Explaining interstate military friendly policy diffusion across U.S. universities: uncovering vertical-diagonal diffusion

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the diffusion of diversity management policies across large state bureaucracies that operate in a national marketplace of ideas. We analyze organizational antecedents and horizontal, vertical, and vertical-diagonal diffusion mechanisms associated with the degree of diversity management convergence among research universities from 2008-2016. Findings suggest the long-theorized, but rarely measured, non-linear pattern of diffusion explains organizational adoptions and the degree of policy convergence across the system. We also show a vertical-diagonal process whereby policy spills over to influence policy choices in other lower-level governance systems. This spillover may explain how organizations make policy decisions in complex governance arrangements.