Bringing Logics to Light: A Review of Empirical Applications of Institutional Logics in the Education and Social Sector Literature

• In Event: Organizational Theory in and out of Practice

Abstract

Scholars have used the institutional logics perspective to investigate the complexities of change in numerous organizational contexts. We conducted a systematic review of 28 recent (2008-2019), empirical articles on logics in education and the broader social sector. This conceptual paper presents their contrasting methodological and conceptual approaches. We explain how this set of articles characterizes, measures, and analyzes logics. Specifically, we surface patterns in scholars’ treatment of logics including their methods, analytic techniques, and conceptual approaches. Our findings can support future scholarship that applies the logics perspective to examine issues of change in educational organizations.

Authors

• Sarah L. Woulfin, University of Texas at Austin

• Daron E Cyr, University of Connecticut - Storrs

• Alexandra J. Lamb, University of Connecticut