Logic Plasticity and Bounded Custodial Work in Inter-Institutional Projects

Abstract

I studied competing institutional logics in inter-institutional projects in aerospace to understand which logic would prevail when several logics compete in temporary organizing. While competing logic tensions between academia and the industry were expected, I additionally found competing logic tensions between multinationals and suppliers. I argue that the competing logic tensions originated from the informal roles that emerged from the interactions among the partners in the projects, which were predetermined by the complementary knowledge that initially justified the collaborations. These informal roles activated custodial work among the partners, which was bounded by logic plasticity. Contrary to what was expected, the more rigid logics prevailed over the most plastic logics in temporary organizing.