THE DYNAMICS OF INSTITUTIONALIZATION - TRANSFORMATION PROCESSES IN NORWEGIAN FISHERIES

This article considers the fundamental paradox of new institutional th eories of organizations: How can actors change institutions if their a ctions, intentions, and rationality are all conditioned by the very in stitution they wish to change? I argue that the problem of institution al change can be solved if institutions are seen as nested systems, th at is, interconnected, multilevel systems in which each action-level o r arena simultaneously is a framework for action and a product of acti on. This is demonstrated in an analysis of institutional change proces ses affecting the rise and fall of a specific institutional form, the mandated sales organization (MSG), in Norwegian fisheries. After a bri ef discussion of the problem of institutional change, I describe how t he MSO form was shaped in processes that themselves were structured by institutions. I then show how the interconnection between the practic al and political levels of action through feedback loops can shed ligh t on the cumulative character of the MSO reform. Lastly, I discuss the interaction between practices, interests, and ideas in the process th at led to the downfall of the MSO form.