Institutionalization’s Quadrant: Dimensionalizing Levels in Organizational Analysis

Abstract

Scholars in institutional theory investigating persistence and change are increasingly attending to the connection between micro- and macro-level processes. With this increase in theoretical complexity comes corresponding analytic challenges and areas in which theory is stalled. We argue that the reason for this inertia has to do with a tendency to conflate levels of analysis along two dimensions: the level at which an innovation manifests or is observed, with the level at which an innovation is institutionalized or reproduced. We draw on classic and contemporary organizational literature to offer a conceptual framework that highlights the distinction between these levels. We extend our framework to offer purchase on three core research problems: measurement (in terms of distinguishing depth, reach, and degree of institutionalization), analyzing patterns and degrees of failure and de-institutionalization; and differentiating typologies of causal relationships across levels. Whereas our focus is on the case of institutional theory, we discuss how the tools apply to broader contexts of organizational analysis as well.