Institutional complexity and consumer wellbeing: Navigating the conflicting logics of religion, state, and market during the COVID-19 pandemic
研究新冠疫情如何加剧宗教、国家和市场逻辑间的冲突，影响消费者福祉，并探讨消费者应对这种突发制度复杂性以恢复福祉的方式。
Institutional complexity arises when multiple institutional logics prescribe divergent and incompatible behaviors. Studies show that exposure to contradictory prescriptions of multiple logics may trigger identity tensions, strategic challenges, and legitimacy problems. We add to this research stream by exploring the implications of the incompatibility between religion and other logics on consumer wellbeing. Extant research reports a generally positive effect of religion on wellbeing but limits the analytical attention to the individual effects of religiosity. Viewing religion as part of an inter-institutional system, we seek to understand why religion and other institutional logics might come into a conflictual relationship with each other and destabilize wellbeing. We find that critical events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, change the relative centrality of logics and prompt individuals to engage in incompatible behaviors. We also discuss how consumers manage the sudden and unexpected institutional complexity they face and seek to restore their wellbeing.