Instantiation of Institutional Logics: The “Business Case” for Diversity and the Prevalence of Diversity Mentoring Practices

Abstract

Building on recent theoretical insights from the institutional logics perspective, we examine organizational dynamics in the loosely coupled field of corporate diversity management to develop a theory of the process of logic instantiation. We consider a case in which firms subscribed to the same institutional logic, the business performance logic for diversity management, but varied in adoption of diversity mentoring practices. Employing an inductive and iterative approach to analyze over 50 interviews with diversity managers at large U.S. corporations, we explain how four organizational factors mediated the process of logic instantiation in these firms: (1) the diversity manager’s interpretation and framing of the business performance logic, (2) the formal diversity goals of the firm, (3) the relative organizational power of the diversity manager, and (4) the accepted definition of “diversity.” We discuss implications for theories of social action and diversity management.

Citation

Vican, S. and Pernell-Gallagher, K. (2013), "Instantiation of Institutional Logics: The “Business Case” for Diversity and the Prevalence of Diversity Mentoring Practices", Lounsbury, M. and Boxenbaum, E. (Ed.) Institutional Logics in Action, Part B (Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 39 Part B), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 233-273. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X(2013)0039AB021