Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 PHD Student
2 Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad,
3 Associate Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad,
Abstract
This study aims to develop a theoretical framework for analyzing the processes of formation, stabilization, and transformation of participatory local organizations. Conducted in response to the limitations of rationalist and functionalist approaches in explaining institutional and intra-organizational dynamics of collective action, the research draws on constructivist institutionalism to reconceptualize the organization as a multilayered field of action, meaning, discourse, and institutional structures.
Through a critical review of the constructivist institutionalist literature, key concepts such as institutionalization, legitimacy, discourse, and agency are identified and integrated into an analytical model. The proposed framework combines narrative-based analysis with a three-level perspective—structural, agential, and discursive—enabling the reconstruction of institutional processes in organizations operating within specific socio-historical contexts and under conditions of conflicting institutional pressures.
This approach not only understands the organization as a constructed yet institutionalized entity, but also offers a dynamic, meaning-oriented, and context-sensitive analysis of collective action and its institutional transformations by bridging micro- and macro-levels. The proposed model is particularly applicable to the study of local organizations characterized by participatory structures, resource and interest sharing, and discursive diversity, especially within societies undergoing transition.
Keywords
- Local participatory organizations
- collective action
- institutional pressures
- institutional change
- institutional process
Main Subjects
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