Institutional Work for Enterprise Architecture

Enterprise architecture (EA) is a systematic approach used for designing and implementing changes in technological systems and processes to improve organizational performance and align technology with business. This paper unpacks the process through which EA moves from strategic-level endorsement to diffusion across organizations. The insights provided are based on a longitudinal case study within the Norwegian hospital sector. An institutional work lens is adopted to analyze the purposeful activities carried out to introduce EA in Norwegian hospitals providing a granular view on diffusion. The paper provides a rich description of the institutional work employed by the key actors involved mapping them to different turns in EA’s trajectory. Drawing from this analysis, we contribute to Information Systems literature with a conceptual model that illustrates how institutional work can mitigate the challenges of moving from the strategic-level endorsement of novelty to its diffusion and institutionalization smoothing downturns along the way. The findings indicate ways to facilitate the introduction of EA within complex organizations, providing insights for practitioners involved in EA initiatives, and advancing extant EA research through an institutional perspective.