Scholars have described how rankings can be consequential for the shaping of the economy. The prevailing argument is that they wield influence through encouraging ‘mechanisms of reactivity’ amongst market actors. We ask the question as to whether there are additional agential aspects found...

This article investigates the take-up by universities of enterprise-wide computer systems and the development of a new module for the management and administration of students. Having its origins in Electronic Commerce, the system assumes the existence of a certain kind of user, one with...

The widespread citation of management texts in academic journals implies that they are a significant influence on the diffusion and implementation of management concepts. This article applies a neo-institutional analysis to the use of two widely cited management texts in the diffusion of a...

A process of UK energy policy review in the early 2000s has seen renewable energy technologies moving from the policy margins to centre-stage. The review process drew on international experiences of renewables innovation, including an innovation systems framework that emphasises ‘social...

This study applies New Institutional theory to identify the social processes shaping the emergence of a standard setting body. Meyer and Rowan's classification of the mechanisms that lead to the creation of institutional rules—relational networks, degree of collective organisation and...