Institutional Logics and Functionalist Differentiation Theory: Challenges and pathways forward

Abstract

As a theoretical framework in organization studies, institutional logics is immensely popular. It has been used in a large amount of highly contributory and enlightening empirical studies, and developed far beyond its original formulation in a classical paper by Friedland and Alford (1991). In our paper, we identify three key theoretical problems that have emerged in the development and use of institutional logics theory in the past three decades: the lack of uniformity and coherence in the definitions and empirical identifications of logics; the tendency of institutional logics theorists to attempt to build grand theory to connect micro, meso, and macro levels of analysis; and the difficulties to explain how institutional logics are reproduced and how institutional logics interrelate and evolve over time. To address these issues, we highlight the similarities between institutional logics theory and classical functionalist differentiation theory, drawing its legacy from Max Weber, Talcott Parsons, and Robert Merton, and propose its use as a resource in further theoretical development. The aim of the paper is not to reject institutional logics theory, or merely to point out its weaknesses, but to demonstrate how a revival of some classics in sociological theory can be used to sharpen institutional logics as an analytical tool and thus assist in efforts to further improve the usefulness of institutional logics as a theoretical framework in organization studies.

Parallel trajectories and theorizations of religion and family in modernity: Toward an institutional logics perspective

“…For the institutional logics approach, the primary scholarly interest is in the reasons that are given for why a practice or set of practices should be considered religious, for that is how you get at the rationality or the "logic" of a particular sphere of activity, such as the religious sphere (Alvehus & Hallonsten, 2022). People can claim belief in God, attend church, and identify with a particular denomination for a variety of reasons, some of which may be more or less religious than others.…”

Moonshots and the New Industrial Policy: Questioning the Mission Economy

“…These words are strong, but so is the logic of Mulgan's argument, although it is in some need of proper sociological foundations. Such foundations can be found in the functionalist tradition of the sociology of science, pioneered by Robert Merton (1973) and refined by followers (e.g., Hagstrom 1965;Whitley 2000Whitley [1984; Gieryn 1999; Hallonsten 2022a), and in latter-day institutional theory that promotes the analysis of society as composed of institutional orders with distinct "institutional logics" (Thornton et al 2012;Alvehus and Hallonsten 2022). In the functionalist tradition, with roots in classical sociological works (Durkheim 1969(Durkheim [1893; Simmel 2015Simmel [1890Weber 1946aWeber [1904), different institutions or spheres of society are viewed as exhibiting distinct norm systems that are functional for maintaining their inner workings and contributions to society as a whole.…”

Pockets of Trust in a Landscape of Distrust: Interorganisational Trust and the Challenge of Conflicting Institutional Logics

“…The institutional logics approach has been criticised for its ambition to include almost everything and thereby losing its analytical sharpness (Alvehus & Hallonsten, 2022;Alvesson & Spicer, 2019;Hallett & Hawbaker, 2021). The particular take on institutional logics applied here is sometimes referred to as logics in action (Lounsbury & Boxenbaum, 2013;McPherson & Sauder, 2013), developed to account for micro-processes and the day-to-day use of logics.…”