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  • February 2009
  • Article
  • Academy of Management Journal

Suspended in Self-Spun Webs of Significance: A Rhetorical Model of Institutionalization and Institutionally Embedded Agency

By: Sandy Edward Green, Yuan Li and Nitin Nohria
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:26
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Abstract

This article employs rhetorical theory to reconceptualize institutionalization as change in argument structure. As a state, institutionalization is embodied in the structure of argument used to justify a practice at a given point in time. As a process, institutionalization is modeled as changes in the structure of arguments used to justify a practice over time. We use rhetoric surrounding the institutionalization of total quality management (TQM) practices within the American business community as a case study to illustrate how conceptualizing institutionalization as changes in argument structure can help show how institutions simultaneously constrain and enable social action.

Keywords

Debates; Management Practices And Processes; Trust; Adoption; Theory; United States

Citation

Green, Sandy Edward, Yuan Li, and Nitin Nohria. "Suspended in Self-Spun Webs of Significance: A Rhetorical Model of Institutionalization and Institutionally Embedded Agency." Academy of Management Journal 52, no. 1 (February 2009): 11–36.
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About The Author

Nitin Nohria

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