The state, power, and agency: Missing in action in institutional theory?

Clegg, S

The state, power, and agency: Missing in action in institutional theory?

Clegg, S

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Management Inquiry, 2010, 19 (1), pp. 4 - 13
Issue Date:: 2010-03-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Clegg, S https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6083-4283	en_US
dc.date.issued	2010-03-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Management Inquiry, 2010, 19 (1), pp. 4 - 13	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1056-4926	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/14010
dc.description.abstract	Issue is taken with the relative absence of the analysis of power from many leading institutional theory accounts of organizations. The category of institutional entrepreneurs is seen as a functionalist theory-saving device. The stress on norms, myths, and legitimacy is questioned. The importance of a consideration of explicitly political organization is illustrated with an account of the deinstitutionalization of the Bjelke-Peterson government in Queensland. As well as institutionalization the importance of deinstitutionalization is suggested as is the centrality of translation. Recent work that has brought power and agency back into focus is discussed. The centrality of power as the main concept of the social sciences is promoted. The central importance of the state for early institutional accounts, its relative absence from more current ones, and its role in the creation of an "audit society" that would seem most likely to expand significantly in the wake of the global financial crisis is noted. © The Author(s) 2010.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Management Inquiry	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1177/1056492609347562	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Business & Management	en_US
dc.title	The state, power, and agency: Missing in action in institutional theory?	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	19	en_US
utslib.for	1503 Business and Management	en_US
dc.location.activity	ISI:000274316500002	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Business
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Business/Management Discipline
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	19	en_US

Abstract:

Issue is taken with the relative absence of the analysis of power from many leading institutional theory accounts of organizations. The category of institutional entrepreneurs is seen as a functionalist theory-saving device. The stress on norms, myths, and legitimacy is questioned. The importance of a consideration of explicitly political organization is illustrated with an account of the deinstitutionalization of the Bjelke-Peterson government in Queensland. As well as institutionalization the importance of deinstitutionalization is suggested as is the centrality of translation. Recent work that has brought power and agency back into focus is discussed. The centrality of power as the main concept of the social sciences is promoted. The central importance of the state for early institutional accounts, its relative absence from more current ones, and its role in the creation of an "audit society" that would seem most likely to expand significantly in the wake of the global financial crisis is noted. © The Author(s) 2010.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/14010