Upon its publication in 1962, this book became one of the founding texts of organizational sociology. Bringing together diverse approaches, it presented a new focus of interest: the formal organization. Blau and Scott raised the level of analysis from attention solely on individual participants...

Organizations remain central actors in societal systems. While they are undergoing important change, they retain core features, including orientation to specific goals, a concern for survival, and openness to the environment. Central features that are currently undergoing change are the nature...

Institutions are defined as systems composed of regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive elements that act to produce meaning, stability and order. Institutional elements move from place to place and time to time with the help of carriers. Four types of carriers are distinguished--symbolic...