Institutional Logics and Technology Development: Evidence from the Wind and Solar Energy Industries

Forthcoming at Organization Science

52 Pages Posted: 3 Feb 2021

See all articles by Suzanne Tilleman

Suzanne Tilleman

University of Montana - School of Business Administration

Michael V. Russo

University of Oregon - Department of Management

Andrew J. Nelson

University of Oregon

Date Written: January 20, 2020

Abstract

The relationship between regionally tied institutional logics and the location of organizations is an important issue in organization theory. Recent work highlights how supportive regional logics can give rise to products or organizations that resonate with these logics and how the geographic patterns that underlie industries may be understood by examining such relationships. This literature has not, however, offered deep attention to the ways in which features of technology—specifically, its inherent uncertainty—may interact with such dynamics. In this paper, we tackle the challenge. Our work examines how the level of support for an environmental-conservation logic within a region is as- sociated with the number of wind and solar equipment manufacturers in that region in the years 1978–2006. By simultaneously exploring the effects of this logic on two similar technologies, our work not only reinforces how logics may interact with organizational activity but also shows how the magnitude and mechanisms of this effect depend on the technology in question. We build on these findings to discuss the importance of examining technologies in detail, including their dimensions of uncertainty, the role of timing in examining the effect of regionally tied logics, and the links between public policy and logics.

Keywords: institutional theory, sustainability/corporate environmentalism, geography of innovation

JEL Classification: O14, O31, O32, O33, O35

Suggested Citation

Tilleman, Suzanne and Russo, Michael V. and Nelson, Andrew J., Institutional Logics and Technology Development: Evidence from the Wind and Solar Energy Industries (January 20, 2020). Forthcoming at Organization Science, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3570340

Suzanne Tilleman

University of Montana - School of Business Administration ( email )

Gallagher Business Building
32 Campus Drive
Missoula, MT 59812
United States

Michael V. Russo

University of Oregon - Department of Management ( email )

1208 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1208
United States
541-346-5182 (Phone)

Andrew J. Nelson (Contact Author)

University of Oregon ( email )

Eugene, OR 97403-1208
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
53
Abstract Views
290
Rank
681,640
PlumX Metrics