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New Structuralism and Field Emergence: The Co-constitution of Meanings and Actors in the Early Moments of Social Impact Investing

Macrofoundations: Exploring the Institutionally Situated Nature of Activity

ISBN: 978-1-83909-160-5, eISBN: 978-1-83909-159-9

Publication date: 26 November 2020

Abstract

Field emergence poses an intriguing problem for institutional theorists. New issue fields often arise at the intersection of different sectors, amidst extant structures of meanings and actors. Such nascent fields are fragmented and lack clear guides for action; making it unclear how they ever coalesce. The authors propose that provisional social structures provide actors with macrosocial presuppositions that shape ongoing field-configuration; bootstrapping the field. The authors explore this empirically in the context of social impact investing in the UK, 2000–2013, a period in which this field moved from clear fragmentation to relative alignment. The authors combine different computational text analysis methods, and data from an extensive field-level study, to uncover meaningful patterns of interaction and structuration. Our results show that across various periods, different types of actors were linked together in discourse through “actor–meaning couplets.” These emergent couplings of actors and meanings provided actors with social cues, or macrofoundations, which guided their local activities. The authors thus theorize a recursive, co-constitutive process: as punctuated moments of interaction generate provisional structures of actor–meaning couplets, which then cue actors as they navigate and constitute the emerging field. Our model re-energizes the core tenets of new structuralism and contributes to current debates about institutional emergence and change.

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Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Marc Ventresca, Bob Hinings, Mike Lounsbury, Dev Jennings, Vern Glaser, Roy Nyberg, and the Alberta School of Business Seminar Series audience for support and helpful comments. The authors also want to thank Chris Steele for editorial guidance and an anonymous reviewer for constructive comments. Finally, the authors are indebted to the late John Mohr, whose support and direction helped to formulate this project.

Citation

Hannigan, T.R. and Casasnovas, G. (2020), "New Structuralism and Field Emergence: The Co-constitution of Meanings and Actors in the Early Moments of Social Impact Investing", Steele, C.W.J., Hannigan, T.R., Glaser, V.L., Toubiana, M. and Gehman, J. (Ed.) Macrofoundations: Exploring the Institutionally Situated Nature of Activity (Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 68), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 147-183. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X20200000068008

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited