How Do Institutional Paradoxes Evolve? The Gender Equality Paradox in Professional Tennis

Abstract

How do institutional paradoxes evolve? Although a growing body of research has described the organizational implications of a wide range of paradoxical pressures that are prevalent in organizational society, there are two important shortcomings. First, although it is recognized that paradoxes are multilevel phenomena, previous research has predominantly focused on strategic paradoxes at the organizational level. Second, most studies assume paradoxes to be stable entities, neglecting the importance of time and the potential for change. To examine how institutional paradoxes unfold over time, we conducted a longitudinal study of the gender equality paradox in professional tennis. We found the paradox to repeatedly (re-) surface and (re-) silence through a variety of triggers. Over time, this cycle led to an exhaustion of discourse over the paradox and an increasingly normalized experience of living amidst paradoxical tensions. We use our insights to contribute to paradox theory by forwarding a temporal model of institutional paradox evolution and develop how this theoretical integration can advance our understanding of deeply rooted issues such as gender equality.