What is “institutional analysis”?

• Perspective in sociology that aims to explain the forms and behavior of institutions in society

Ok then … what is an “institution”?

• “Institution” is a very broad term in sociology.
• At its most general, an institution is a set of persistent regularities in behavior that has some sense of durability.
  E.g. Religions, legal systems, companies, industries, family, …
• The “institution” in institutional analysis is usually less abstract that that—most commonly (though not always) refers to formal institutions.
  E.g. corporations, governments, militaries, schools, non-profits, hospitals, social movement organizations, student groups, …

Max Weber

• One of the earliest theorists concerned with what we would call institutional analysis
• For Weber, bureaucracy was natural outcome of the rationalization of social institutions
• Characterized as the “iron cage” of rationalization—a form that would spread to all institutions due to drive toward efficiency

New institutionalists critical of these perspectives

• Behavior of organizations is not always rational.
• Empirically, inefficient organizations (and inefficient practices) can stick around for a very long time.

Bringing culture to institutional analysis

• N.I. recognizes that institutions are social.
• Institutions act reflexively, actors within them understand their own practices in light of practices of others.
• Therefore, we should talk about institutions from a cultural perspective.

Institutions as meaning-makers

• John Meyer and Brian Rowan:
  "Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony” (1977)
• Institutions do not just try to achieve pragmatic goals
• Institutions also provide a framework for making sense of individual actions
  “An important part of organizational life [has] to do with the spinning of carefully orchestrated representations of reality.” (Mohr 2000)

Institutional logics (revisited)

• Basis of institutional logics discussed previously
• Unifying ways of shaping the goals, justifications, relevant facts, and appropriate means of an organization’s culture

DiMaggio & Powell (1983)

• "The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organizational Fields"

• A defining piece in organizational analysis and new institutionalism

• Seeks to explain institutional isomorphism

Institutional isomorphism

• “Isomorphism is a constraining process that forces one unit in a population to resemble other units that face the same set of environmental conditions.” (149)
• Traditionally seen in terms of the natural selection narrative of institutional behavior.
• DiMaggio and Powell argue for a different explanation.