Institutional theory

What it's trying to get at is that procedures in organisations become institutionalised. For example, management accounting systems are influenced by legal requirements, culture and copying successful firms. This can mean that it is difficult for accounting systems to 'break free' from what is accepted as normal and this could hinder organisations' progress. Think of people who have spend a long time in hospital or prison. We often say that they have become institutionalised ie they have been conditioned to act in a particular way and they find it hard to change. Don't spend too long on this. The article is very old and 'institutional theory' is not mentioned in the syllabus.