Institutional Logics, Gender, and Advertising Within a Culture in Transition: Examining Strategies of Advertising Professionals in Turkey for Managing Institutional Complexity

Abstract

Advertisers face longstanding challenges—perhaps more acute under shifting cultural and gender forces such as the global #metoo movement—in creating gendered messages. This research builds on work at the intersection of gender, advertising and institutions, which bridges macro and micro issues faced by advertising professionals, to explore the unique East-West context of Turkey. Using institutional theory as a lens to examine a context in transition, this research illustrates how macro forces permeate four logics from which advertising professionals draw, specifically logics of: gender roles, power, duality, and risk. It further identifies strategies that advertising professionals utilize to manage increasing institutional complexity when creating gendered messages amidst competing logics. This study contributes to an understanding of how advertising professionals engage in institutional work within broader macro realities and the impact this has on the creation of gendered messages in society. Implications for consumer welfare, particularly regarding gender relations, are offered.