The Institutional Construction of Organizations

International and Longitudinal Studies

During the past three decades, organization studies have witnessed a succession of theoretical perspectives - contingency theory, resource dependency and population ecology - that focus on one or other aspect of organizations. Only institutional theory highlights the importance of the wider social and cultural environment as the `ground' in which organizations are rooted.

This book brings together original work from two different research traditions - continental Europe and the United States - to shed light on the study of organizations. This includes empirical observations, longitudinal analyses, market-based organizational forms, and the concepts of agency and strategy.