Hands in need: Cultural variability and institutionalization in Rett Syndrome organizations in the United States and Europe

Elizabeth Marie Goering, Purdue University

Abstract

Organizational communication theorists agree that organizations are best understood when examined within the context of their environment. One aspect of the organizational/environmental relationship is institutional, which is that part of the environment that instills certain structures or practices with value. Institutionalization has traditionally been presented as a process in which organizations become isomorphic with their environment by reacting to environmental pressures. More recently, however, critics have argued that organizations are not simply passive recipients of institutional knowledge. This project maintains that institutionalization is an interactive and communicative process, in which organizations simultaneously define and are defined by their institutional environments. In addition, this project examines the role of cultural variability in institutionalization. Because institutions are formed within the context of particular cultures, differences in the cultural fabric from which institutions are created likely impact on the process of institutionalization. Specifically, this research project addresses two research questions: (1) How do organizations actively and communicatively participate in the process of institutionalization, and (2) How does cultural variability impact on and how is it reflected in that process? The organizations used as subjects for this project are eight organizations that have been founded in the United States and Europe to help families cope with Rett Syndrome. The methodology employed in this case study is pattern matching. In answering the first research question, the interactive model is the predicted pattern against which the patterns of institutionalization observed in the eight cases are compared. In answering the second research question, the empirical data are matched against prototypes of how one might expect organizations from different culture clusters to participate in institutionalization. The results suggest that organizations do actively and communicatively participate in the process of institutionalization by (1) adapting to their institutional environment, (2) attaching themselves to elements within that environment, and (3) altering their environment. In addition, this process is not a universal process; rather, the ways in which organizations actively participate in institutionalization vary as a function of cultural variability.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Stohl, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Communication|Social structure

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