Epistemic governance of evaluative practices by organizations: The case of sovereign credit ratings
通过对四家信用评级机构主权评级部门的定性研究，揭示了评级机构如何通过一套社会实践和物质安排来塑造金融分析师的工作，以解决将评级从主观意见提升为集体知识的困境。
Financial analysts often work for organizations, such as brokerage houses, banks, and credit rating agencies. We ask whether these organizations condition the work of analysts and, if so, how and why. Through a qualitative study of the sovereign government rating departments of four credit rating agencies, our paper sheds light on the bundle of social practices and material arrangements through which rating agencies shape the evaluation work of financial analysts. Our findings indicate that this bundle is designed to resolve the dilemma that characterizes rating agencies - namely, how to elevate the standing of ratings from subjective opinions to collective knowledge. We label these processes the “epistemic governance” of evaluation practices and comment on their implications for critical management and organization studies.