Markets as institutions versus organizations as markets? Disentangling some fundamental concepts

Abstract

This paper argues that ambiguities in concepts as important as “institutions”, “markets”, and “organizations”, undermine progress of research programs intending to take these components seriously into account. After a short review of some current confusions (section I) section II discusses recent literature to arrive at definitions that encapsulate fundamental characteristics into “pure categories”. In section III, exceptions and qualifications are introduced so as to operationalize the concepts: in the “real” world 1. (i) organizations and markets are embedded in an institutional framework, and 2. (ii) they overlap, giving birth to “hybrid forms”. However, the conclusion contends that it is essential to maintain distinct concepts in order to understand these complex arrangements.