INSTITUTIONAL INNOVATIONS IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE: METHODOLOGICAL ASSUMPTIONS FOR RESEARCH

The purpose of this article is to draw attention to methodological issues of considering the institutionalization of innovations in the social sphere from the point of view of microsociology. As starting assumption for the proposed approach, it takes Habermas' ideas about the collision of the system and the lifeworld. The article appeals to phenomenological studies of the recent institutional innovations that are focussed on the meanings by participants, their practices and interaction. The article proposes to pay attention to the role of grassroot practices of interaction and communication in the formation of institutions and their "endogeneity". The notions of "conventional" meanings, actions, and fields are offered. The article argues that the approach has a heuristic potential, gives insights in revealing the risks of possible deviations from the planned models or deformation of the expected social effects.