Mirrors of Change : A Study of Industry Associations in Chile and Uruguay

Abstract: Mirrors of Change is a cross-sectional study of micro and macro institutional environments that envisages to analyse shifts in the sources of institutional legitimacy since the 1960s. The main aim is to understand whether homogenising macro institutions are adopted at the micro institutional levels. In order to do this, the study examines the heterogenising elements that are specific to local environments. At the micro level, the focus is on two industry associations, namely, the Cámara de Industrias del Uruguay (CIU) and Sociedad de Fomento Fabril (SFF). At the macro level, the investigation is centred on what is termed in this study as ‘World-Culture’, composed of a group of global institutions. As the study shows, World-culture is a source of new social identities, norms, rules and values through which individuals and organisations rationally organise and pursue their interests. An important question is whether the role of the nation-state in Chile and Uruguay has changed since the 1960s. The study concludes that there is a clear shift from national to global and regional sources of legitimacy. In both cases, the intensity of interaction with macro institutions (World-culture) has been greater in the 1990s compared to the 1960s. The role of the state as prime source of institutional legitimacy at the national environmental level has decreased since global institutions through carriers like International Organisations that are beyond the reach of the state. While the homogenising exogenous institutions wielded greater influence in Chilean and Uruguayan environments, the clashes with traditional domestic institutions had a different character that stimulated new and particular forms of ‘remix’. The CIU went through a process of NGOisation, while the SFF increased its interaction with the state and the region. The two cases examined in this study show distinct responses to common problems owing to different cultural environments.