Neil Fligstein’s Concept of Organizational Fields, Economic Processes and Dynamics, and Their Significance for Building Russian Markets

This chapter brings together a field framework and economic theories linked
to growth and innovation, including evolutionary economics. One could
argue that field theory tends to privilege reproduction over change, and while
a field framework can accommodate change, scholars usually invoke it to
examine reproduction. The authors draw on Fligstein’s insights that exogenous
shocks—whether economic downturns or sudden state intervention—can
force field leaders and members to seek new field rules and conceptions of
control. These might not always favor innovation, however, as rent-seeking or
simply maintaining stability can outweigh perceived opportunities and gains
from innovation. Further, field rules in contemporary Russia are not so kind
to innovation, as too many (but not all) field leaders in the state and business
prefer stability, often enough for rent-seeking. To the extent there might be
some hope, however, it is with professionalization, especially in arbitration
courts.