Protect to Damage? Institutional work, unintended consequences and institutional dynamics

Abstract

How does institutional work to uphold an institution unintentionally challenge that institution? To answer this question, I trace institutional work of proponents of change and the norm majority – members of the public who show rectitude vis-à-vis perceived provocation against an established institution, in the context of America’s first bird protection movement. A historical process analysis reveals that institutional work unintentionally compromises institutions because the work can be seen as public conformity to the established institution. A model developed from the findings provides a more refined understanding of unintended consequences in institutional studies.