From practice to field: a multilevel model of practice-driven institutional change

Citation: Michael Smets, Tim Morris, Royston Greenwood (08/2012) From practice to field: a multilevel model of practice-driven institutional change. Academy of Management Journal (RSS)
DOI (original publisher): 10.5465/amj.2010.0013
Semantic Scholar (metadata): 10.5465/amj.2010.0013
Sci-Hub (fulltext): 10.5465/amj.2010.0013
Internet Archive Scholar (search for fulltext): From practice to field: a multilevel model of practice-driven institutional change
Wikidata (metadata): Q70672128
Tagged: Sociology (RSS)

Summary

This article uses a case study to suggest a bottom-up, contextualized, and, as they call it, “practice-driven” model for change. They offer their model as an alternative to macro-level, top-down theorizing about organizational change. Their case study describes how lawyers from differing legal backgrounds (German, English) restructured all of their ideas about their profession, though the process of actually working in that profession in a context that put them into contact with new ideas. German lawyers adapted to a client-oriented, problem-solving approach, English lawyers learned that their assumptions about how legal systems work was unfounded, and both oriented themselves toward the views of rating agencies and client satisfaction rather than the courts or the public.

Theoretical and Practical Relevance

This article provides a roadmap to future theorizing in this area, empirical findings which address a fundamental question in social sciences (given an explanation change, how might we explain stability, and given an explanation of stability, how might we explain change) and also a detailed account of how the case and its conclusions were built.