A literature review of the popular management theory called "institutional work"

What is it about?

"Institutional work" is a popular theory in academic management and business studies. It is action intentionally aimed at creating, maintaining, or disrupting social institutions. This paper reviews 452 papers published from 2006 to 2019 on the theory. Software called Leximancer analyzed the full text of all the articles looking for themes. The software revealed changing in the theory focus over time, a rise in articles on institutional maintenance, and a focus on individual and agency. Additionally, the paper looks at the "claimed contributions" of each paper toward the theory itself. Six themes were identified: theory combining, actors, contexts, institutional work types, representations, and methodology. Finally, an integrative conceptual framework for future institutional work study is presented. It focuses on setting, motivations, types, and outcomes.

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Photo by Elisa Calvet B. on Unsplash

Photo by Elisa Calvet B. on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Institutional work is a very popular theory with academic management circles, but it has made little impact among professionals. This paper tries to review a lot of the literature and make sense of it.