Martin, G.P., Currie, G., Weaver, S. et al. (2 more authors) (2017) Institutional complexity and individual responses: delineating the boundaries of partial autonomy. Organization Studies, 38 (1). pp. 103-127. ISSN 0170-8406
Abstract
Research highlights how co-existing institutional logics can sometimes offer opportunities for agency to enterprising actors in organizational fields. But macro- and micro-level studies using this framework diverge in their approach to understanding the consequences of institutional complexity for actor autonomy, and correspondingly in the opportunities they identify for agents to resist, reinterpret or make judicious use of institutional prescriptions. This paper seeks to bridge this gap, through a longitudinal, comparative case study of the trajectories of four ostensibly similar change initiatives in the same complex organizational field. It studies the influence of three dominant institutional logics (professional, market and corporate) in these divergent trajectories, elucidating the role of mediating influences, operating below the level of the field but above that of the actor, that worked to constrain or facilitate agency. The consequence for actors was a divergent realization of the relationship between the three logics, with very different consequences for their ability to advance their interests. Our findings offer an improved understanding of when and how institutional complexity facilitates autonomy, and suggests mediating influences at the level of the organization and the relationship it instantiates between carriers of logics, neglected by macro- and micro-level studies, that merit further attention.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 The Author(s) 2016. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Organization Studies. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Institutions; institutional logics; healthcare; professionalism; managerialism; markets; National Health Service; England |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Management School (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH RESEARCH 09/1001/40 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 08 Aug 2016 15:41 |
Last Modified: | 18 Jul 2017 12:30 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0170840616663241 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/0170840616663241 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:103311 |