The iron cage revisited - Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Reprinted from the American Sociological Association vol 48, pg 147-160, 1983)

What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rational ization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a fi eld, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingl y similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processe s-coercive, mimetic, and normative-leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goa l ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structur ation on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories o f organizations and social change.