Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Institutional Change and Sustainable Development

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education

Introduction

The study field of institutions and institutionalism is quite complex, encompassing theories, concepts, and tools that can be applied in various ways related to sustainable development. At the same time, sustainable development is not uniquely defined and can imply a range of policy, normative, or resource use issues at various scales. Therefore, institutions and their change over time can be analyzed with regard to specific topics on sustainable development such as institutional reforms, learning, institutional interplay, and appropriate designs. Often, institutional designs and institutional change are useful approaches for investigating unsustainability in economic development (Opschoor 1996). This happens when institutions are understood as a structuring element of human–nature relationships, and institutional change is used to redirect institutional failures during the development process. Here, the institutional failures and rigidity explain why one-sided...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Amenta E, Ramsey E (2010) Institutional theory. In: Leicht KT, Jenkins JC (eds) Handbook of politics: state and society in global perspective. Handbooks of sociology and social research. Springer, New York/London

    Google Scholar 

  • Bardhan P (1989) The new institutional economics and development theory: a brief critical assessment. World Dev 17(9):1389–1395

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bartley T, Andersson K, Jagger P, Laerhoven FV (2008) The contribution of institutional theories to explaining decentralization of natural resources governance. Soc Nat Resour 21(2):160–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker CD, Ostrom E (1995) Human ecology and resource sustainability: the importance of institutional diversity. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 26:113–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanco-Portela N, R-Pertierra L, Benayas J, Lozano R (2018) Sustainability leaders’ perceptions on the drivers for and the barriers to the integration of sustainability in Latin American higher education institutions. Sustainability 10:2954

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carney D, Farrington J (1998) Natural resources management and institutional change. Routledge research. ODI development policy studies, Routledge, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Cleaver F (2012) Development through bricolage: rethinking institutions for natural resource management. Routledge, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman EA, Mwangi E (2015) Conflict, cooperation and institutional change on the commons. Am J Polit Sci 59(4):855–865

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connor R, Dovers S (2004) Institutional change for sustainable development. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Everett J (2008) Sustainability in higher education – implication for the disciplines. Theory Res Educ 6(2): 237–251

    Google Scholar 

  • Galaz V, Olsson P, Hahn T, Folke C, Svedin U (2008) The problem of fit among biophysical systems, environmental and resource regimes, and broader governance systems: insights and emerging challenges. In: Young OR, King LA, Schroeder H (eds) Institutions and environmental change. Principal findings, applications and research frontiers. MIT Press, Cambridge, pp 147–188

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Glover JL, Champion D, Daniels KJ, Dainty AJD (2014) An institutional theory perspective on sustainable practice across the dairy supply chain. Int J Prod Econ 152:102–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Godemann J, Bebbington J, Herzig C, Moon J (2014) Higher education and sustainable development. Exploring possibilities for organisational change. Account Audit Account J 27(2):218–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Häikiö L (2014) Institutionalization of sustainable development in decision-making and everyday life practices: a critical view on the Finnish case. Sustainability 6:5639–5654

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall PA, Taylor RCR (1996) Political science and the three new institutionalisms. Polit Stud 44(5):936–957

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman AJ (1999) Institutional evolution and change: environmentalism and the U.S. chemical industry. Acad Manag J 43(4):351–371

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoover E, Harder MK (2015) What lies beneath the surface? The hidden complexities of organizational change for sustainability in higher education. J Clean Prod 106:175–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kontinen T, Onali A (2017) Strengthening institutional isomorphism in development NGOs? Program mechanisms in an organizational intervention. Sage Open 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016688725

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis OA, Steinmo S (2012) How institutions evolve: evolutionary theory and institutional change. Polity 44:314–339

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindegaard LS (2013) Power and change: locating institutional change theories in a power context. DISS working papers 2013:20. Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen

    Google Scholar 

  • Lustick IS (2011) Taking evolution seriously: historical institutionalism and evolutionary theory. Polity 43(2):179–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markóczy L (1994) Modes of organizational learning: institutional change and Hungarian joint ventures. Int Stud Manag Organ 24(4):5–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Marothia DK (2010) Decentralisation of natural management in India: an institutional perspective. Indian J Agric Econ 65(1):1

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulà I, Tilbury D, Ryan A, Mader M, Dlouhà J, Mader C, Benayas J, Dlouhý J, Alba D (2017) Catalysing change in higher education for sustainable development. A review of professional development initiatives for university educators. Int J Sustain High Educ 18(5):798–820

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • North DC (1990) Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Opschoor JB (1996) Institutional change and development towards sustainability. In: Costanza R, Segura O, Martinez-Alier J (eds) Getting down to earth: practical applications of ecological economics. Island Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Portes A (2006) Institutions and development: a conceptual reanalysis. Popul Dev Rev 32(2):233–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rahman HMT, Saint Ville AS, Song AM, Po JYT, Berthet E, Brammer JR, Brunet ND, Jayaprakash LG, Lowitt KN, Rastogi A, Reed G, Hickey GM (2017) A framework for analyzing institutional gaps in natural resource governance. Int J Commons 11(2):823–853

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramos TB, Caeiro S, Hoof BV, Lozano R, Huisingh H, Ceuleman K (2015) Experiences from the implementation of sustainable development in higher education institutions: environmental management for sustainable universities. J Clean Prod 106:3–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roland G (2004) Understanding institutional change: fast-moving and slow-moving institutions. Stud Comp Int Dev 38(4):109–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott WR (1987) The adolescence of institutional theory. Adm Sci Q 32(4):493–511

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott WR (2014) Institutions and organizations. Ideas, interests, and identities. Sage, Thousand Oaks

    Google Scholar 

  • Sjöstrand S-E (2015) On institutional thought in the social and economic sciences. In: Sjöstrand S-E (ed) Institutional change: theory and empirical findings. First published in 1993 by M.E. Sharpe. Routledge, New York, pp 3–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephens JC, Hernandez ME, Román M, Graham AC, Scholz RW (2008) Higher education as a change agent for sustainability in different cultures and contexts. Int J Sustain High Educ 9(3):317–338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tamtik M (2016) Institutional change through policy learning: the case of the European Commission and research policy. Rev Policy Res 33(1):5–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thelen K (2009) Institutional change in advanced political economies. Br J Ind Relat 47(3):471–498

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tilbury D (2004) Environmental education for sustainability: a force for change in higher education. In: Corcoran PB, AEJ W (eds) Higher education and the challenge of sustainability. Problematics, promise, and practice. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 97–112

    Google Scholar 

  • Velazquez L, Munguia N, Sanchez M (2005) Deterring sustainability in higher education institutions: an appraisal of the factors which influence sustainability in higher education institutions. Int J Sustain High Educ 6(4):383–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wegerich K (2001) Institutional change: a theoretical approach. Occasional paper no 30. School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). University of London, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Young OR (2008) Institutions and environmental change: the scientific legacy of a decade of IDGEC research. In: Young OR, King LA, Schroeder H (eds) Institutions and environmental change. Principal findings, applications and research frontiers. MIT Press, Cambridge, pp 3–46

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Young OR, King LA, Schroeder H (2008) Institutions and environmental change. Principal findings, applications and research frontiers. MIT Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

    Mohammad Al-Saidi

Authors
  1. Mohammad Al-Saidi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohammad Al-Saidi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Life Sciences, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences Faculty of Life Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

Section Editor information

  1. University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

    Rudi Pretorius

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Al-Saidi, M. (2019). Institutional Change and Sustainable Development. In: Leal Filho, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_477-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_477-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-63951-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-63951-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation