The Institutional Logics Perspective

This essay discusses a new approach to institutional analysis—the institutional logics perspective (ILP). This perspective is a meta-theory useful for integrating and augmenting a variety of social science theories to better understand the effects of cultural institutions on individuals, organizations, and societies. We describe the history of the development of the ILP, define its core concepts and mechanisms, and review and discuss foundational and cutting-edge research. Prior overviews emphasize the mechanisms, variety of substantive contexts, and the cross-level effects. We take a different approach by organizing the literature review by institutional orders. This meta-analysis reveals a pattern of institutional change—the weakening of the professions and the spread of the market logic in many domains. We discuss implications of this finding and suggest future research.