ABSTRACT
The risk taking behaviour of organisations is a function of institutional preconditions. The institutional equipment of an organisation, introduced in the second chapter as decision premises, absorbs uncertainty and allocates responsibility, and thus is a major determinant of organisations' capability to handle risks. This is the result of the theoretical and empirical investigations of this study. The present chapter is dedicated to the concluding presentation of these results. Furthermore, I will try to connect the findings of the study to related problems. Firstly, from the conclusion that institutionalised routines govern the decision making, and thus risk taking behaviour of organisations, follows the question of how organisational routines are formed and changed. These problems are addressed in the literature on organisational learning. Secondly, the findings about the mechanisms of decision making under risk in organisations call for an analysis of the contribution of organisations to risk taking at the societal level.
