Emergence of Hybrid Practices in a Complex Institutional Environment

Abstract

Using an in-depth longitudinal interpretive case study of an EMR system implementation project, our study shows that the emergence of hybrid practices followed a trajectory marked by two distinct organizational strategies: resistance and cooperation to build hybrid logic. While extant research (viz. Kraatz & Block 2008) have characterized these as distinct options that organizations may take in response to enduring institutional complexity, our study reveals that they may be part of the evolutionary process by which hybrid practices emerge. Our study also shows that the shifts from one set of actions to another along this process are due to critical changes in the structure, governance, and power distribution within the organization. Finally, while most research has focused on the organizational aspects of the hybrid practices, we show that the blended structures are underpinned by material changes i.e., selective coupling and decoupling of systems that are embedded with different logics.