GRI-rapport,
University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg Research Institute GRI

Abstract: In the present text, an institution is understood to be an (observable) pattern of collective action, justified by a corresponding social norm. By this definition, an institution emerges slowly, although it may be helped or hindered by various specific acts. From this perspective, an institutional entrepreneur is an oxymoron, at least in principle. In practice, however, there are and always have been people trying to create institutions. This paper describes the emergence of London School of Economics and Political Science as an institution and analyzes its founders and its supporters during crises as institutional entrepreneurs. A tentative theory of the phenomenon of institutional entrepreneurship inspired by an actor-network theory is then tested on two other cases described in brief.

Keywords: higher education; institutions; entrepreneurs; actor-network theory

32 pages, August 22, 2006

Note: First version presented at the Workshop on Institutional Entrepreneurship at the University of Melbourne, 15-18th December 2004.

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