Markets from Culture: Institutional Logics and Organizational Decisions in Higher Education Publishing

Institutional logics, the underlying governing principles of societal sectors, strongly influence organizational decision making. Any shift in institutional logics results in a similar shift in attention to alternative problems and solutions and in new determinants for executive decisions. Examining changes in institutional logics in higher-education publishing, this book links cultural analysis with organizational decision making to develop a theory of attention and explain how executives concentrate on certain market characteristics to the exclusion of others.

Analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data from the 1950s to the 1990s, the author shows how higher education publishing moved from a culture of independent domestic publishers focused on creating markets for books based on personal, relational networks to a culture of international conglomerates that create markets from corporate hierarchies. This book offers broader lessons beyond publishing--its theory is applicable to explaining institutional changes in organizational leadership, strategy, and structure occurring in all professional services industries.

Author: Patricia H. Thornton
Publisher: Stanford Business Books
Published: 03/03/2004
Pages: 208
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.91lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.38w x 0.71d
ISBN: 9780804740210

About the Author
Patricia Thornton is Associate Professor at Duke University, Fuqua School of Business. She is the recipient of the American Sociological Association's W. Richard Scott award for the best organizations research article.