We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome
2004
The iron cage revisited institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields
Key concepts
Scholarcy highlights
- What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions
- Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them
- We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome
- We suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change
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