Factors Impacting the Adoption of a New Dominant Institutional Logic

Abstract

Building upon institutional logics theory, we argue for a model in which all three levels of a field – the institutional level, the organization level, and the individual level – must be convinced of the need for a change in dominant logics before one logic is abandoned in favor of a new one. Separate factors will push each level toward changing dominant logics, but as these factors are considered, the different levels will interact to create overall movement toward a new logic. Due to the fact that these levels vary from one organization to another within the field, organizations will adopt the new logic at varying times until the new logic replaces the old dominant logic in the field. We find support for our theory in a test on a unique database of Major League Baseball data, taking advantage of a natural experiment in which the publication of the book Moneyball and other technical advances created pressure for baseball clubs to move from a scout-driven approach to a more analytical data-driven method of management.