Possibilities of Applying Institutional Theory in the Study of Hybrid Software Development Concepts and Practices

Abstract

Nowadays, hybrid software development approaches represent an important trend. By creatively combining various software development methods and techniques, companies seek to benefit from an increased flexibility in their software-intensive domains. This conceptual paper has two goals. First, it attempts to extend the concept of hybridity beyond the visible aspects of software development. Second, it introduces the concept of “institutional logic” as a cornerstone adopted from institutional theory. I propose to use this theory as a lens to improve our understanding of the waterfall/agile type of hybridity, i.e. when the logic of Traditional Software Engineering and the logic of Agile Software Development are concurrently adopted in an organization. Also, a relation between institutional logics and organizational cultures is proposed. The seeds of theory presented in this paper lead to a further theory building effort that will hopefully result in a better characterization of adoption motives and strategies related to hybrid software development.