Strategic practices in a network of religious congregations: values and institutions, interdependence and reciprocity

Abstract

In this article, we discuss the relationship between the values of managers, strategic practices and social embeddedness in a network of confessional evangelical congregations that is established in the city of Curitiba, Paraná state, Brazil. The theoretical frame of reference on which the study is based is the institutional theory, with the social network analysis methodology and the perspective of strategy as practice. We examined sixty religious organizations while collecting the data. The network analysis revealed two components that represent a central-peripheral type of configuration of relationship patterns among the social actors. In general, the relationship between institutional context, relationship structure and strategic activities points to the notion of interdependence and reciprocity. We found that values resulting from different logics of action are strengthened by the leadership of the network, concerning its normative potential, to influence the interpretation of its members and its strategic activities. Nevertheless, the central-peripheral configuration of the relationship network reveals the need for both the dynamic and the fragmented character of the institutional context to be recognized, since the social relationships operate recursively in the construction and reconstruction of organizational actions that move towards institutional homogenization.