Central features of institutional change

Abstract

Purpose

To examine and discuss the central features of institutional change and to compare it with organizational change.

Design/methodology/approach

Use interviews with managers to highlight key issues.

Findings

Results are presented of interviews with managers exploring changes that have for decades been transforming business, government, and other institutions into “organic” systems for the knowledge age. Institutional change differs from organizational change by focusing on the higher‐order unspoken social rules that govern the structure of institutions in common. The study evaluated trends driving this transformation, the obstacles blocking it, and the likely timetable of implementation.

Originality/value

Concludes that three central features mark the general direction of institutional evolution: “e‐organizations” operating in real time, “self‐organizing systems” of self‐managed teams, and “stakeholder collaboration” to unify diverse interests into a more powerful enterprise.

Citation

Halal, W.E. (2005), "Central features of institutional change", On the Horizon, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 11-19. https://doi.org/10.1108/10748120510601617