Detail Information
| Category | Study/Lecture Record/Oral History/Conference Paper |
|---|---|
| Title | When Murder King sells vegan burgers: Institutional maintenance and change in fast food |
| Institution | Annual Meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE) |
| Number | |
| Publisher | |
| Date | 2022/07/11 |
| Places | in Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Exhibition Date | 2022/07/11 |
| Abstract | How do global and local actors interact in institutional maintenance and change? This study addresses this perennial question in organization theory and international business through a study on the introduction of green burgers, i.e., hamburgers with plant-based patties. Perhaps the strongest ongoing trend in fast food, green burgers lie in stark contrast with the traditional positioning of multinational, often US-based, fast food chains. For decades, these have been a given enemy of a variety of activists who have protested corporate imperialism, unhealthy and meat-based diets and dubious animal rights standards. This recent change gives rise to several questions: Is the introduction of a green burger at a franchise of a multinational fast food chain the result of new ideas being pushed by a distant headquarter unit, or bottom-up responses to local trends? What happens when there are conflicts between the two? Surprisingly, the overarching question for this study has received little attention in institutional theory in organization studies, which was developed in domestic settings where international dynamics cannot be observed (Suddaby, Seidl and Lê, 2013). This rings true also for research in embedded agency from the institutional change and entrepreneurship literature (e.g. Leca, Battilana and Boxenbaum, 2008). Furthermore, the field of international business studies has largely treated institutional differences in host countries as immobile factors (Mudambi and Navarra, 2002), effectively downplaying agency and change dynamics. This study leverages two types of data. First, I map when, where and what green burgers have been introduced across global markets. So far, I have collected information on more than 1000 green burgers released by over 300 restaurants in 78 countries. Restaurants include multinational chains as well as local actors. Second, I am gathering data on vegan friendliness using polarity analys on news articles as well as published rankings and indices. By combining the two, I can assess the timing by which restaurants introduce the novelty of green burgers, imitate each other and contrast this with the general sentiment on veganism in their immediate surroundings. By making clear how institutions are maintained and changed by different actors in different geographies, I acknowledges both their constraining effects as well as how actors may challenge institutions. This is a contribution to the fields of organization theory and international business - not merely by cross-pollination, but by challenging common assumptions in both. In addition, the study emphasizes a topical yet underresearch societal phenomenon. Veganism is at the forefront of global food culture changes as well as environmental issues. Therefore, my study is relevant beyond academia and should be read by the food industry, policymakers and anyone with a need to make sense of what could be a major overhaul of what has long been perceived as an inherently evil industry. |
| Notes | |
| URL | https://sase.confex.com/sase/2022/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/19733 |
| Label | 戦略論, 組織論 |
| Register date | 2022/07/11 |
