Institutional Spheres and Organizational Sociology: Considering the Ecological and Cultural Dynamics of the Macro Realm
Institutions remain essential units of sociological analysis, and yet they persist as conceptually fuzzy nearly five decades after the emergence of new institutionalism. In the following essay, a historical, comparative, and evolutionarily-informed framework for differentiating institutions from the...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Organizational Sociology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/joso-2023-0015 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849428987337506816 |
|---|---|
| author | Abrutyn Seth Uscola Colter Feldstein Kate |
| author_facet | Abrutyn Seth Uscola Colter Feldstein Kate |
| author_sort | Abrutyn Seth |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Institutions remain essential units of sociological analysis, and yet they persist as conceptually fuzzy nearly five decades after the emergence of new institutionalism. In the following essay, a historical, comparative, and evolutionarily-informed framework for differentiating institutions from the individuals, organizations, and clusters of organizations that inhabit them is presented. Drawing from a diverse array of sociology, this model offers two key contributions to the study of organizations: an institutional ecological model built up from actors, organizations, and constellations of organizations and a theory of institutional culture that rests on a rehabilitated conceptualization of generalized symbolic media and its role in standardization and exchange between organizations. Implications are discussed. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d0d4ef4b604b403c98c13c8acff76d44 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2752-2997 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Organizational Sociology |
| spelling | doaj-art-d0d4ef4b604b403c98c13c8acff76d442025-08-20T03:28:29ZengDe GruyterJournal of Organizational Sociology2752-29972025-05-013215918610.1515/joso-2023-0015Institutional Spheres and Organizational Sociology: Considering the Ecological and Cultural Dynamics of the Macro RealmAbrutyn Seth0Uscola Colter1Feldstein Kate2The Department of Sociology, University of British Columbia, 6303 NW Marine Drive, V6T 1Z1, Vancouver, BC, CanadaThe Department of Sociology, University of British Columbia, 6303 NW Marine Drive, V6T 1Z1, Vancouver, BC, CanadaThe Department of Sociology, University of British Columbia, 6303 NW Marine Drive, V6T 1Z1, Vancouver, BC, CanadaInstitutions remain essential units of sociological analysis, and yet they persist as conceptually fuzzy nearly five decades after the emergence of new institutionalism. In the following essay, a historical, comparative, and evolutionarily-informed framework for differentiating institutions from the individuals, organizations, and clusters of organizations that inhabit them is presented. Drawing from a diverse array of sociology, this model offers two key contributions to the study of organizations: an institutional ecological model built up from actors, organizations, and constellations of organizations and a theory of institutional culture that rests on a rehabilitated conceptualization of generalized symbolic media and its role in standardization and exchange between organizations. Implications are discussed.https://doi.org/10.1515/joso-2023-0015organizationsinstitutionsculturegeneralized symbolic mediadifferentiation |
| spellingShingle | Abrutyn Seth Uscola Colter Feldstein Kate Institutional Spheres and Organizational Sociology: Considering the Ecological and Cultural Dynamics of the Macro Realm Journal of Organizational Sociology organizations institutions culture generalized symbolic media differentiation |
| title | Institutional Spheres and Organizational Sociology: Considering the Ecological and Cultural Dynamics of the Macro Realm |
| title_full | Institutional Spheres and Organizational Sociology: Considering the Ecological and Cultural Dynamics of the Macro Realm |
| title_fullStr | Institutional Spheres and Organizational Sociology: Considering the Ecological and Cultural Dynamics of the Macro Realm |
| title_full_unstemmed | Institutional Spheres and Organizational Sociology: Considering the Ecological and Cultural Dynamics of the Macro Realm |
| title_short | Institutional Spheres and Organizational Sociology: Considering the Ecological and Cultural Dynamics of the Macro Realm |
| title_sort | institutional spheres and organizational sociology considering the ecological and cultural dynamics of the macro realm |
| topic | organizations institutions culture generalized symbolic media differentiation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/joso-2023-0015 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT abrutynseth institutionalspheresandorganizationalsociologyconsideringtheecologicalandculturaldynamicsofthemacrorealm AT uscolacolter institutionalspheresandorganizationalsociologyconsideringtheecologicalandculturaldynamicsofthemacrorealm AT feldsteinkate institutionalspheresandorganizationalsociologyconsideringtheecologicalandculturaldynamicsofthemacrorealm |