Norms versus organizational practices: Essays in the context of innovation, standardization, and religion

In study 1, I look at how multi-unit firms implementing new organizational practices across business units cope with the challenge of navigating between replicating and adapting the new practice. The findings shed light on a dynamic relationship in which both source and recipient units, as a dyad, actively engage in several adaptation processes, cope with misfits through distinct mechanisms, and that these dynamic processes are shaped by the source unit’s strategy and recipient unit’s power.
Study 2 reveals how organizing across organizational boundaries comes with different norm-practice dynamics. Specifically in the context of standardization, where diverse stakeholder groups set and maintain a norm (standard), various practice mechanisms can legitimize and dispute the legitimacy of the standard. I find that the involvement of a diverse set of stakeholders isn’t decisive to legitimize the standard when disputed, whereas the practice of involving merely experts can hurt the stability and future legitimacy of the standard.
Finally, norms from society can permeate and impact organizations and its practices as well. In study 4 I take heed of the role of religion in organizations – an impactful, but understudied, phenomenon. Religion entails a societal set of norms. I survey the literature about one of these religions, Islam, and synthesize how religious norms are translated in organizational practices. In the findings I synthesize the results and critically reflect upon the different research streams and methodologies used in literature and the possible implications for future research.