Institutions Inc.

Institutions Incorporated draws together aspects of human and organizational corporeality and links them to institutions. Throughout European anthropology and culture the body has been conceptualized as the 'dark side' to soul and reason. This book explores the 'dark side' of institutions, their materiality and the bodily involvement of their users, in an environment where perfection is measured in intangible entities, notably reason and will. This innovative collection takes a closer look at the interplay of the symbolic and the material, and the triad of institutions, bodies and corporations. This exciting research examines what the tangible, 'dark side' of institutions means both for those who live in them, and those who study them.

Elke Weik is a senior lecturer in the School of Management at the University of Leicester, UK. Her major research interests lie within institutionalist sociology, in particular birth practices and the emergence of universities.

Peter Walgenbach is Professor of Organization, Leadership and Human Resource Management at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany. Peter’s research focus is on institutional theory and has published and edited several books and a number of journal articles on management and organization.