Beyond the Stable Image of Institutions: Using Institutional Analysis to Tackle Classic Questions in Institutional Theory

Abstract

Although institutions are subject to constant change, we retain a stable image of them. Consequently, should they be considered as objects or processes? Notwithstanding its success, institutional theory still faces theoretical challenges to account simultaneously for change and stability, agency and structure. Following recent calls to integrate other perspectives on how we think about institutions, we draw on institutional analysis – a stream that has flourished in Europe and Latin America – to propose a radical and comprehensive conception of the institution as a locus of tension between the instituting (by which institutions are formed) and the instituted (temporarily stabilized forms). Since there is permanent tension between them, the institution itself can never be a stable object. It is constantly evolving, being either reinforced or destabilized. This research enriches the theoretical dialogue between organizational institutionalism and institutional analysis, two streams that have hitherto displayed little cross-fertilization. First, it contributes to rethinking the nature of institutions by emphasizing the role of the social imaginary, thus improving our understanding of the under-theorized role of imagination in institutionalization processes. Second, by placing the dynamic tension between the instituted and the instituting at the core of institutional theories, we answer calls to reclaim their missing critical dimension. Furthermore, this results in a methodological implication: the clinical approach of institutional analysis involving the intervention of researchers allows us to further embed institutional theories in organizational practice.

A Country-of-Origin Perspective on Climate Change Actions: Evidence from France, Morocco, and the United States

“…Therefore, we postulate the following: Mediating effect of COO image. Institutional theory suggests that actions performed by an institution have a direct influence on the institution's image (Bouilloud et al 2020). Prior COO research further establishes the direct impact of COO image on consumer attitudes (e.g., Laroche et al 2005).…”

“…First, institutions are constantly evolving and are not stable by nature, which has impacts on their image (Bouilloud et al 2020). The seminal works in line with institutional theory show that economic and political actions as the regulatory and normative pillars of COO influence on consumers' appreciation of a country (Wang and Lamb 1983).…”

Public administration sustainability and its organizational basis

“…Periods of political and economic turbulence call for studying conditions for political order and for safeguarding sustainable public service delivery. However, political science and public administration harbor competing claims and ideas on the robustness of governments and public organizations (Bouilloud et al 2019;Fligstein 2001). A vast literature suggest that public organizations are particularly dependent on and adapts to its task environment (e.g.…”

“…This argument advocates that public organizations are profoundly embedded into their adjacent environments (Fligstein 2001;Meyer and Rowan 1977;Pfeffer and Salancik 1978) and that they have to continuously reform if they wish to grow and survive (Selznick 1958). A pragmatist literature also suggests a middle ground between stability and responsiveness in which organizations both defend core values at the same time as they permanently adapt to on-going problems it confronts (Ansell et al 2015;Bouilloud et al 2019). Despite critical literature argues that environmental demands are often diffuse or at times inconsistent (Kraatz 2015), a general empirical forecast from this argument has been that public administration tend to adapt effectively to its relevant task environment, and consequently that public governance processes -and public administration writ large -is unsustainable over longer periods of time.…”

Institutional Work: A Review and Framework based on Semantic and Thematic Analysis

“…As the IW field matures and expands to include literature (Calvard, 2019), geography (Sjøtun, 2019), and social protest (Agyemang et al, 2018), it has become increasingly manifold. The concept has been criticized for failing to deliver on its promise (Bouilloud et al, 2019), being ill-defined , 'lazy branding' , and ignoring historical perspectives and the 'necessity of systematically putting the analysis of institutional work into perspective' (Daudigeos et al, 2015, p. 257). This calls for an integrated review of the literature to determine the existing past and potential future of the concept (Elsbach & van Knippenberg, 2020).…”