In the paper we present an account of sociological institutionalism on the integrative intent in the framework of the European Monetary Union. Drawing on isomorphic premise, we explore evolution of the institutional context of the European central banking, affected the most by the institutional pressures due to the integration focus on the monetary policy. We ask if central banks systematically convey agenda in a similar way looking for legitimacy in the field. Over a period of 20 years we explore regular legitimating accounts of the central banks, annual reports, assessing their thematic similarity based on topic modeling. We find that initial institutional arrangements did not trigger isomorphic dynamics, while an exogenous event, the financial crisis, enabled a robust convergence among central bankers on necessity of a shared action framework and advancing institutional arrangements led to assimilation of the institutional narratives. We conclude with analysis of the institutional process, emphasizing importance of an institutional fit to trigger cultural isomorphic dynamics, which implies absorption of a part of organizational legitimation context at the institutional level and emergence of a shared action framework, adjusting integrative means.

Singing in or out of tune: Leitmotifs of the central banks in the euro area

Arina Tsirkuleva
2019-01-01

Abstract

In the paper we present an account of sociological institutionalism on the integrative intent in the framework of the European Monetary Union. Drawing on isomorphic premise, we explore evolution of the institutional context of the European central banking, affected the most by the institutional pressures due to the integration focus on the monetary policy. We ask if central banks systematically convey agenda in a similar way looking for legitimacy in the field. Over a period of 20 years we explore regular legitimating accounts of the central banks, annual reports, assessing their thematic similarity based on topic modeling. We find that initial institutional arrangements did not trigger isomorphic dynamics, while an exogenous event, the financial crisis, enabled a robust convergence among central bankers on necessity of a shared action framework and advancing institutional arrangements led to assimilation of the institutional narratives. We conclude with analysis of the institutional process, emphasizing importance of an institutional fit to trigger cultural isomorphic dynamics, which implies absorption of a part of organizational legitimation context at the institutional level and emergence of a shared action framework, adjusting integrative means.
2019
EURAM 2019 Conference Proceedings
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10278/3719276
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