Translating Institutional Logics: When the Media Logic Meets Professions

Abstract

This article presents results from a case study of media activities in a Swedish governmental agency where we illustrate a) how the media logic is translated and become embedded in the studied agency, and b) how different professional groups inside the organization shape the translation process. Theoretically we do this by re-visiting the notion of translation. Translation theory focuses on the local enactment and embeddedness of institutional models, ideals and practices. Institutional logics literature, on the other hand, focuses on the creation and flow of field-level meaning systems. By combining these two theoretical perspectives we are able to form a framework for understanding the local embeddedness and enactment of field-level institutional logics. The result of our study suggests that institutional logics – once they become introduced in a given context – consist of four elements that are interpreted and enacted differently inside organizations. We identify three local, profession-based value systems that shape the translation of the media logics, and we use this finding to theorize the role of professional value systems in shaping local translation processes.

Green entrepreneurship in the sharing economy: utilising multiplicity of institutional logics

“…Recent studies recognise that multiplicity of logics within the field does not always cause institutional tensions and a challenge for the organisations, yet they may shape organisational structures and practices in constellation (e.g. Goodrick and Reay 2011;Waldorf et al 2013;Schildt and Perkmann 2016;Pallas et al 2016). This, for instance, could take the form of conforming to dominant logics or dissenting, by resisting identification with a single institutional logic (Mair et al 2015).…”

Mediated Agency, Blame Avoidance and Institutional Responsibility: Government Communication in a Personalised Media Landscape

“…The primary focus of this article is how government communication strategies handle this flip coin of positive and negative personalisation, credit versus blame, in the media News formats built on personal angles and stories are not new; they represent a key feature in news logic theory (Altheide & Snow 1979) and broader theories on mediatisation (Hjarvard 2008). In recent years, a substantial body of research has established that government agencies have become mediatised in the sense that communication strategies involve close monitoring of the news, adapting to generic news formats and frames (Nielsen & Salomonsen 2012;Thorbjørnsrud et al 2014;Figenschou & Thorbjørnsrud 2015a;Schillemans 2015;Pallas et al 2016;Salomonsen et al 2016). Increased emphasis on reputation management through strategic communication is widely noted (Carpenter & Krause 2012;Maor et al 2013).…”

“A word is enough to the wise?!”: a study on narratives produced by the media when translating the role of the players involved in the Operation Car Wash in Brazil

“…The translation process does not have an end, given the way in which ideas travel and circulate within given environments, making it possible to identify, select and give meaning to institutions to the extent that different contexts meet (PALLAS, FREDRIKSSON and WEDLIN, 2016). That being so, in accordance with what Czarniawska and Joerges (1996) wrote, the circulation of ideas is a continual process of editing which involves various editors, which here are called translators.…”

“…In this way, in knowing the logic of the media, it is possible to define the configuration of the ideas, norms, principles, routines and other activities that permit the direction of activities within this context (PALLAS, FREDRIKSSON and WEDLIN, 2016). The media, therefore, becomes an important form of communication because it makes change possible in various fields, such as politics, sports, culture and above all business (PALLAS, FREDRIKSSON and WEDLIN, 2016). In this way, it is possible to construct reality beyond the understanding of the social world when organizations and actors interact with each other, relying on the media as their medium (HEPP, 2013).…”