Discourse and Institutions

Abstract

Revised submission to the Academy of Management Review special issue on Language and Organization. Discourse and Institutions In this paper, we argue that the processes underlying institutionalization have not been adequately investigated and that discourse analysis provides a coherent framework for such investigation. Accordingly, we develop a discursive model of institutionalization that highlights the relationship between texts, discourse, institutions and action. Our model begins with the relationship between action and discourse, and argues that action primarily affects discourse through the production of texts that are drawn on by other actors and subsequently become embedded in broader discourses. We go on to argue that discourse affects action through the production of institutions, which are associated with self-regulating mechanisms that constrain their meaning and enforce their usage. Based on this discursive model, we propose a set of conditions under which institutionalization processes are most likely to occur and conclude the paper with an exploration of the model's implications for other areas of research.

The Role of Analogy in the Institutionalization of Sustainability Reporting

“…At the most basic level entrepreneurs must produce texts that are accessible, understandable and persuasive (Green 2004;Phillips et al 2004;Suddaby and Greenwood 2005). Rhetorical strategies are also likely to be used extensively, to enhance suasion and influence by appealing to logic, ethics and emotion (Green 2004;Suddaby and Greenwood 2005).…”

“…Institutional entrepreneurs can also leverage the dominance of the existing discourse in a sort of linguistic Jujitsu (Alinsky, 1971;Meyerson, 2003) or reframing process (Creed, Langstraat and Scully 2000), wherein the logics of dominant discourse are utilized to expose the shortcomings of existing institutions. In other instances, interdiscursivity (Phillips et al 2004) enables institutional entrepreneurs to appropriate legitimacy and meaning from other discourses. These borrowed institutional logics and practices from other, occasionally vastly dissimilar, fields can be very powerful, for example when market logics are applied to settings where they had previously been absent (Oakes, Townley and Cooper 1998;Reay andHinings 2005, Colyvas, 2007).…”

“…In this work it is essential to "balance the need for legitimacy by abiding by societal norms about what is appropriate with efforts to create unique identities that may differentiate and lend competitive advantage" (Lounsbury and Glynn 2001: 559). Previous research has amply documented how adroit institutional entrepreneurs craft their project to fit the conditions of the field (Maguire, Hardy and Lawrence 2004), often employing discursive strategies (Green 2004;Phillips, Lawrence and Hardy 2004;Suddaby and Greenwood 2005) including the use of analogies to existing institutionalized practices (Hargadon and Douglas 2001;Leblebici et al 1991). These studies imply that institutional entrepreneurship is more likely to succeed when the entrepreneur is cognizant of field-level politics and is skilled enough to craft a compelling message advocating for change.…”

What is protective space? Reconsidering niches in transitions to sustainability

“…Hence, the second part of the paper will also address the politics involved, with a particular focus on the role of political narratives in empowerment. The propositions in this part of our analysis are informed by insights from recent literature on institutional change (Phillips et al, 2004;Hardy and Maguire, 2010;Lawrence et al, 2009;Battilana et al, 2009;Garud et al, 2010;Zietsma and Lawrence, 2010;Hargrave and van den Ven, 2006) and network governance (Kooiman, 2003;Jessop, 1998Jessop, , 2003 Hence, there are two analytical questions guiding our discussion:…”

Michel Foucault and the Administering of Lives

“…In that piece, Clegg suggested developing Foucault's (1977) concerns with power and discourse analysis (see also Clegg & Hardy, 1996;Hardy, 1996;Phillips, Lawrence, & Hardy, 2004). A couple of years later, in 1989, Clegg published his highly influential book Frameworks of Power (1989), in which he utilized Foucault's work on power in his conceptualization of 'circuits of power' which seeks to represent the ways in which power may flow through different modalities (distinguishing between episodic, dispositional, and facilitative power) (see also Clegg, Courpasson, & Phillips, 2006: 240-7).…”