It is a pleasure to announce that Network Members Julia Brandl and Bernadette Bullinger just published important new work on the microfoundations of institutions! In their paper "Individuals’ Considerations When Responding to Competing Logics," the authors use identity control theory to explore how individuals experience and respond to competing logics under situations of institutional complexity over time. In this context, the paper addresses issues such as how individuals may distance themselves from one logic as well as how logics relate to identity. "Individuals’ Considerations When Responding to Competing Logics" was just published in the Journal of Management Inquiry.

Brandl, J., & Bullinger, B. (2017). Individuals’ Considerations When Responding to Competing Logics. Journal of Management Inquiry, 26(2), 181-192. doi:10.1177/1056492616677297

Here is the abstract:

The question how individuals experience and respond to competing logics has recently received intensified attention, but current theories remain incoherent, and research is restricted to situations with stable constellations of logics. To elaborate on these issues, we use insights from identity control theory, and develop a model for individuals’ considerations during interactions characterized by institutional complexity. We argue that individuals engage with several logics, unless these logics are related to conflicting identities that become salient simultaneously. Conflicting identities encourage individuals to choose the logic that is linked to the identity higher up in their “self.” In situations where the conflict is not clear from the beginning, individuals may distance themselves from the logic that is related to a lower level identity, to maintain self-esteem. This article contributes to research by clarifying the competing perspectives on individual considerations when there are multiple institutional logics and extends research to dynamically evolving situations.