Współczesne spojrzenie na instytucje: ewolucja pojęć, problem modelu aktora i poziomy analizy instytucjonalnej
The Contemporary Outlook on Institutions: Evolution of Notions, Model of the Actor, and Levels of Institutional Analysis

Summary/Abstract: Although there is growing interest in New Institutionalism in the Polish social sciences, this perspective seems to be still relatively poorly represented in the studies undertaken to date. Things are a little better when it comes to the general overview and history of the neo-institutional theories [see Chmielewski 1994, 2011; Skąpska 1999; Federowicz 2004; Morawski 2010], but the space for insightful theoretical discussion is still being shaped. The purpose of this paper is to undertake such discussion with respect to three theoretical issues which have significant implications for both construction of theory and research. They are: (a) the evolution of core notions, (b) the general question of institutional agency, and (c) the question of integration of the neo-institutional perspectives. The review of most cited neo-institutional literature shows that it generally avoids any strong assumptions about institutions as general entities, while at the same time it introduces additional theoretical constructs, such as “fields” and “logics”, which bind the basic unit of institutional analysis – the rule – to the specific validating contexts. Neo-institutional thought seemingly hasn’t been dominated by the approaches rooted solely in methodological individualism, and it seems reasonable to claim that at least three separate analytical perspectives or distinct levels of analysis can be distinguished, namely: strategic, environmental and paradigmatic.

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