Variation in the adoption of a diffusing practice: instruction in English in Turkish universities

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2016.107

Increasing evidence shows that both the content and extent of diffusing practices may vary across organizations and over time. Although there have been recent efforts towards identifying the organizational and field-level determinants of this variation, the emergence of practice variation is considered as an essential aspect of the implementation process. Yet, the determinants of implementation are likely to be different than those of adoption. The present study contributes to the diffusion literature by identifying the institutional and organizational mechanisms that may explain variation in the extent to which a diffusing practice is adopted by the members of an organizational field. Focusing on the diffusion of English-medium instruction (teaching in English) in the Turkish higher education field, the study finds considerable support for the proposed effects. The findings overall suggest that institutional processes lead to heterogeneity in the acceptance of a diffusing practice across the members of an organizational field, which is an important yet neglected aspect of practice variation in diffusion processes. Variation in the extent of adoption is also shaped by the degree to which organizational resources are compatible with the diffusing practice. Further, these influences are moderated by imprinting of organizational collectives within the field.