Reflexivity and the institutional entrepreneur: a historical exploration

Mutch, A ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8054-6649, 2007. Reflexivity and the institutional entrepreneur: a historical exploration. Organization Studies, 28 (7), pp. 1123-1140. ISSN 0170-8046

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Abstract

This article sets the idea of the `institutional entrepreneur' in the context of the `autonomous reflexive' as developed in the work of Margaret Archer. It argues that the latter notion provides a helpful approach to the issue of agency that has bedevilled the new institutionalist project. A detailed account, using the lens supplied by the notion of the autonomous reflexive, is given of the formation of Sir Andrew Barclay Walker, a pioneer of directly managed public houses. The article suggests that Walker used taken-for-granted practice, transferred from elsewhere, to develop his managerial systems. The importance of aspects of Walker's Scottish background, such as education and church governance, is stressed. The account of agency supplied by Archer is seen to be a conception of agency that can inform the debate over the nature of institutional entrepreneurship.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Organization Studies
Creators:	Mutch, A.
Publisher:	Sage Publications
Place of Publication:	London
Date:	2007
Volume:	28
Number:	7
ISSN:	0170-8046
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1177/0170840607078118 DOI
Rights:	Copyright 2004 by Sage Publications. All rights reserved. No portion of the contents may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by:	EPrints Services
Date Added:	09 Oct 2015 09:42
Last Modified:	09 Jun 2017 13:08
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/1434

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