Purpose

Increasing amount of empirical research in operations and supply chain management is using institutional theory as its theoretical lens. Yet, a common scale to measure the three institutional pressures – coercive, mimetic and normative – is lacking. Many studies use proxies or a single, grouped, construct of external pressures which present methodological challenges. This study aims to present the development of multi-item scales to measure institutional pressures (in a purchasing context).

Design/methodology/approach

First, items were generated based on the theoretical construct definitions. These items were then tested through academic sorting and an international survey. The first empirical testing failed to produce reliable and valid scales, and further refinement and analysis revealed that coercive pressure splits into two separate constructs. A second q-sorting was then conducted with purchasing practitioners, followed by another survey in Italy to verify the new measurement scale for four institutional pressures.

Findings

The multimethod and multistage measurement development reveals that empirically the three institutional pressures actually turn into four pressures. The theoretical construct of coercive pressure splits into two distinct constructs: coercive market pressure and coercive regulatory pressure.

Originality/value

The results of the paper, namely, the measurement scales, are an important theoretical and methodological contribution to future empirical research. They present a much-needed measurement for these theoretical constructs increasingly used in management research.

中文翻译：

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在供应链背景下衡量制度压力：规模开发和测试

目的

越来越多的运营和供应链管理实证研究将制度理论作为其理论视角。然而，衡量三种制度压力——强制性、模仿性和规范性——的通用尺度仍然缺乏。许多研究使用代理或单一的、分组的外部压力结构，这会带来方法学上的挑战。本研究旨在介绍多项目量表的发展，以衡量制度压力（在采购环境中）。

设计/方法/方法

首先，项目是根据理论结构定义生成的。然后通过学术分类和国际调查对这些项目进行测试。第一次实证测试未能产生可靠和有效的量表，进一步的细化和分析表明，强制压力分为两个独立的结构。然后对采购从业者进行了第二次 q-sorting，随后在意大利进行了另一次调查，以验证四个机构压力的新测量量表。

发现

多方法、多阶段的测度发展表明，从经验上看，三种制度压力实际上变成了四种压力。强制性压力的理论结构分为两个不同的结构：强制性市场压力和强制性监管压力。

原创性/价值

本文的结果，即测量尺度，是对未来实证研究的重要理论和方法论贡献。它们为这些越来越多地用于管理研究的理论结构提供了一种急需的测量方法。