Caption: Although the term institution is commonly used to describe an established organization or foundation, or the building or buildings housing such an organization, the term institution can also be used to describe the beliefs, practices, or rules of importance in the life of a community, society or organization. Within this latter view, organizations are both composed of institutions and they are shaped by institutions at sectoral, national and trans-national levels. Institutional theory finds its origins in the work of Marx, Weber and Parsons and has modern-day offshoots in the fields of sociology, economics, law and political science. By distinguishing right from wrong, desirable from undesirable, and normal from abnormal, institutions generate regularities of behavior within a culture, civilization or society. Global projects offer an exciting domain of analysis to study the clash of different institutional systems that are carried by project participants and stakeholders from multiple sectors, countries, and communities.

References: Scott, W. R. Institutions and Organizations. 2nd Edition ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 2001.
North, Douglass. Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1990.