Innovating Against the Institutional Constraints: The Agency of Strategic Actors

Abstract

How do strategic actors embody agency to change institutions in different contexts? To answer this question, the focus is on the interaction and counterbalance between action and structure. Thus, this paper draws on the literature of institutional entrepreneurship to examine how actors execute agency when engaging with micro-level strategic actions to change or transform institutional structures. I examine the interplay among the institutional entrepreneur, the institutional strategy, and the embedded environment to highlight the importance of embeddedness. I develop an integrative framework, comprising two dimensions-the degree of institutionalization and an actor's position within the field-to shed light on institutional change processes.