Institutional Theory: Tracing divergence and new perspectives through network science

This is a virtual presentation given at the European Group on Organisational Studies (EGOS) Colloquium, Hamburg on 2 July 2020. The presentation outlines the theoretical background for a study conducted on the Australian Research Council's Centres of Excellence (CoE) Programme. The short paper proposes that institutional theory provides a useful guiding theory for studies of novel organisations, such as CoEs, operating in complex environments. However the bibliometric analysis conducted for this paper suggests researchers applying institutional theory have lagged behind emerging findings in network science. The paper proposes that a re-connection of early concepts in institutional theory, which took a network perspective, can be drawn on to better explore network aspects of institutional theory. In particular the concepts of probability inherent in network science and paradox which are conceptual discussion in both fields can support greater engagement in bridging social theory with network analysis.