The Institutional Anomaly Cascade: How Micro-Level Deviations Trigger Macro-Level Institutional Change

While Benischke et al. (2020) explored CEO incentives for deviating from norms and Frolov (2019) theorized institutional anomalies, we lack understanding of how localized deviations scale up to transform entire institutional systems. This study would trace the "anomaly cascade" process through which small-scale institutional breaches (like unusual hiring practices or novel governance structures) either get suppressed or spread through organizational networks. Building on Todd's (2024) work on generational cascades in identity change, I'd propose a multi-level framework examining how individual and organizational deviations interact with power structures to either trigger institutional evolution or reinforce existing norms. This diverges from traditional institutional theory by positioning deviation not as exceptional but as a fundamental mechanism of institutional dynamism.

References:

1. The effect of CEO incentives on deviations from institutional norms in foreign market expansion decisions: Behavioral agency and cross‐border acquisitions. Mirko H. Benischke, Geoffrey P. Martin, L. Gómez‐Mejía, Grigorij Ljubownikow (2020). Human Resource Management.
2. From institutions to extitutions to the post-institutional theory of institutional anomalies. D. Frolov (2019).
3. Does identity change matter? Everyday agency, moral authority and generational cascades in the transformation of groupness after conflict. Jennifer Todd (2024). Theory and society.