Organizing processes in a shadow institutional field

Abstract

In this inductive study, I shift the focus of exploring institutionalizing processes outside legal boundaries by examining the institutional maintenance of shadow institutional fields. To do so, I draw on a case of the counterfeit luxury industry. The analysis reveals the features of a shadow institutional field and how actors work to ensure the continuation and reproduction of institutions. Specifically, four sets of institutional work emerged from the data are building confidence, establishing a safe space, shielding the space and demarcating the boundaries. This research thus contributes to the understanding of how field types impact institutional maintenance, how actors maintain institutions without formal governance mechanisms and highlights the importance of exploring shadow institutional fields. In practice, rather than treating illegal activities as isolated actions, this research suggests that policymakers and other relevant stakeholders should pay attention to the internal mechanisms that sustain shadow institutional fields.