Institutional Theory and Organizational Change

Whether or not they are aware of it, managers do not fully control the nature and timing of their decisions. Their framework of action is limited by institutional constraints in the surrounding environment – what is technically, economically, socially and culturally possible in different contexts. With a better understanding of their environment – and how it affects how they think, what they do and why they do it – decision-makers are also better able to make more carefully considered decisions about organizational change.

In this book Staffan Furusten discusses why it is difficult for organizations around the world to resist the pressures of the institutional environment and how organizations worldwide – big and small, private and public – are becoming increasingly alike.

Exploring institutional theory and organizational change, this lucid book is an introduction to institutional organizational analysis written for advance undergraduate and postgraduate students of organizations and management as well as for decision-makers and managers in organizations. The study brings attention to a few core concepts and the core arguments in institutional theory and presents them in an easily tangible model for understanding institutional pressure on organizations.