The Institutionalization of “Cashless Poland.” Values, Norms, Sanctions and Grand Narrations in the SMEs’ Perspective on the Adoption of Cashless Payments
The Institutionalization of “Cashless Poland.” Values, Norms, Sanctions and Grand Narrations in the SMEs’ Perspective on the Adoption of Cashless Payments

Summary/Abstract: As more and more societies are transforming into cashless economies, questions about the socialnature of this transformation are arising. With this paper we present specific insights into the process of theinstitutionalization of cashlessness in Poland. The process is analyzed from the perspective of Small and MediumEnterprises (SMEs). We advance the idea that the institutional field of cashlessness is emerging with similarpressures. In this field—as we argue using the concept of Powell and DiMaggio—SMEs experience a coerciveinstitutional isomorphism. We show that the complex impact of interlocked social interactions, financial sanctions,narrations, values and norms are creating the matrix for SMEs’ decision whether to implement cashless paymentsinto their business. The analysis is based on 74 individual in-depth interviews with SMEs owners. The paper isgrounded in qualitative research design and the theory of neo-institutionalism

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