Regenerative Organizing as Institutional Repair

In this paper, we theorize regenerative organizing as a form of institutional repair work. By regenerative organizing, we refer to organizational actions that give rebirth to an institution’s vitality by prioritizing the ongoing health of an institution and its integration with changing societal conditions. Regeneration works to both modify and reenergize an institution in ways that allow it to once again sustain itself, which becomes especially significant during times of crisis. We adopt a qualitative approach to explore regenerative organizing to repair the institution of fly fishing. Our findings demonstrate how the constructs of repair and healing are insightful for extending the variety of regenerative actions that organizations can pursue. By bridging burgeoning work on regeneration with institutional theory, we conclude by developing a number of practical implications for putting institutional theory into action in response to societal grand challenges.