Stability and change in transnational institutional fields: a dialectical perspective

Megaprojects play a key role in the global economy as they make up 8% of the world GDP. These are described in the literature as temporary endeavors characterized by large investment commitment, vast organizational complexity and long-lasting impact on the economy, environment and society. These are often characterized by conflicts and poor cooperation between concerned stakeholders, which may create a pool of future unresolved issues, frustration and resentment having a negative impact on performance. The focus of this article is on the conflicts between the project and the stakeholder groups outside the project team. We adopt a dialectical perspective and use neo-institutionalism to explain the dynamics of these conflicts in the case of the Lyon-Turin megaproject, a high-speed railway infrastructure planned at the EU level in the framework of the trans-European network policy. Particularly, we adopt an institutional work perspective and describe the practices that proponents and opponents mobilize over time to create, maintain and disrupt the Lyon-Turin megaproject.