比较制度分析的若干要素

Ingredients for Conducting Comparative Institutional Analysis

制度是一种社会结构，由文化认知、规范和规则三个要素构成。它们既独立存在，又相互依存，提供了不同的意义和秩序基础，对于社会结构特征具有很强的解释力。制度理论在研究关注点、研究方法、分析层次和结论方面表现出多样性的特点。新兴的制度理论研究有以下几个动向：一是在承认制度是社会秩序和政治稳定性的基础之外，开始关注制度对于组织结构和行为的影响；二是采用特性研究方法和过程研究方法，前者注意比较与不同制度相对应的成本和效益，后者强制度的产生和变化；三是在注重趋同变化过程的同时，也开始注趋导和多样化过程；四是在多种水平上开展研究，从单个组织到组织域，甚至到更加宏观的系统层次

Institutions are social structures that are composed of cultural—cognitive， normative， and regulative elements. Three diverse elements are present and interdependent， and they provide differing bases of meaning and order. The power of the institutional theory resides on the explanation of social structures， and it is diverse in focuses， approaches， levels of analysis and assertions. Research in this aspect shows the following new trends；firstly， sociologists and political scientists have long been interested in institutions as fundamental sources of social order and political stability， but much recent attention has focused on the effects of institutions on organizational structure and behavior. Secondly， property and process approaches have been employed to study institutional phenomena. The former emphasizes the coasts and benefits associated with varying institutional complexes， and the latter stresses issues of institutional emergence and change. Thirdly， whereas early theories and empirical research stressed convergent change processes， more recent work ahs attended also to processes creating divergence and variety. Fourthly， both property and processes approaches can be applied at various levels—from individual organizations to organizational fields or even more macro systems. Lastly， involvement in the world system and globalization are two kinds of forces that have been at work during the past century pressuring nation—states to become more similar.