Institutional voids and organization studies: Towards an epistemological rupture

Joel Bothello (), Robert S. Nason and Gerhard Schnyder
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Joel Bothello: EM - EMLyon Business School
Robert S. Nason: Concordia University [Montreal]
Gerhard Schnyder: Loughborough University

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Abstract: In this essay, we critique the usage of the term ‘institutional void' to characterize non-Western contexts in organizational studies. We explore how ‘conceptual stretching' of institutional voids – specifically, the theoretical and geographic expansion of the concept – has led not only to poor construct clarity, but also pejorative labelling of non-Western countries. We argue that research using this term perpetuates an ethnocentric bias by deifying market development and overlooking the richness and power of informal and non-market institutions in shaping local economic activity. We call for an ‘epistemological rupture' to decolonize organizational scholarship in non-Western settings and facilitate contextually grounded research approaches that allow for more indigenous theorization.

Keywords: Conceptual stretching; Epistemological rupture; Institutional voids; decolonization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-01-21
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Published in Organization Studies, 2019, 40 (10), pp.1499 - 1512

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05522678

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