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Olle Frödin, private photo

Olle Frödin

Associate Professor | Senior Lecturer

Olle Frödin, private photo

Cognitive microfoundations and social interaction dynamics. : The implications of complexity for institutional theory.

Kognitiva mikrofundament och social interaktionsdynamik : Implikationerna av komplexitet för institutionell teori

Author

  • Olle Frödin

Summary, in Swedish

This paper investigates the intersection of cognitive sciences and social network theory and its counterpart, the complexity sciences, aiming to shed light on the compatibility and potential integration of these frameworks into institutional theory. Institutional scholars have for long selectively adopted notions linked with the cognitive sciences and complexity sciences, such as the notion of path dependence, without exploring the broader implications of systematically integrating such perspectives into institutionalism. This paper aims to advance such a comprehensive theoretical integration, by investigating the effective combination of these approaches and their significant implications. It shows how the complexity sciences contribute to dissolving the barriers between the cognitive and social realms and illustrates how this impacts notions of human agency and reflexivity. Theoretical integration also involves acknowledging considerable diversity in individual human agency, which in turn prompts a reconsideration of how notions of institutional stability, change, diffusion and adaptation are understood. Furthermore, the paper addresses the epistemological challenge presented by the complexity sciences, before it highlights the general relevance of institutional theory in analyzing complex social phenomena. Finally, the paper explores implications for research methodology, proposing that a fusion of institutional theory and the complexity sciences provides a metatheoretical framework for assessing the contextual suitability of different theoretical and methodological approaches

Department/s

  • Sociology

Publishing year

2024-08-29

Language

English

Pages

1019-1047

Publication/Series

Theory and Society

Volume

53

Issue

5

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Springer

Topic

  • Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology)

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0304-2421