The influences of the organizational institutionalization in the industrial ecology operationalization: possible facilities and barriers

Abstract

Industrial Ecology (IE) is pointed as an alternative to the sustainable development because it accosts the permeability between human activities and biosphere. However, it presents poor emerging perspectives of insights to the social sciences. In turn, the New Institutionalism considers the influence of the social and cultural factors in the functioning of the organizations. It proposes that the environment exerts influences in relation to the organization and the human being is semi conscious before the institutional forces according as their decisions are conditioned by the socio and environmental structures. Thus, there is an institution when an organization is legitimized by the society in accordance to their cultural rules. This theoretical essay aims to analyze the aspects found in the institutionalization of the organizations that can facilitate or hinder the operational process of the IE. As elements presented in the institutionalization of the organization that can facilitate process of IE included: cultural norms socially accepted and parameters for how to act; an institution seen as an effective and necessary and institutions stabilize expectations. Among the factors of the difficulties are: action by habit, distance from the essence of the cause of change; difficulty in adopting innovations and attitude of self-defense.