The Role of Competing Rationalities in Institutional Change

Reporting on a longitudinal :case study,of the introduction of business planning and performance measures in cultural organizations, this article uses Weber's identification of types of rationality as a means to illuminate institutional and organizational change. The study illustrates how conflict that accompanies change coalesces around different dimensions of rationality-substantive, practical, theoretical, and instrumental-that inform organization members' understandings of organizational and professional identity and management practices.