The Paradox of Partial Institutionalization: A Configurational Typology

Institutional theory establishes that practices require the parallel development of functionally

distinct forms of support. Yet existing accounts treat partial institutionalization as a point along a

scalar gradient from absence to stability. The literature's own multi-dimensional logic generates a

further implication. Partial support can produce self-defeating dynamics absent from both full

institutionalization and complete absence. When these dynamics go unrecognized, scholars

attribute to organizational failings what reflects the institutional environment's structure, and

practitioners direct interventions at the wrong dimension. This paper develops a configurational

typology of three conditions of partial institutionalization, each arising when one dimension is

absent while two advance. Legitimacy traps arise when endorsement and structural positioning

attract adoption that absent comprehension renders likely to fail. Structural drift arises when

codified practices spread without normative anchoring to constrain translation. Appropriateness

ambiguity arises when well-understood and endorsed practices lack the structural embedding to

sustain commitment. The typology differentiates the territory between institutional success and

failure into conditions that require configurational rather than scalar diagnosis. More broadly, it

demonstrates that conjunctural causation governs the formation of institutions themselves, not only

their consequences.