Structure, Agency and the Role of Values in Processes of Institutional Change

Abstract

Research on institutional change has flourished ever since the debate on agency and structure moved away from the previously uncompromising positions which emphasized either agency or structure. A conceptual compromise is sought here in a focus on the processes of institutionalization, which enables us to move beyond the idea that institutions are mere mental constructs or the point of view that behaviour is the mere reproduction of institutional patterns. Contributing to an understanding of the processes of institutional change, this chapter analyses institutional change as instigated by tensions triggered by discrepancies perceived by agents between concrete institutional settings and the socio-economic values they are expected to represent. The Social Value Nexus that is presented below introduces an emphasis on the perceived legitimacy of institutions. Describing (types of) tensions between socio-cultural values and institutional settings, the chapter explores the ways in which structure, agency and values interact in processes of institutional change.

With Rudi Verburg