Although there are as many ‘new institutionalisms’ as there are social science disciplines, this book is about just one of them, the one that has mad… - Paul DiMaggio

The new institutionalism in organization theory and sociology comprises a rejection of rational-actor models, and interest in institutions as independent variables, a turn toward cognitive and cultural explanations, and an interest in properties of supra-individual units of analysis that cannot be reduced to aggregations or direct consequences of individual’s attributes or motives.

Organizations may try to change constantly; but, after a certain point in the structuration of an organizational field, the aggregate effect of individual change is to lessen the extent of diversity within the field.

Organizations tend to model themselves after similar organizations in their field that they perceive to be more legitimate or successful.