Table 1 Comparison of Agency, Institutional, and Situated Change Theoriesa
| Â | Agency Theory | Institutional Theory | Situated Change Theory |
|---|---|---|---|
Key idea | Organisational practices arise from efficient organisation of information and risk-bearing | Organisational practices arise from imitative forces and firm traditions | Change occurs through frequent, emergent, and sometimes imperceptible variation |
Basis of organisation | Efficiency | Legitimacy | Subtlety |
View of people | Self-interested rationalists | Legitimacy-seeking satisficers | Trialists |
Role of environment | Organisational practices should fit environment | A source of practices to which organisation conforms | Organisational practices should negotiate with environmental conditions |
Role of technology | Organisational practices should fit technology employed | Technology moderates the impact of institutional factors or can be determined institutionally | Technology is appropriated to organisational conditions |
Problem domain | Control problems (vertical integration, compensation, regulation) | Organisational practices, in general | The dynamic interplay between innovation, people, and their organisational context |
Independent variables | Outcome uncertainty, span of control, programmability | Industry traditions, legislation, social and political beliefs, founding conditions that comprise the institutional context | Organisational context, individual interests and capacities |
Assumptions | People are self-interested, rational, and risk-averse | People satisfice and conform to external norms | People are innovative, and perseverant |