We argue that power and politics provide the social energy that transforms the insights of individuals and groups into the institutions of an organization. Moreover, we propose that different forms of power in organizations are connected to specific learning processes—intuition is linked with...

In a qualitative study of the emerging field of HIV/AIDS treatment advocacy in Canada, we found that institutional entrepreneurship involved three sets of critical activities: (1) the occupation of “subject positions” that have wide legitimacy and bridge diverse stakeholders, (2) the...

In this paper, we draw on a case study of the development of commercial whale-watching on Canada’s west coast to explore the role of macro-cultural discourse and local actors in the structuration of new institutional fields. We argue that the development of the commercial whale-watching...

We argue that the processes underlying institutionalization have not been investigated adequately and that discourse analysis provides a coherent framework for such investigation. Accordingly, we develop a discursive model of institutionalization that highlights the relationships among texts,...

In this article, the concept of membership is examined from an institutional perspective, focusing on the dynamics of membership in professional fields. It is argued that membership in professional fields is a product of interaction rituals that structure the boundaries of fields, work to...

From 1995 to 1999, we conducted field research on seven international hotels in Cuba. Six of those facilities were under the umbrella of an international strategic alliance between a major Cuban hotel chain and two foreign partners — large Western hotel chains respected for their extensive...

In this article, we explore the social construction of workplace envy through an analysis of its portrayal in a fictional narrative. Based on our examination of three excerpts from Richard Russo's novel Straight Man, we argue that envy is socially constructed in prominent and revealing episodes...

Part-time professional employees represent an increasingly important social category that challenges traditional assumptions about the relationships between space, time, and professional work. In this article, we examine both the historical emergence of part-time professional work and the...

Inter-organizational collaboration has been linked to a range of important outcomes for collaborating organizations. The strategy literature emphasizes the way in which collaboration between organizations results in the sharing of critical resources and facilitates knowledge transfer. The...

In this paper we develop a theoretical framework for understanding failure in processes of organizational strategizing. Drawing on an intensive,longitudinal field study of organizational decision making, we examine the attempts and ultimate failure of members of a British symphony orchestra to...