Institutional entrepreneurship: comparing Dutch and Swedish temporary work agencies

• Most studies of institutional entrepreneurship emphasize the influence of institutional entrepreneurs on processes of institutional change. Relatively little attention is paid to the interaction between the institutional entrepreneur and the institutional environment. Our aim is to fill this void by a comparative study of the institutional development of the Dutch and Swedish temporary work agency industries from the 1960s until the present, emphasizing the periods after their formal legalization in 1965 and 1991 respectively. The comparison shows the important influence of the different national contexts on the dynamics of institutionalization, the evolving industry identity and accountability. Our paper thus shows how the process of synchronizing of (international) industry experience with the (national) societal experience with the industry’s product is not a simple process of knowledge transfer and reflects the important interaction between institutional entrepreneurs and their environment.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)