Management standards and institutional influence: An exploratory study using the Baldrige criteria

Abstract Theories of institutional diffusion propose that the adoption of new management practices evolves toward legitimacy-based rationales as organizations implement administrative techniques deemed socially acceptable. This article proposes that institutional forces also shape management standards designed to convey norms of effective management practice. Incomplete consensus among varied stakeholders involved in the standardization process fosters steadfast institutional pressure to push management standard scopes beyond their technical cores to include content with broader social appeal. This premise is explored using an influential management standard of the TQM movement—the criteria developed in conjunction with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Analysis of discourse appearing in the series of Baldrige criteria booklets published since 1988 suggest that the scope of the management standard reflected by the Baldrige framework, core values, and criteria requirements has expanded to become more socially inclusive over time. Tensions created by management standards aimed at facilitating both legitimate appearance and technical improvement are subsequently discussed.