Abstract
This study examines how institutional logics interplay in a cross-sector social partnership that manages refugee integration in a rural district in Germany. In an inductive 15-month case study that drew on interviews and observations, we observe the dynamic materialization of institutional logics in day-to-day practices and an increasing contradiction and even rivalry between community- and market-based institutional logics over time. As a result, we delineate a model explaining the interplay of institutional logics along two dimensions: the dominance of one salient logic and whether conflicts arise among logics. Our analysis also addresses the unifying properties of community as an institutional logic, especially in the context of urgency conditions. In addition, we show the influence of exogenous events and their media coverage on the interplay and conflicts of institutional logics. By unfolding the complexity of refugee integration—one of the global grand challenges of the present—we deepen the current understanding of the specific challenges addressed by cross-sector social partnerships.
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Notes
Germany faced an increase in registered refugees in 2015, compared to the 2014 numbers more than doubled (Die Zeit 2016).
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Acknowledgements
We are thankful to the coordinator of the “Refugee Integration Network” and the District Administrator of the county for their support and for granting us data access. We are grateful to Associate Editor Antonio Vaccaro for his guidance throughout the review process as well as to the three anonymous reviewers for their constructive and helpful comments. We also wish to acknowledge the feedback we received on earlier versions of this work from the members of the EBS Business School’s writing workshop.
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Appendix: Interview Guide
Appendix: Interview Guide
Interview Guide: Round 1
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How do you see refugee-integration in the county?
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Can you describe your personal experiences with cross-sector collaboration?
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What kind of challenges and opportunities do you see in cross-sector collaboration?
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Do you see any specific needs of cross-sector collaboration in regard to refugee-integration?
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What is the role of the coordinator in your personal view?
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What do you think about the social software? Do you use it? How, and why?
Interview Guide: Round 2
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How do you see the situation of the refugees in our county, now—9 months later?
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What about boundary conditions?
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Are you confronted with any challenges?
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Do you see any changes in cross-sector collaboration?
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How do you see the coordination of the county administration?
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What do you think about the social software? Do you use it? How, and why?
List of observations
No. | Date | Kind of observation | Participants/content | No. of hours |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 10/29/2015 | Participant observation | Kick-off dialogue with the coordinator and a project member | 2 |
2. | 11/10/2015 | Direct personal observation | Presentation social software platform with the coordinator and members of the administration of an association of municipalities | 2 |
3. | 12/01/2015 | Participant observation | Dialogue with the coordinator | 1 |
4. | 12/22/2015 | Participant observation | Dialogue with the coordinator and a project member (interviewee sampling) | 1 |
5. | 01/22/2016 | Direct personal observation | Refugee job fair event for gastronomy/hotel industry | 4 |
6. | 01/22/2016 | Participant observation | Dialogue with a representative of a job agency | 0.5 |
7. | 01/22/2016 | Participant observation | Dialogue with a language trainer and psychologist | 0.5 |
8. | 01/22/2016 | Participant observation | Dialogue with a mayor of a village | 0.5 |
9. | 02/03/2016 | Direct personal observation | Application interview hotelier/Syrian refugee | 1 |
10. | 02/10/2016 | Participant observation | De-escalation and alignment meeting for planning of language trainings | 3 |
11. | 02/16/2016 | Participant observation | Monthly roundtable of a local refugee grassroots organization | 2 |
12. | 03/08/2016 | Participant observation | Monthly roundtable of a local refugee grassroots organization | 2 |
13. | 04/07/2016 | Participant observation | Discussion of “Refugee Integration Network” with County Administration Authority | 2 |
14. | 04/20/2016 | Participant observation | Follow-up of de-escalation and alignment meeting for planning of language trainings | 2 |
15. | 04/21/2016 | Participant observation | Dialogue with the head of “house of pilotage for refugees” | 1.5 |
16. | 05/10/2016 | Participant observation | Monthly roundtable of a local refugee grassroots organization | 2 |
17. | 05/12/2016 | Participant observation | Skill training for volunteers (asylum law) | 4 |
18. | 06/21/2016 | Participant observation | Follow-up of de-escalation and alignment meeting for planning of language trainings | 3 |
19. | 07/10/2016 | Participant observation | Alignment meeting for planning of language trainings (“Rheinschiene”) | 2 |
20. | 07/10/2016 | Participant observation | Dialogue with the head of district authority | 0.5 |
21. | 09/14/2016 | Direct observation | Employer information event | 5 |
22. | 11/04/2016 | Direct observation | Symposium “Integration gemeinsam fördern” | 5 |
23. | 12/10/2016 | Participant observation | Monthly roundtable of a local refugee grassroots organization | 2 |
List of documents
No. | Date/source | Kind of document | Content |
---|---|---|---|
1. | 10/29/2015 (coordinator) | Internal concept paper | Concept of the county refugee and integration activities 2015 |
2. | 10/15, 12/03, 12/11/2016 (private persons) | E-mails | Conversation between volunteer language trainers |
3. | 02/04/2016 (user/private person) | Critical feedback in regard to the social software platform | |
4. | 02/05/2016 (user/private person) | Critical feedback in regard to the social software platform | |
5. | 02/10/2016 (District Administrator) | Letter | Invitation letter for a kick-off event “Successful networks & integration” |
6. | 02/11/2016 (county administration) | Meeting minutes | De-escalation and alignment meeting for planning of language trainings |
7. | 02/16/2016 (grassroots organization) | Meeting minutes | Monthly roundtable of a local refugee grassroots organization |
8. | 03/08/2016 (coordinator) | Internal concept paper | Concept of the county refugee and integration activities 2016 |
9. | 03/08/2016 (coordinator) | Internal diagram | Classification of integration activities of the county administration |
10. | 04/01/2016 (Internet) | Concept paper | Labor market integration of refugees |
11. | 04/01/2016 (Internet) | Report | Refugees and immigrants on the labor market—Report September 2015 |
12. | 04/12/2016 (grassroots organization) | Meeting minutes | Monthly roundtable of a local refugee grassroots organization |
13. | 04/20/2016 (county administration) | Meeting minutes | Meeting for de-escalation and alignment of planning of language trainings |
14. | 05/10/2016 (private person) | E-mails | Conversation between volunteer language trainers |
15. | 05/11/2016 (district chief executive) | Invitation letter | Invitation including statements in regard to priorities for 2016 |
16. | 05/15/2016 | Brochure | “House of pilotage for refugees” |
17. | 05/15/2016 | Brochure | Project “Miko-MYK of job center MYK” |
18. | 05/15/2016 | Brochure | Welcome brochure for refugees and volunteers |
19. | 05/15/2016 | Brochure | Introduction of a refugee grassroots organization |
20. | 05/15/2016 | Brochure | Welcome brochure for refugees, edited by a high school |
21. | May 2016 | Social media site | Fremde werden Freunde—Pellenz |
22. | May 2016 | Social media site | Flüchtlingshilfe im Raum Mayen |
23. | May 2016 | Social media site | Flüchtlingshilfe Andernach |
24. | May 2016 | Social media site | Flüchtlingshilfe Bubenheim |
25. | May 2016 | Social media site | Flüchtlingshilfe Maifeld |
26. | May 2016 | Social media site | Flüchtlingspaten Vordereifel |
27. | May 2016 | Social media site | Franken-Konvoi |
28. | May 2016 | Web site | County administration: https://www.kvmyk.de |
29. | May 2016 | Web site | Federal Office of Migration and Refugees (www.bamf.de) |
30. | 05/12/2016 | Handouts | Skill training for volunteers (asylum law) |
31. | 05/10/2016 | Meeting minutes | Monthly roundtable of a local refugee grassroots organization |
32. | 06/14/2016 | Meeting minutes | Monthly roundtable of a local refugee grassroots organization |
33. | 05/11/2016 | Meeting minutes | Roundtable Refugee Network (Head of County Administration) |
34. | 06/21/2016 | Meeting minutes | Meeting for de-escalation and alignment of planning of language trainings |
35. | 07/07/2016 | Meeting minutes | Meeting for de-escalation and alignment of planning of language trainings |
36. | 07/12/2016 | Meeting minutes | Monthly roundtable of a local refugee grassroots organization |
37. | 10/11/2016 | Meeting minutes | Monthly roundtable of a local refugee grassroots organization |
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Hesse, A., Kreutzer, K. & Diehl, MR. Dynamics of Institutional Logics in a Cross-Sector Social Partnership: The Case of Refugee Integration in Germany. J Bus Ethics 159, 679–704 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3775-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3775-0