Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Institutional Isomorphism

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance

  • 862 Accesses

Synonyms

Institutional homomorphism; Organizational homogeneity

Introduction

Institutional isomorphism can be defined as a mechanism where one organization went through some organizational transformation by initiating actions that are similar to other organization in terms of procedure and outlook, but not in the outcome. It becomes a buzz word as World Bank and much more organizations often referred to the term for successful policy implementation, especially in developing countries. The term “isomorphism” (or “isomorphic mimicry”) is drawn from biological evolution in which one animal gains survival skills by pretending to have characteristics of other animals in a way that provides that animal with survival value (Pritchett and de Weijer 2011). A central precept of institutional theory is the belief “that organisations sharing the same environment will employ similar practices and thus become ‘isomorphic’ with each other” (Kostova and Roth 2002). Therefore, the terminology...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Andrews M (2013) The limits of institutional reform in development: changing rules for realistic solutions. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Beckert J (2010) Institutional isomorphism revisited: convergence and divergence in institutional change. Sociol Theory 28(2):150–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burns LR, Wholey DR (1993) Adoption and abandonment of matrix management programs: effects of organizational characteristics and interorganizational networks. Acad Manag J 36(1):106–138

    Google Scholar 

  • Canning M, O’Dwyer B (2013) The dynamics of a regulatory space realignment: strategic responses in a local context. Acc Organ Soc 38(3):169–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis PS, Desai AB, Francis JD (2000) Mode of international entry: an isomorphism perspective. J Int Bus Stud 31(2):239–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiMaggio PJ, Powell WW (1983) The iron cage revisited: institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organisational fields. Am Sociol Rev 48(2):147–160. https://doi.org/10.2307/2095101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiMaggio PJ, Powell WW (2000) The iron cage revisited institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. In: Baum JAC, Dobbin F (ed) Economics meets sociology in strategic management (Advances in Strategic Management, Vol. 17), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 143–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-3322(00)17011-1

  • Greenwood R, Suddaby R, Hinings CR (2002) Theorizing change: the role of professional associations in the transformation of institutionalized fields. Acad Manag J 45(1):58–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Guillén M (2014) Isomorphism, impermeability, and institutional diversity. Clarendon lectures in management studies, Saïd Business School. The University of Oxford Press, Oxford. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeQf_hR8ooQ

  • Hannan MT, Freeman J (1977) The population ecology of organizations. Am J Sociol 82(5):929–964

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haveman HA (1993) Follow the leader: mimetic isomorphism and entry into new markets. Adm Sci Q 38(4):593–627

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawley A (1968) Human ecology. In: Sills DL (ed) International encyclopedia of the social sciences. Macmillan, New York, pp 328–337

    Google Scholar 

  • Hussain M, Hoque Z (2002) Understanding non-financial performance measurement practices in Japanese banks: a new institutional sociology perspective. Account Audit Account J 15(2):162–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kostova T, Roth K (2002) Adoption of an organisational practice by subsidiaries of multinational corporations: institutional and relational effects. Acad Manag J 45(1):215–233. https://doi.org/10.2307/3069293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kostova T, Roth K, Dacin MT (2008) Institutional theory in the study of multinational corporations: a critique and new directions. Acad Manag Rev 33(4):994–1006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • March JG (1981) Decisions in organizations and theories of choice. In: Joyce WF, Van de Ven AH (eds) Perspectives on organization design and behavior. Wiley, New York, pp 205–244

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer JW, Rowan B (1977) Institutionalized organizations: formal structure as myth and ceremony. Am J Sociol 83(2):340–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mizruchi MS, Fein LC (1999) The social construction of organisational knowledge: a study of the uses of coercive, mimetic, and normative isomorphism. Adm Sci Q 44(4):653–683

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliver C (1991) Strategic responses to institutional processes. Acad Manag Rev 16(1):145–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park S (2014) Institutional isomorphism and the Asian Development Bank’s accountability mechanism: something old, something new; something borrowed, something blue? Pac Rev 27(2):217–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfeffer J, Salancik GR (2003) The external control of organizations: a resource dependence perspective. Stanford Business Books, Stanford

    Google Scholar 

  • Pritchett L, de Weijer F (2011) Fragile states: stuck in a capability trap? The World Bank, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Sakib NH (2020) Institutional isomorphism of anti-corruption agency: the case of anti-corruption commission in bangladesh. Chinese Polit Sci Rev 5:222–252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41111-020-00143-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott WR (1995) Institutions and organizations. Foundations for organizational science. A Sage Publication Series, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Tolbert PS, Zucker LG (1983) Institutional sources of change in the formal structure of organizations: the diffusion of civil service reform, 1880–1935. Adm Sci Q 28(1):22–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wouters M, Wilderom C (2008) Developing performance-measurement systems as enabling formalization: a longitudinal field study of a logistics department. Acc Organ Soc 33(4):488–516

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yazdifar H, Zaman M, Tsamenyi M, Askarany D (2008) Management accounting change in a subsidiary organisation. Crit Perspect Account 19(3):404–430

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Government and Politics, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Nurul Huda Sakib

Authors
  1. Nurul Huda Sakib
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nurul Huda Sakib .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA

    Ali Farazmand

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Sakib, N.H. (2020). Institutional Isomorphism. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_3932-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_3932-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation