A central argument of new institutionalism is that organizational success depends not only on efficient coordination and control of productive activities, but on conforming to institutionalized expectations. There is a dearth of empirical studies which analyze the effects of the adoption of...

We investigate the adoption of ISO 9000 standards by the German mechanical engineering industry and analyze how organizational contingencies affect susceptibility to institutional forces. Our study's findings show that differences in organizational size, proportion of administrative staff, and...