How field-level institutions become a part of organizations: A study of enterprise architecture as a tool for institutional change

Heeding recent calls for more studies on micro-practices and institutional change, this study reports a collaborative case study to elucidate the micro-practices and legitimating strategies that make field-level institutions a part of organizations. Building on institutional theories and using Enterprise Architecture (EA) as an example of field-level institutions, the study explores how two distinct organizations adopted EA, the impediments they experienced, and the strategies used to make EA an acceptable part of organizations. The findings suggest three change mechanisms that enact field-level institutions in organizations: the creation of shared spaces for knowledge exchange between organization members, the importance of role shifting within shared spaces to effectively engage with other organization members, and the need for lexical shifts in communication to better resonate with users. The findings deepen our understanding of institutional elements that impede change, as well as the legitimating strategies that enact field-level institutions.