How Alternative Ideas Become Institutions: The Case of Feminist Collectives

Abstract

Using institutional theory developed by organizational sociologists, I tell the story of feminist collectives in the United States. I argue that feminist collectives are a specific case of the emergence, institutionalization, and deinstitutionalization of alternative ideas and structures. I document these three processes using historical material (both academic and political) from the contemporary women's movement and more recent empirical studies of women's organizations. The contribution this analysis makes to organization building and theory building is considered.