Boundaries, Bridges and Brands: A Comment on Alvesson, Hallett and Spicer's "Uninhibited Institutionalisms"

This essay responds to Alvesson, Hallett & Spicer's recent critique of the instiutional literature. While it affirms and extends some of their particular criticisms, I reject their bleak assessment of the larger field and find value in some of the very features that they find to be most objectionable. I also offer some alternative suggestions for reform and future development. These include an explicit embrace of theoretical pluralism, a renewed focus on values, and a return to institutionalism's pragmatist roots.