ABSTRACT
To wrap up, let us consider some of the future challenges of studying institutional interaction. As a whole, the field has already matured to a great degree. The elementary scientific procedures in data analysis and the basic ideas of study design have largely been established. However, there will be challenges in addressing new kinds of institutional environments and in adapting new principles of study design to respond to new kinds of knowledge demands. These challenges partly reflect the continual social changes impinging on institutional realities. Not the least important of these are globalization and the ever-increasing role of technology: both are directly relevant to studies of interaction and create different challenges for study design, as they raise questions about the possibilities for applied studies. This final chapter will discuss dimensions of interactional studies, which have potential for such applied studies.
