Spreading the Word: The Microfoundations of Institutional Persuasion and Conversion
通过研究一个旨在说服不可知论者接受特定基督教解释的传教运动，揭示了组织成员说服他人内化新制度逻辑的四种微观工作类型和三种目标对象反应路径，对组织理论中制度沟通的双向性及情感与仪式的作用有贡献。
I examine the microlevel processes involved when members of an organization seek to persuade others to internalize a new institutional logic. To do so I conduct a qualitative study of the Alpha course, an evangelizing movement designed to convert agnostics to a particular—and contested—interpretation of Christianity. My analysis suggests that the process of persuading actors to adopt a new logic entails four distinct kinds of microinstitutional work and illustrates the dynamics underpinning each of them. It also delineates three discrete paths that targeted actors may follow in response to persuasive attempts. I contribute to organization theory by building a framework that conceptualizes the microfoundations of institutional persuasion and conversion. The framework illustrates the two-way nature of institutional communication and highlights the potential of emotion and ritual performance to connect actors with—and alienate actors from—institutional logics.