ABSTRACT
This chapter examines whether cultural centers are exposed to institutional pressures, and if the results differ depending on center type. If the management of an organization decides to decouple from external pressures of change, it is a sign of its endeavor to maintain its current identity and isolate the values asserted by the external pressure. There are three a distinct mechanism through which institutional isomorphism is achieved: coercive isomorphism; mimetic processes; and normative pressures. Institutional theory is a strand of organizational research which offers a perspective to understand organizations. Organizational change is essential to institutional theory, as organizations are open to their social and cultural environment. Organizations thereafter strategically counter the demands of their environment, by taking action to change, influencing and resisting institutional pressures. This happens through five possible responses to institutional pressures: acquiescence, compromise, avoidance, defiance and manipulation.
