Explaining Stability and Change: The Rise and Fall of Logics in Pluralistic Fields

Abstract

Based on an in-depth, longitudinal case study involving the public employment services in the Netherlands, we provide a novel conceptual imagery of how pluralistic fields may evolve over time. Our study shows how multiple institutional logics remain in play after a dominant logic is settled in an organizational field. We uncover several factors that explain the process of temporary stability and change and focus especially on two factors-negative choice and deliberate ambiguity-that explain ongoing change. These factors solve the struggle between competing logics, but simultaneously sow the seeds for further subsequent change. This study contributes to the institutional logics perspective beyond competing logics to the study of how fields with plural logics evolve.

Field or Fields? Building the Scaffolding for Cumulation of Research on Institutional Fields

“…Raynard (forthcoming) refers to such domains as featuring volatile institutional complexity, and they have been referred to in the literature by others as being contested van Gestel & Hillebrand, 2011) or turbulent (Farjoun, 2002).…”

“…It is surprising then, given this lifecycle emphasis, that there are nearly no explicit studies on the demise of fields (although some work considers processes of deinstitutionalization, such as the work of Oliver, 1992). Indeed, studies of fields over longer periods of time are scarce (for exceptions see Galvin, 2002;Leblibici et al, 1991;Scott, Ruef, Mendel, & Caronna, 2000;van Gestel & Hillebrand, 2011), and we could learn from studies on strategic failure (Baumard & Starbuck, 2005), and disappearing industries (Porac, Thomas, & Baden-Fuller, 2011). The duration of a study impacts how observations of field conditions are made; whether a field is analyzed as established, contested or (re)established may significantly depend on the amount of time that has passed.…”

“…Because issue fields often feature dialectical processes among diverse actors, the settlement of contentious issues may be only temporary (van Gestel & Hillebrand, 2011).…”

Theorization and Translation in Information Technology Institutionalization: Evidence from Danish Home Care

“…Moreover, fields are often infused with competing beliefs and rationales (i.e., institutional logic) about how to organize and structure practice (Friedland and Alford 1991). Where such competing forms of logic (Reay and Hinings 2009) exist, as in Danish home care where a welfare-professional logic are constantly challenged by a market-efficiency logic (Rostgaard 2012), the organizational field is described as pluralistic (Jazabkowski 2009;Van Gestel and Hillebrand 2011).…”

Management of qualitative change in small and medium-sized enterprises: a kaleidoscope of theoretical and empirical research

“…stability and change (Sutherland and Smith 2011;Van Gestel and Hillebrand 2011). The extent of stability and change in each development process is contingent on the content of change, the organizational setting and the external framework conditions (Mejia-Morelos et al 2013).…”