Categorization and individual-level analysis in institutional studies

Peter Cebon, Melbourne Business School

Abstract

Institutional rules come in two varieties. Constitutive rules direct peoples’ thinking and behavior while regulative rules sanction deviation. Categorization research within institutional theory has focused almost exclusively on these rules in situations where field-level theories dominate. However, individuals are mindful, and so construct their own theories, shaped by field-level processes. In this article, I present arguments to facilitate development of institutional research in situations where individuals’ theories are given voice.

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