Institutions and Organizations

TLDR

Institutions are evolving structures, practices, and meanings that shape individual and organizational behavior, continuously maintained, modified, or disrupted, with institutional logics shifting in dominance over time. The volume seeks to integrate institutional theory with a process perspective, arguing for a stronger process ontology that portrays institutions as emergent, generative, political, and social. It synthesizes insights from the Ninth International Symposium on Process Organization Studies, emphasizing practice and a broad view of institutions to challenge traditional concepts such as loose coupling, institutional work, and institutionalization. The volume provides key insights that reshape our understanding of institutions as processes, informed by practice‑oriented research from the Ninth International Symposium on Process Organization Studies.

Abstract

Institutions—the structures, practices, and meanings that define what people and organizations think, do, and aspire to—are created through process. They are “work in progress” that involves continual efforts to maintain, modify, or disturb them. Institutional logics are also in motion, holding varying degrees of dominance that change over time. This volume brings together two streams of thought within organization theory—institutional theory and process perspective—to advocate for stronger process ontology that highlights institutions as emergent, generative, political, and social. A stronger process view allows us to challenge our understanding of central concepts within institutional theory, such as “loose coupling,” “institutional work,” the work of institutional logics on the ground, and institutionalization between diffusion and translation. Enriched with an emphasis on practice and widened by taking a broad view of institutions, this volume draws on the Ninth International Symposium on Process Organization Studies to offer key insights that will inform our thinking of institutions as processes.