FSS-DSOC Seminar: “The Dual Process and Differential Organizational Status in an Institutional Field: A Theoretical Extension”, by Prof. Wei ZHAO

While the neoinstitutionalism has been a prominent theory in organizational research for several decades, it has limitations by mainly focusing on organizational isomorphism. I incorporate theoretical insights from Durkheim and Bourdieu to dialogue with this approach and further extend institutional analyses. I argue that there is a dual institutional process of integration and differentiation in a field. On the one hand, institutions define and integrate a field, resulting in isomorphic organizational forms and structures; on the other hand, institutions, particularly the classification system, generate both horizontal differentiation in organizational identity and vertical differentiation in organizational status. To illustrate the dual process, I highlight that the institutional mechanisms causing isomorphism—regulative forces, normative pressures, and cognitive processes—generate systematic status differentiation among organizations simultaneously. This proposed frame can enrich institutional analyses and also connect with recent streams of studies in organizational and economic sociology

Wei Zhao is the Professor of Sociology at University of California, Riverside. He has broad interests, including organizational sociology, economic sociology, social inequality, and Chinese society.  He is conducting research on the social construction of firefighters’ professional identity and technologies.  His recent work has examined social inequality in multiple dimensions during China’s market transition.  Other projects have investigated organizational practices and changes through China’s market transition and globalization processes.  Drawing empirical evidence from the California and French wine industries, he has also conducted a series of studies on how institutional systems affect market status and product valuation.  His publications have appeared in prominent journals in sociology and management.