human relations
0(0) 1–34
© The Author(s) 2013
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DOI: 10.1177/0018726713481634
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human relations
Institutional complexity and
logic engagement: An investigation
of Ontario fine wine
Maxim Voronov
Brock University, Canada
Dirk De Clercq
Brock University, Canada
CR Bob Hinings
University of Alberta, Canada
Abstract
We contribute to research on institutional complexity by acknowledging that institutional
logics are not reified cognitive structures but rather are open to interpretation. In doing
so, we highlight the need to understand how actors engage with institutional logics
and the creativity that such engagement implies. Using an inductive case study of the
Ontario wine industry, we rely on the notion of scripts to explicate how actors engage
with the aesthetic and the market logics that are entrenched in their field. Our findings
reveal two scripts that are used to adhere to the aesthetic logic (farmer and artist) and
one that is used to adhere to the market logic (business professional). We find that not
only can actors enact two different scripts to adhere to an institutional logic, but also
that flexible script enactment takes place within interactions with specific audiences.
Thus, we found no unique match between particular logics and specific audiences but
rather that the aesthetic and the market logics, and their underlying scripts, are relevant
in the interactions with each of the audience groups, albeit to varying degrees. These
findings have important implications for research on institutional complexity.
Corresponding author:
Maxim Voronov, Department of Marketing, International Business and Strategy, Goodman School of
Business, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Avenue, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada.
Email: mvoronov@brocku.ca
481634HUM 0 0 10.1177/0018726713481634Human RelationsVoronov et al.
2013