Between conformity and change: How institutional forces shape, and are shaped by, projects

Abstract

Projects operate within institutional environments that shape their structures, practices, and legitimacy. At the same time, projects may contribute to institutional stabilization, adaptation, or incremental change. A growing body of research has applied institutional theory to examine these interactions; however, the literature remains dispersed across various contexts and levels of analysis, thereby limiting a cumulative understanding of how institutional and project dynamics are interconnected. This paper undertakes an integrative review of 119 publications that apply organizational institutional theory in project management studies. The findings build upon earlier research to consolidate this body of work and clarify how institutional forces shape projects and how project actors, in turn, navigate, enact, and reproduce or selectively modify institutional arrangements and expectations. An integrative framework is developed to synthesize established and emerging institutional domains and their relationships in project management research. Building on this integrative view, we conclude by illustrating how institutional theory provides a relational and configurational foundation for understanding project–institution relationships and a fruitful basis for future research.