A theory co-authored by Dr. Patricia Thornton, a professor at Texas A&M University’s Department of Sociology and Dr. Juan Almandoz, a professor at the IESE, offers a new framework for understanding how societies evolve through the influence of institutions that compete for attention in society.
Published in the Academy of Management Review, the paper develops an ecological model of societal evolution, which compares the functionality of society to ecosystems; Biodiversity is analogous to institutional diversity. The study examines how dominant institutions, such as governments, religions, families and professions, can shape public values, decision-making and individual and organizational behavior.
The researchers argue that just as biodiversity strengthens biological environments, institutional diversity helps societies remain adaptable and stable by maintaining a balance among different sources of legitimacy and ways of seeing and solving problems.
According to the study, when one institution’s logic becomes too dominant, alternative perspectives for problem solving can become marginalized and dormant. Over time, this imbalance may reduce societal resilience, contribute to instability and fuel activism as groups seek to restore neglected values and goals.
The paper expands institutional logics research to the societal level, which offers a broader explanation for how social change, polarization and competing public priorities emerge. The model also incorporates legitimacy theory, the idea that perception of what is societally acceptable shifts over time in accordance with the beliefs of the dominant culture.
The theory has gained international attention, having been presented at the Academy of Management conference and at universities and business schools including HEC, Paris and IESE in Barcelona.
This work benefited from funding from the Juan Antonio Perez Lopez Chair at IESE Business School, the Social Trends Institute and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, grant PID2023-150744NB-C41.