Translating diversity into CarCo: An analysis of organizational actors’ institutional bricolage

Abstract

This study investigates the institutional work of translation from an agent-centered perspective. Based on qualitative data collected in an automobile company, we analyze how nine different types of organizational actors, acting as institutional ‘bricoleurs’, translate the institution of diversity in distinct ways. We show that their heterogeneous translations derive from the partially different logics they are exposed to from their different organizational positions and the need to construct diversity in ways that are functional to their practical goals. The study generates new insights into agents’ micro-work of translation and institutional incorporation and advances new directions for diversity research.