ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates the way in which we need to understand the assumptions underlying research, such as in the linear model, to be able to identify theories that instead are empirically based and can support action. This chapter illustrates the ways theory and case studies work in social science to, among other things, provide an understanding of the institutional dynamics of social processes. The chapter outlines a focus on institutions as an important means to understand the broader context of social change. Possibilities for social change are seen as formed by complexes of formal and informal institutions in relation to different paths or logics, with the result that different policy instruments will work differently depending on context.
