Abstract

In this paper we explore how the implementation of an Enterprise System (ES) is related to organizational change, using an institutional theory lens. Our paper responds to recent calls by institutional theorists to first, better understand the ways in which macro, field-level logics of action are framed and applied in micro practices within an organization and second, to understand how material objects contribute to institutional stability and change. Our findings show the interplay between macro logics and the process of local framing through which these logics become locally interpreted, leading eventually to new institutionalized practices. Our study suggests the possibility of co-mingling contrasting and competing logics in the local context. We do this through the interpretive exploration of a rich case study of an ES implementation in India. This is an ideal case to examine because the institutional logic inscribed in the ES is developed within one organizational field, but is applied in a very different organizational field, thus allowing us to explore the macro-micro dynamics as well as the role of technology as a carrier and stabilizer of institutional structures and practices.

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