Research on IT innovations has largely relied on economic-rationalistic models and focused on individuals or organizations as the unit of analysis. The intent of this paper is to advance an alternative research agenda that explores the institutional underpinnings of IT innovation diffusion at the inter-organizational level. Through a multi- stage research study, we examine the legitimation function of organizing visions for IT innovations and develop a taxonomy of legitimation strategies employed by the proponents of an IT innovation. We first built a preliminary theoretical framework that synthesizes key arguments on legitimacy drawn from the organization theory and IS literatures. Next, we conducted an exploratory case study of institutional entrepreneurship surrounding computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems. We examined the discursive actions of CPOE vendors by content analyzing 165 press releases issued between 1998 and 2006. We then combined the findings of the literature analysis and the case study to create a taxonomy of discursive strategies for building IT innovation legitimacy. A post-hoc analysis of the case study data reveals a number of interesting patterns in the CPOE vendors¿ use of the legitimation strategies and helps us formulate a set of research questions to guide future investigations. The work reported in this paper lays a foundation for a deeper understanding of the role of legitimacy and legitimation in shaping diffusion of IT innovations. It also contributes to the conceptual and methodological elaboration of the organizing vision framework.

This empirical paper investigates how individuals conceptualize causes of career transitions, focusing on the three European countries of Austria, Serbia, and Spain in comparison to the USA and China. Collectively, these countries represent four separate cultural regions according to Schwartz. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of three occupational groups: business people, nurses, and blue-collar workers. Analysis of the data generates greater insight about the existence of both region-specific patterns as well as potentially universalistic tendencies regarding perceived causes of career transitions. Perceptions of internal (to the person) drivers of career transitions as activating forces are evident in all five countries. The overall results support contemporary notions of occupational careers that are highly individualized, a characterization strongly emphasized in the current career literature. In the European culture clusters, causes of career transitions are attributed internally and externally. China, representing the Confucian cultural region, stresses external causes for career transitions. By contrast, in the USA only internal attributions of causes are reported.

This article serves as an introduction to the collection of papers in this monographic issue on "What the European tradition can teach about Corporate Social Responsibility" and presents the project's rationale and main hypotheses. We maintain that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an ethical concept, that demands for socially responsible actions have existed since before the Industrial Revolution and that companies have responded to them, especially in Europe, and that the content of CSR has evolved over time, depending on historical, cultural, political and socio-economic drivers and particular conditions in different countries and also at different points in time. Therefore, there is not - and probably cannot be - a single, precise definition of CSR: one global standard for CSR is unlikely.

What are financial institutions' social responsibilities in developing countries? On the one hand, they have the generic responsibilities of all human organizations and business enterprises. On the other, their specific social responsibility is to perform the social function of financial intermediaries, which in the case ofemerging countries is mainly to contribute to economic growth and help solve the problem of poverty. In this paper we describe a number oftechnical-economic and moral problems andconsider the performance of banking operations in microfinance, with special reference to Latin America. We also offer a series ofrecommendations which, in addition to contributing to solving the development and poverty problems in emerging countries, help define financial institutions' social responsibility in such countries.

The empirical relationship between a firm's social performance and its financial performance is still not well established in the literature. Despite more than 30 years of research and more than 100 empirical studies on the issue, the results are still mixed. We argue that differences found in previous studies are not due exclusively to problems related with the measurement instruments or the samples used. Instead, we argue that a more fundamental problem related with the endogeneity of social strategic decisions could be driving most of the findings. We show using a panel data of 658 firms from 1991-2005 how some of the results found in previous research change and some are even reversed when endogeneity is properly taken into account.

In many developing countries those living in poverty are unable to participate in markets due to the weakness or complete absence of supportive institutions. This study examines in microcosm such institutional voids and illustrates the activities of an entrepreneurial actor in rural Bangladesh aimed at addressing them. The findings enable us to better understand why institutional voids originate and to unpack institutional processes in a setting characterized by extreme resource constraints and an institutional fabric that is rich but often at odds with market development. We depict the crafting of new institutional arrangements as an ongoing process of bricolage and unveil its political nature as well as its potentially negative consequences.

The present study examines the relationship between dual cultural identities and intercultural effectiveness. Upon the evidence of the regulating effects of cultural identities on individuals' cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses to cultural stimuli, we argue that cultural identities cast non-negligible influence on intercultural effectiveness. Focusing on the distinction between identity to one's cultural origin and identity to host culture, we hypothesize that individuals high on both identities are more effective than those low on both of them, followed by those high on one of the identities but low on the other. We apply polynomial regression and the response surface method to data collected from managers and workers with international experience (n = 82) in order to better capture the relationship between dual cultural identities and various aspects of intercultural effectiveness. The hypotheses are generally supported. Theoretical and practical implications on further capitalizing such knowledge are discussed.

This paper integrates the concepts of person-environment (PE) fit and social capital and examines the social dynamics of organizational newcomers' development of fit with their new environment in the light of national cultural variations. Specifically, we present a conceptual framework that illustrates how newcomers fit in with their work environment in terms of person-job (PJ) and person-organization (PO) fit through their building and exercising of social capital. We suggest that newcomers' initial fit with their direct supervisor (i.e., PS fit) and their immediate work group fit (i.e., PG fit) will help them to develop structural and relational social capital in the organization, which in turn facilitate the development of greater PJ and PO fit. Acknowledging that social processes are culture-bound, we also examine the moderating effects of individualism/collectivism and power distance on the process of developing PE fit, and we provide insights for both scholars and managers in applying the model.

Some virtue ethicists are reluctant to consider principles and standards in business ethics. However, this is problematic. This paper argues that realistic Personalism can be integrated into virtue-based business ethics, giving it a more complete base. More specifically, two principles are proposed: the Personalist Principle (PP) and the Common Good Principle (CGP). The PP includes the Golden Rule and makes explicit the duty of respect, benevolence, and care for people, emphasizing human dignity and the innate rights of every human being. The CGP entails cooperation to promote conditions which enhance the opportunity for the human flourishing of all people within a community. Both principles have practical implications for business ethics.