Discussing “Discourse and Institutions”: A Reply to Lok and Willmott

This article presents a response to Jaco Lok and Hugh Wilmott's comments on a 2004 paper by Professors N. Phillips, T.B. Lawrence, and C. Hardy on the discursive approach to institutional theory. The authors believe that the exploration of discourse analysis as a new avenue for future institutional research was a useful and feasible project. They also feel that it could help overcome some of the problems currently faced by institutional theory, particularly when explaining processes of institutionalization or the nature of institutions. Lok and Willmott's two key issues are identified and discussed. Lok and Willmott question our definition of discourse and claim that the authors have not gone far enough in their attempt to reconciling institutional theory with a better developed concern for power and politics.