Toward a Toolkit for Emotionalizing Institutional Theory

Abstract

As institutional theory increasingly looks to the micro-level for explanations of macro-level institutional processes, institutional scholars need to pay closer attention to the role of emotions in invigorating institutional processes. I argue that attending to emotions is most likely to enrich institutional analysis, if scholars take inspiration from theories that conceptualize emotions as relational and inter-subjective, rather than intra-personal, because the former would be more compatible with institutional theory’s relational roots. I review such promising theories that include symbolic interactionism, psychoanalytic and psychodynamic perspectives, moral psychology, and social movements. I conclude by outlining several possible research questions that might be inspired by attending to the role of emotions in institutional processes. I argue that such research can enrich the understanding of embedded agency, power, and the use of theorization by institutional change agents, as well as introduce a hereto neglected affective facet into the study of institutional logics.

Citation

Voronov, M. (2014), "Toward a Toolkit for Emotionalizing Institutional Theory", Emotions and the Organizational Fabric (Research on Emotion in Organizations, Vol. 10), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 167-196. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1746-979120140000010015