Institutional logics and the decision-making process of adopting corporate governance at a cooperative organization

We aim to investigate the decision process leading to the adoption of corporate governance practice at a cooperative. This paper expands current knowledge by presenting the institutional logics approach as a complement to decision-making process studies. Literature on the decision process grounds the investigation, supported by corporate governance and agency theory. We draw on oral history for collecting and analyzing data from documents, observation and interviews related to the decision process. A total of 19 interviews were conducted with members and employees of the cooperative. We used the Atlas TI software to organize the data and then subjected them to content analysis, based on the historical analytical method. By demonstrating how logics are a basis for the adoption decision, the paper provides evidence of how hybridization operates as a mechanism for balancing actors’ demands in response to contrasting institutional pressures or expectations. In addition, we provide recommendations to management with respect to corporate governance decisions.