Abstract

This chapter presents three important and inter-related perspectives in organizational theory - institutional theory, field theory, and social network theory – that together shed light on the organizational dynamics inherent in and critical to the development of industrial ecosystems. Within the social science literature, these theories provide a language and set of conceptual tools for holistically analyzing the formal and informal influences of the broader social environment on a company, its possible actions within this environment, and associated outcomes. Such an understanding also sheds light on the constraints and opportunities that individual decision makers face and enables a better understanding of agents’ behavior, whether that of individuals or organizations, in bringing about the changes that industrial ecology demands.