During the past three decades, organization studies have witnessed a succession of theoretical perspectives - contingency theory, resource dependency and population ecology - that focus on one or other aspect of organizations. Only institutional theory highlights the importance of the wider social and cultural environment as the `ground' in which organizations are rooted.

This book brings together original work from two different research traditions - continental Europe and the United States - to shed light on the study of organizations. This includes empirical observations, longitudinal analyses, market-based organizational forms, and the concepts of agency and strategy.

Preface - W Richard Scott and Sóren Christensen
Introduction - W Richard Scott
Institutional Theory and Organizations
PART ONE: ACCOUNTING FOR INSTITUTIONS
The New Institutionalism and Rational Choice Theory - Peter Abell
Cognitive Sources of Socially Constructed Competitive Groups - Theresa K Lant and Joel A C Baum
Examples from the Manhattan Hotel Industry
Localism and Globalization in Institutional Analysis - Mark C Suchman
The Emergence of Contractual Norms in Venture Finance
PART TWO: ORGANIZATIONAL ADAPTATION TO CONFLICTING AND SHIFTING INSTITUTIONAL AND TECHNICAL ENVIRONMENTS
Origin and Transformation of Organizations - Sóren Christensen and Jan Molin
Institutional Analysis of the Danish Red Cross
Civilization, Art, and Accounting - Jan Mouritsen and Peter Sk[ae]b[ae]k
The Royal Danish Theater - An Enterprise Straddling Two Institutions
The Incorporation of Multiple Institutional Models - Finn Borum and Ann Westenholz
Organizational Field Multiplicity and the Role of Actors
PART THREE: INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTS ON FIRMS AND FIELDS
The Competence View of the Firm - Christian Knudsen
What Can Modern Economists Learn from Philip Selznick¿s Sociological Theory of Leadership?
Using Institutional Theory to Understand For-Profit Sectors - Stephen J Mezias
The Case of Financial Reporting Standards
PART FOUR: INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTS ON INDUSTRIES
Accounting for Acquisition Waves - Patricia H Thornton
Evidence from the US College Publishing Industry
Coupling the Technical and Institutional Faces of Janus in Network Industries - Raghu Garud and Arun Kumaraswamy
Institutional Interpretations and Explanations of Differences in American and Danish Approaches to Innovation - Peter Karn[o with a line through]e
The Origins of Economic Principles - Frank Dobbin
Railway Entrepreneurs and Public Policy in 19th-Century America
Conclusion - W Richard Scott and Sóren Christensen
Crafting a Wider Lens