Institutional Change: The Power of Collective Action

Institutional entrepreneurship is central to institutional change. We argue the unfolding institutional change process arises from collaborative practices involving institutional entrepreneurs and other organizations in the field. In that, we examine how institutional entrepreneurs, collectively with other actors, change their embedded institutions. To do so, we draw on an in-depth qualitative study of efforts to change the traditional payment institution in Egypt from cash to digital. We present a model of the institutional change process that highlights the multilevel nature of the entrepreneurial and organizational practices that enable and foster this change, showing that it entails institutional practices at the micro-,meso, and macrolevels. This research contributes to the literature by examining how institutional entrepreneurs change their institutions over time, highlighting the embeddedness of agency in the change they create; The power of collaborations, collective action, and relations; and the resulting institutional change for the society at large.