What do the feathers on a bird have in common with the glass in fiber optics? The answer lies in exaptation, a concept that has been creatively repurposed (i.e., exapted) from evolutionary biology to the field of technological innovation. Inspired by this movement, we examine different kinds of...

Why would an organization pursue membership in an organizational category, yet forego opportunities to subsequently promote that membership? Drawing on prior research, we develop a theoretical model that distinguishes between basic and subordinate categories and highlights how organizations may...

Despite its success in bringing agency back into organizational studies, some argue that institutional entrepreneurship leaves unresolved the paradox of embedded agency, which asks how actors are able to change the very institutions which have conditioned them. I propose dissolution of this...

This volume of Research in the Sociology of Organizations explores the institutional macro foundations of action, providing an array of insights into the constitutive and contextualizing powers of institutions, and an agenda for further exploration of these themes. The recent increase in...