Beyond logic and norms: a figurational critique of
institutional theory in organisation studies
Dolan, PaddyORCID: 0000-0002-0086-8382 and Connolly, John
(2018)
Beyond logic and norms: a figurational critique of
institutional theory in organisation studies.
Cambio, 7
(14).
pp. 139-149.
ISSN 2239-1118
This paper provides a figurational critique of one of the most
dominant theoretical frames within organisation studies - institutional theory.Despite its status as the leading theoretical lens for explaining organisational change, institutional theorists continue to struggle with the so called agency-structure issue and remain divided in how to overcome it. Our primary criticisms concern the propensity to invoke or generate dualisms, the reliance on the sociological frames which sustain this, and the failure to engage in any comprehensive way with Elias’s writings on this subject.