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Free keywords:
economic sociology, entrepreneurs, institutional change, institutional organization theory, markets, strategic choice, uncertainty
Abstract:
One of the persistent problems facing institutional organization theory has been the question of how to deal with interest-driven behaviour and institutional change. If organizational structures and strategies are shaped by institutional environments, what is the role of `strategic choice' in the management of organizations? In this paper, my aim is to develop an integrative concept which theorizes the connection of strategic agency and institutions in a model of institutional change. I argue that, under market conditions, institutional rules and intentional rational agency can be conceptualized as antagonistic mechanisms that contradict each other, but, nevertheless, remain interdependent. The incorporation of a systematic place for interests does not weaken the main theoretical trait of institutional theory, but, on the contrary, demonstrates the importance of institutional rules for understanding institutional change in a comprehensive model. The notion of uncertainty is at the centre of this model. By referring to existing empirical findings of processes of institutional change, four propositions are developed and supported.
