Abstract

The purpose of this study is to present the phenomenon of temporary institutions. Institutional theorists generally describe institutions as permanent and resistant to change. However, in practice, temporary institutions exist and challenge the perceived stability that scholars suggest institutions to have. By presenting temporary institutions, we explain how they are conceived from transnational organizations and can have lasting effects on a host nations endemic institutional framework. We further justify that the phenomenon is inadequately explained by related theories and therefore is a unique construct. Via an inductive case study design we present a temporary institution by observing and analyzing the institutional framework using institutional indicators (regulative, normative, cognitive) to evaluate changes in beer consumption laws in Brazilian football stadia before, during and after the FIFA World Cup 2014. Our findings support our initial propositions surrounding temporary institutions. First, FIFA as a transnational organization implemented a temporary institutional framework in Brazil replacing previous beer consumption laws in football stadia to support its sponsor, Budweiser. Second, after the World Cup key figures in states of Brazil questioned the institutional framework surrounding beer consumption in football stadia that existed before the World Cup. Finally, we observe that our findings cannot be described by related theories suggesting its uniqueness in institutional studies. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.