This study hopes to reflect the theoretical significance of DiMaggio and Powell’s (1983) institutional isomorphism theory in order to explain the growing similarity between Dutch higher education...Show moreThis study hopes to reflect the theoretical significance of DiMaggio and Powell’s (1983) institutional isomorphism theory in order to explain the growing similarity between Dutch higher education institutions with regards to sustainability efforts and practices. To provide an extensive look into how organizational change shapes the unfolding substansive developments in higher education institutions, a qualitative multiple case study methodology is utilized. While doing so, institutional document analysis will be used to explore the dynamics of isomorphic pressures. The research question that will be discussed in this study seeks to analyze the effect of isomorphic pressures on the adoption of sustainable practices. As one of the leading exponents of institutional theory literature, DiMaggio and Powell guide the conventional understanding by arguing that organizations converge in terms of their practices and behaviors over time, which leads to an increasing homogeneity within an organizational field. In their work and in related references, it was observed that this homogeneity can be explained through three types of driving forces: coercive, normative and mimetic pressures. These three individual forces create a sense of legitimacy and acceptance within an organizational field which determines the survival of an institution. By building on this theory, this study reviews the sources of isomorphic pressures and investigates the Dutch higher education institutional field to explore its effect on the adoption of sustainable practices.Show less
