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The Micro-Foundations of Mattering: Domestic Traditions as Institutionalized Practices in Everyday Living

ISBN: 978-1-78635-430-3, eISBN: 978-1-78635-429-7

Publication date: 15 December 2016

Abstract

The construct of “tradition” is commonly used in studies of society and culture and refers to historically patterned institutionalized practices that emphasize the “presentness of the past” in their transmission. However, there is “very little analysis of the properties of tradition” (Shils, 1971, p. 124), especially in the management literature. We draw on illustrative examples from Martha Stewart Living magazine to reveal the use and meanings of traditions and their relevance to understanding institutional micro-foundations in contemporary living. We investigate how organizations bundle various aspects of institutions in their presentation, and seek to advance theory on how institutions matter in everyday life.

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Acknowledgements

Acknowledgment

We are grateful for the insightful feedback provided by participants at a number of seminars, including the Academy of Management Meetings, the University of Michigan’s ICOS Seminar, and Emory University’s MARIAL Center conference, “Class Acts: Behavior, Etiquette and Boundaries of Middle Class Life,” as well as that by Jane Dutton, Michael Cohen, Tim Vogus, Monica Worline, and Jim Walsh. For their research assistance, we thank Farah Mihoubi, Tara McCall, Angela Rowan, Mary Tavolacci, and especially, Alina Polyakova.

Citation

Lockwood, C. and Glynn, M.A. (2016), "The Micro-Foundations of Mattering: Domestic Traditions as Institutionalized Practices in Everyday Living", How Institutions Matter! (Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 48A), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 201-232. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X201600048A007

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited