collaborative research, and identifies critical challenges for future inquiry.

"Adler, Shani, and Styhre, with contributions from many of the management researchers associated with the FENIX experiment, have documented the essence of collaborative research in organizations. The eighteen chapters in the book provide a window into the complexity of designing and managing collaborative research efforts in organizations . . . and present an approach that is worth reading about, reflecting upon, and exploring further. At Volvo Cars, this collaboration has been an added value to our practice."--From the foreword by Hans-Olov Olsson, CEO and President, Volvo Car Corporation

"Through collaboration, we can deliver research outcomes not possible from solo or single team scholarship. . . . The experiments in collaborative research chronicled in this book are timely and important."--From the foreword by Andrew M. Pettigrew, Professor of Strategy and Organization, Warwick Business school, Associate Dean, Warwick University, U.K.

"> This book responds in a timely manner to a most important subject area. > The editors have a proven track record and are well recognized in their > fields around the world. The cases exhibit broad coverage and the depth is > quite impressive."--> Kenneth L. Murrell, University of West Florida

Collaborative Research in Organizations: Foundations for Learning, Change, and Theoretical Development leverages and sustains the role of management research while increasing the theoretical development of complex organizational and management issues. The true partnership ideal and emergent inquiry process make collaborative research complex and difficult to organize, lead, and manage. This book addresses these needs by revisiting traditional research ideals.

Collaborative Research in Organizations is organized in four sections. Part I, Framing the Challenge, provides grounding in the historical context, the emergent need, and the challenges of working in the borderland between academy and industry. Part II, Lenses and Mechanisms, presents a range of collaborative research approaches, concepts, frameworks, and mechanisms, positioning collaborative research as something other than one of many qualitative approaches. Part III, Illustrations, are intended to provide specific examples of collaborative research projects in a variety of companies and industries that show how collaborative research is realized. Most of the illustrations are based on collaborations between FENIX Program researchers at the Stockholm School of Economics and Chalmers University of Technology and leading Swedish organizations leveraging the Scandinavia tradition of boundary-spanning learning endeavours. Part IV, Lessons, highlights the common denominators between the different studies, addresses some of the critiques of collaborative research, and identifies critical challenges for future inquiry.

Social science theorists from various scholarly disciplines have contributed to a recent literature that examines how the finance industry has expanded and now wields increasing influence across a variety of economic fields and industries. In some cases, this tendency towards a more sizeable and influential finance industry has been referred to as "the financialization" of the economy. This book explains how what is referred to as the finance-led economy (arguably a more neutral and less emotionally charged term than financialization) is premised on a number of conditions, institutional relations, and theoretical propositions and assumptions, and indicates what the real economic consequences are for market actors and households.

The book provides a theoretically condensed but empirically grounded account of the contemporary finance-led economy, in many cases too complicated in its design and rich in detail to be understood equally by insiders—empirical research indicates—and lay audiences. It summarizes the relevant literature and points at two empirical cases, the construction industry and life science venturing, to better illustrate how the expansion of the finance industry has contributed to the capital formation process, and how the sovereign state has actively assisted this process. It offers a credible, yet accessible overview of the economic conditions that will arguably shape economic affairs for the foreseeable future.

The book will find an audience amongst a variety of readers, including graduate students, management scholars, policymakers, and management consultants.

Social science theorists from various scholarly disciplines have contributed to a recent literature that examines how the finance industry has expanded and now wields increasing influence across a variety of economic fields and industries. In some cases, this tendency towards a more sizeable and influential finance industry has been referred to as "the financialization" of the economy. This book explains how what is referred to as the finance-led economy (arguably a more neutral and less emotionally charged term than financialization) is premised on a number of conditions, institutional relations, and theoretical propositions and assumptions, and indicates what the real economic consequences are for market actors and households.

The book provides a theoretically condensed but empirically grounded account of the contemporary finance-led economy, in many cases too complicated in its design and rich in detail to be understood equally by insiders—empirical research indicates—and lay audiences. It summarizes the relevant literature and points at two empirical cases, the construction industry and life science venturing, to better illustrate how the expansion of the finance industry has contributed to the capital formation process, and how the sovereign state has actively assisted this process. It offers a credible, yet accessible overview of the economic conditions that will arguably shape economic affairs for the foreseeable future.

The book will find an audience amongst a variety of readers, including graduate students, management scholars, policymakers, and management consultants.

The economic system of competitive capitalism has proven to be both resilient and flexible over time and has contributed to the economic welfare of citizens in liberal and coordinated market economies in diverse regions and countries. At the same time, over the entire post-World War II period, there has been a notable endemic shortage of affordable housing in many advanced economies.

This book points at both the causes and the consequences of this circumstance and provides an integrated economic and legal view of how housing production is dependent on housing finance, which, in turn, means that legal conditions and the sovereign state play an active role. Further, the book contributes to the literature from two otherwise partially separated disciplines-housing and urban development studies on the one hand and the institutional centrality of the finance industry in the contemporary economic system on the other. The author asserts that although somewhat assimilated due to the ambitions of policy makers to optimize social and economic welfare for their constituencies, the combining of these two realms of expertise generates many favorable outcomes, but also some costs derived from finance industry instabilities. The book connects theoretical perspectives and provides an empirical explanation for how affordable housing is generated in an actual real world economy context.

The book will be relevant to the work of a number of academic disciplines including economics, government studies, housing policy and urban planning, social geography and law and society.

The economic system of competitive capitalism has proven to be both resilient and flexible over time and has contributed to the economic welfare of citizens in liberal and coordinated market economies in diverse regions and countries. At the same time, over the entire post-World War II period, there has been a notable endemic shortage of affordable housing in many advanced economies.

This book points at both the causes and the consequences of this circumstance and provides an integrated economic and legal view of how housing production is dependent on housing finance, which, in turn, means that legal conditions and the sovereign state play an active role. Further, the book contributes to the literature from two otherwise partially separated disciplines-housing and urban development studies on the one hand and the institutional centrality of the finance industry in the contemporary economic system on the other. The author asserts that although somewhat assimilated due to the ambitions of policy makers to optimize social and economic welfare for their constituencies, the combining of these two realms of expertise generates many favorable outcomes, but also some costs derived from finance industry instabilities. The book connects theoretical perspectives and provides an empirical explanation for how affordable housing is generated in an actual real world economy context.

The book will be relevant to the work of a number of academic disciplines including economics, government studies, housing policy and urban planning, social geography and law and society.

With more than 14,000 business schools worldwide, what is included in their curricula matters for how the economy and the corporate system are managed. Business schools should be subject to scholarly inquiries and critical reflection. While many studies of business schools examine its general role in the tertiary education system and in society more broadly, this volume examines how one specific theoretical perspective and a normative model derived therefrom were developed and gradually appropriated within the business school setting. This volume demonstrates that agency theory, based on a daring conjecture that firms can be construed as bundles of contacts, rose to prominence in the business school context. It examines how the elementary proposition of agency theory, that the firm is to be considered theoretically and practically as a "nexus of contracts," was never consistent with corporate law and contract law, and it was empirically unsubstantiated.

Business schools are under pressure to teach not only practically useful theories and models, but also theories that are also scientifically qualified. Despite having this ambition, certain theories are widely taught despite failing to live up to such declared ambitions, which means that business schools may be criticized for including theories on ambiguous grounds in the curricula. This book examines how business schools seek to honour the ambition to teach both scientifically verified theories and practically useful concepts and models, and how the tensions derived from this duality may be problematic to handle. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, and advanced students in the fields of management education, organizational studies, and legal theory.

With more than 14,000 business schools worldwide, what is included in their curricula matters for how the economy and the corporate system are managed. Business schools should be subject to scholarly inquiries and critical reflection. While many studies of business schools examine its general role in the tertiary education system and in society more broadly, this volume examines how one specific theoretical perspective and a normative model derived therefrom were developed and gradually appropriated within the business school setting. This volume demonstrates that agency theory, based on a daring conjecture that firms can be construed as bundles of contacts, rose to prominence in the business school context. It examines how the elementary proposition of agency theory, that the firm is to be considered theoretically and practically as a "nexus of contracts," was never consistent with corporate law and contract law, and it was empirically unsubstantiated.

Business schools are under pressure to teach not only practically useful theories and models, but also theories that are also scientifically qualified. Despite having this ambition, certain theories are widely taught despite failing to live up to such declared ambitions, which means that business schools may be criticized for including theories on ambiguous grounds in the curricula. This book examines how business schools seek to honour the ambition to teach both scientifically verified theories and practically useful concepts and models, and how the tensions derived from this duality may be problematic to handle. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, and advanced students in the fields of management education, organizational studies, and legal theory.