Agency and Instituions in Organization Studies

Agency and institutions are essential concepts within institutional theory. In this Perspectives issue, we draw on a select group of Organization Studies articles to provide an overview of the topic of agency and institutions. We first consider different ways of defining agency and institutions and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inOrganization studies Vol. 38; no. 12; p. 1775
Main Authors Abdelnour, Samer, Hasselbladh, Hans, Kallinikos, Jannis
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 2017
Subjects
actors
agency
Business Studies
Företagsekonomi
institutional theory
institutions
modular individuals
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Summary:Agency and institutions are essential concepts within institutional theory. In this Perspectives issue, we draw on a select group of Organization Studies articles to provide an overview of the topic of agency and institutions. We first consider different ways of defining agency and institutions and examine their implications for institutional theory. We then analyse the relationship of actors and institutions through four lenses – the wilful actor, collective intentionality, patchwork institutions and modular individuals. Our analysis leads us to dissociate agency from individuals and view it as a capacity or quality that stems from resources, rights and obligations tied to the roles and social positions actors occupy. Roles and social positions are institutionally engineered. It is social actors qua occupants of roles and positions (not individuals) that enter the social ‘stage’ and exercise agency.
ISSN:0170-8406
1741-3044
DOI:10.1177/0170840617708007