Article summary: Di Maggio & Powell (1983) PDF

Preview

Summary

Article summary: P. J. DiMaggio & W. Powell (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields, American Sociological Review, 48, 147-60....

Description

DiMaggio'&'Powell'1983'–'Article'summary'' P. J. DiMaggio & W. Powell (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields, American Sociological Review, 48, 147-60.

!! The!engine!of!rationalization!and!bureaucratization!has!moved!from!the!competitive!marketplace! to!the!state!and!the!professions.!!! !! Paradox:!Rational!actors!make!their!organizations!increasingly!similar!as!they!try!to!change!them.!! !! à!3!isomorphic!processes!have!lead!to!this!outcome:!! 1. Coercive!! 2. Mimetic!! 3. Normative!! !! According!to!Max!Weber,!bureaucratization!resulted!from!three!related!causes:!!! 1. Competition!among!capitalist!firms!in!the!marketplace!(the!most!important!)!! 2. Competition!among!states,!increasing!rulers'!need!to!control!their!staff!and!citizenry!! 3. Bourgeois!demands!for!equal!protection!under!the!law.!!! !! à!The!forces!of!bureaucratization!(and!homogenization!in!general)!have!changed!since!Weber’s! time,!but!the!importance!of!understanding!the!trends!to!which!he!called!attention!is!very! immediate! ! - Bureaucratization!and!other!forms!of!structural!change!in!organizations!seem!less!and!less! driven!by!competition!or!by!the!need!for!efficiency! o Instead!occur!as!the!result!of!processes!that!make!organizations!more!similar!! § Son’t!necessarily!increase!efficiency! ! - In!highly!structured!organizational!fields!individual!efforts!to!deal!rationally!with! uncertainty,!often!lead!in!homogenity!in:! o Culture! o Structure! o Output! ! - The!article!seeks!to!explain!homogenity! ! - In!the!initial!stages!of!their!life!cycle,!organizational!fields!display!significant!diversity!in! approach!and!form! o However,!once!a!field!becomes!well!established,!the!companies!become!much! more!homogenic! ! ! Activies!of!a!diverse!set!of!organizations! è Emergence!and!structuration!of!an!organizational!field! à!Establishment!of!the!field! -->!Homogenization!of!the!organizations!in!the!field! !

-

! -

-

Directing!attention!to!the!totality!of!relevant!actions! ! The!structure!of!an!organizational!field!must!be!defined!on!the!basis!of!empirical! investigation! ! Institutional!definition!=!structuration! Structuration!consists!of!4!parts:! 1.!Increased!interaction!among!organizations!in!the!field! 2.!Emergence!of!sharply!defined!interorganizational!structures!of!domination!and!patterns! of!coalition! 3.!Increased!information!load!with!which!organizations!in!a!field!must!contend! 4.!Development!of!a!mutual!awarness!among!participants!in!a!set!of!organizations!that! they!are!involved!in!a!common!eterprise! ! Separate!organizations!in!the!same!line!of!business!are!structured!into!an!actual!field!by:! o Competition! o State! o Professions!

! ! -

The'concept'that'best'captures'the'homogenization'process'is'isomorphism!

-

Hawley!(1968):! o Isomorphism!is!a!process!that!forces!one!unit!in!a!population!to!resemble!other! units!that!face!the!same!set!of!environmental!conditions! o At!the!population!level!the!organizational!characteristics!are!modified!to!be! increasingly!compatible!with!environmental!characteristics! o The!number!of!organizations!in!a!population!is!a!function!of!environmental!carrying! capacity! o The!diversity!of!organizational!forms!is!isomorphic!to!environmental!diversity!

-

Hannan!and!Freeman!(1977):! o Isomorphism!can!result!because!nonoptimal!forms!are!selected!out!of!a!population! of!organizations! o OR!because!organizational!decision!makers!learn!appropriate!responses!and!adjust! their!behavior!accordingly! o Focus!on!the!first!process:!selection!

-

Meyer!(1979)!and!Fennell!(1980):! o There!are!two!types!of!isomporphism;!competitive!and!institutional! !

!

!

!

! ! ! ! !

The'3'sources'of'isomorphic'organizational'change:' ! Coercive!isomorphism! - Coercive!authority!! - Results!from!formal!and!informal!pressures!are!exerted!on:! o !organizations!by!other!organizations!upon!which!they!are!dependenr! o cultural!expectations!in!the!society!within!which!the!organizations!function! - The!pressure!can!be!perceived!as:! o Force! o Persuasion! o Invitation!to!join!in!collusion! - Organizational!change!is!sometimes!a!response!to!government!mandate! - Even!if!the!changes!are!largely!ceremonial,!staff!become!involved!in!advocacy!for!their! functions!à!possible!change!of!power!relations!within!the!organization!in!the!long!run! - Effects!of!legal!environment!on!organization’s!behavior!and!structure! ! Mimetic!processes! - Uncertainty!as!a!force!that!encourages!imitation! o Poor!understanding!of!organizational!technologies! o Ambiguous!goals! o Symbolic!uncertainty!created!by!the!environment! - à!organizations!may!model!themselves!on!other!organizations! - mimetic!behaviour!can!have!considerable!advantages:! o an!organization!faces!a!problem!with!ambiguous!causes!or!unclear!solutions! o ->!problemistic!search!may!yield!a!viable!solution!with!little!expense! - Modeling!is!a!response!to!uncertainty! o The!modeled!organization!may!be!unaware!/!unwilling!to!be!copied! § Serves!as!a!convenient!source!of!practices! - Modeling!may!happen:! a. Unintentionally! b. Indirectly!through!employee!transfer! c. Explicitly!by!organizations!such!as!consulting!firms! d. By!innovation!! ! Normative!pressures! - Stems!primarily!from!professionalization! =!the.collective.struggle.of.memberso.f.an.occupation.to:. o define.the.conditions.and.methods.of.their.work. o control.the.“production.of.producers”. o establish.a.cognitivebase.and.legitimation.for.their.occupational.autonomy. - The!professional!project!is!rarely!achieved!with!complete!success! o Professionals!must!compromise!with!nonprofessional!clients,!regulators!etc! - Professions!are!subject!to!the!same!coercive!and!mimetic!pressures!as!are!organizations! - Different!kinds!of!professionals!differ!from!one!another!inside!the!organization! o However,!they!have!plenty!of!similarities!with!their!professional!counterparts!in! other!organizations! !

-

-

Two!aspects!of!professionalization!are!important!sources!of!isomorphism:! 1 The!resting!of!formal!education!and!legitimation!in!a!cognitive!base!of!university! specialists! 2 The!growth!and!elaboration!of!professional!networks!that!span!organizations! New!models!diffuse!rapidly!across!these! One!mechanism!encouraging!normative!isomorphism!is!the!filtering!of!personnel! o Hiring!within!the!same!industry! o Closely!guarded!career!tracks!of!the!applicants! o Individuals!that!make!it!to!the!top!are!virtually!indistinguishable!

! -

Explanation!for!similarity:!

! 1. Some!version!of!natural!selection!occurs,!in!which!selection!mechanisms!weed!out!those! organizational!forms!that!are!less!fit! - However,!ess!efficient!organizational!forms!do!persist..! o Economic!factors!are!not!always!considered!primary;!non-profit,!art,!even!for-profit! ! 2. Marxists!and!some!theorists:!key!elites!guide!and!control!the!social!system! - Through!their!crucial!positions!in!major!organizations! - Get!their!way!by!intervening!in!decisions!that!set!the!course!of!the!institution!for!a!long! period!of!time! ! -

-

!

Arguments:!! Neither!of!these!processes!is!sufficient!to!explain!the!extent!to!which!organizations!have! become!structurally!more!similar! Theory'of'institutional'isomorphism!may!help!explain:! o !organizations!becoming!more!homogenous! o the!elites!often!getting!their!way! +!helps!to!understand:! o irrationality! o frustration!of!power! o lack!of!innovation! ..!in!organizations! Theory'of'institutional'isomorphism'!is!also!more!conconant!with!the!ethnograhic!and! theoretical!literature!on!how!organizations!work!than!are!either..! ..functionalist'theories' ..or'elite'theories' of!organizational!change.!...