Abstract
This paper answers recent calls for more comprehensive research on the processes underlying institutional complexity. We highlight that a key neglect in previous research is that it has tended to study how institutional change can occur in mature and emergent fields wherein logics are highly ‘theorized’. However, no attention has been paid to situations wherein institutional complexity is especially salient; that is, when it is triggered by a logic that is not yet theorized. This paper aims to address this neglect by exploring the field-level dynamics arising from institutional complexity in mature fields that face substantial transformation with the emergence of an untheorized logic: what we refer to as ‘transition fields’. It does so by means of an abductive exploratory case study of the development of Responsible Investment within the Asset Management industry in Europe. We find that organizations in a transition field make sense of complexity by undergoing a process of logic assimilation, which has two core mechanisms: (1) logic theorizationand (2) logic-archetype elaboration. We further find that this process is facilitated by an enabling organization that participated in creating an institutional infrastructure for the new sustainability logic and that the creation and elaboration of tools, models, and governance structures mediated the transformation of logics and their practices.
Published Version
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