The institutional theory of organizations developed by Scott, Meyer and their colleagues over the past two decades has had an enormous impact on organizational theory and research. In this book, the editors review the major theoretical advances of the past decade and the empirical testing they have done on these theories. Their work has highlighted two key themes: the interrelationship between organizational complexity and the institutional environment; and the place of the individual within the organization.

The original edition of this important book has had a significant impact on organizational theorizing throughout the past decade. Meyer and Scott are both well known for their significant contributions to institutional theories of organizations and this Updated Edition blends original articles and compilations of other works to create the most complete explication of the authors' theoretical notions.

Fully revised and refined, this new edition of Institutional Theory and Organizational Change considers the developments in the field of institutional organization theory over the past decade. With each chapter being significantly updated, the book explains what the institutional organization approach means by bringing special attention to how the institutional environment is made up and how organizations are governed by it.

This book brings together emerging perspectives from organization theory and management, environmental sociology, international regime studies, and the social studies of science and technology to provide a starting point for discipline-based studies of environmental policy and corporate environmental behavior. Reflecting the book’s theoretical and empirical focus, the audience is two-fold: organizational scholars working within the institutional tradition, and environmental scholars interested in management and policy. Together this mix forms a creative synthesis for both sets of readers, analyzing how environmental policy and organizational practices are shaped, spread and contested.

Creating a clear, analytical framework, this comprehensive exploration of the relationship between institutional theory and the study of organizations continues to reflect the richness and diversity of institutional thought—viewed both historically and as a contemporary, ongoing field of study. Drawing on the insights of cultural and organizational sociologists, institutional economists, social and cognitive psychologists, political scientists, and management theorists, the book reviews and integrates the most important recent developments in this rapidly evolving field, and strengthens and elaborates the author’s widely accepted "pillars" framework, which supports research and theory construction. By exploring the differences as well as the underlying commonalities of institutional theories, the book presents a cohesive view of the many flavors and colors of institutionalism. Finally, the book evaluates and clarifies developments in both theory and research while identifying future research directions.

Meyer and Scott are among the leading proponents of the environmental view of organizational theory, which sees organizational structures as primarily determined by environment as opposed to technology. The authors' view and their approach is demonstrated here in a collection of essays, that consider the place of organizations within a wider institutional structure, paying particular attention to educational systems and medical services. With reference to America's devolved federal power structure and powerful autonomous bodies they conclude that centralization and organization processes are made to operate for the sake of efficiency.