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Spreading the word: the microfoundations of institutional persuasion and conversion

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Repository DOI


Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Tracey, PJ 

Abstract

I examine the microlevel processes involved when members of an organization seek to persuade others to internalize a new institutional logic. To do so I conduct a qualitative study of the Alpha course, an evangelizing movement designed to convert agnostics to a particular—and contested—interpretation of Christianity. My analysis suggests that the process of persuading actors to adopt a new logic entails four distinct kinds of microinstitutional work and illustrates the dynamics underpinning each of them. It also delineates three discrete paths that targeted actors may follow in response to persuasive attempts. I contribute to organization theory by building a framework that conceptualizes the microfoundations of institutional persuasion and conversion. The framework illustrates the two-way nature of institutional communication and highlights the potential of emotion and ritual performance to connect actors with—and alienate actors from—institutional logics.

Description

Keywords

institutional logics, institutional work, persuasion, conversion, emotion, ritual

Journal Title

Organization Science

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1526-5455
1526-5455

Volume Title

27

Publisher

Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)