Distinctive Context, Divergent Pattern: Diffusion of Imported Management Practices in Turkey and Implications for Late-Industrializing Countries

Abstract

In this paper, we develop and empirically test hypotheses about the diffusion of imported management practices in Turkey. We emphasize the sociopolitical legitimacy of these practices and present hypotheses as to timing, motivations, and self-promotion. We test these hypotheses with quantitative data on Total Quality Management (TQM) adoption by industrial companies in Turkey. Findings reveal that elite companies adopt TQM earlier on, self-report greater levels of sociopolitically driven legitimacy concerns, and are more likely to participate in a prestigious quality award contest. Overall, our study contributes to diffusion research guided by the new institutional approach by expanding existing models to the diffusion of imported practices across organizations in late-industrializing recipient countries. We particularly show that sociopolitical legitimacy of imported practices that is more characteristic of late-industrializing recipient contexts may generate a divergent pattern of diffusion whereby elite organizations emerge as early adopters and engage in brandishing adoption. Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2020.