As contemporary organizational life is increasingly rule governed, organizational actors, most notably professionals, perform their work by complying with institutional rules, stemming from regulatory bodies external and internal to organizations. This begs a question of the role of agency in compliance with institutions that is largely ignored within organization theory. A weak form of agency in compliance is found in practice theory and practice-driven institutionalism, in terms of actors mindful enactments of institutions on the basis of mastering shared practices for applying institutional rules. These are characterized as first-order practices of compliance with institutions. Extending the Wittgensteinian-inspired philosophical foundation of practice theory, modes of compliance in so-called “hard cases,” where shared practices do not apply as a basis for agreement in following institutional rules, is conceptualized as second-order compliance practices, involving a strong mode of agency. In these cases, the aim is to reach agreement on how rules are to be applied beyond established first-order practices by engaging larger frameworks of shared forms of life and more open and explorative attitudes to move institutions forward for a common good. It is argued that second-order compliance can be understood as a politico-ethical mode of agency in the Kantian tradition, supplementing prevalent notions within organizational institutionalism of agency as primarily political.

随着当代组织生活越来越受规则支配，组织参与者，尤其是专业人士，通过遵守来自组织外部和内部监管机构的制度规则来开展工作。这就引出了一个问题，即机构在遵守制度方面的作用，而这个问题在组织理论中基本上被忽视了。在实践理论和实践驱动的制度主义中发现了一种弱形式的合规代理，即在掌握适用制度规则的共享实践的基础上，行动者有意识地制定制度。这些被称为遵守制度的一级实践。扩展受维特根斯坦启发的实践理论哲学基础，在所谓的“困难案例，”在共享实践不适用作为遵守制度规则的协议基础的情况下，被概念化为二级合规实践，涉及强大的代理模式。在这些情况下，目标是通过参与更大的共享生活方式框架和更开放和探索性的态度来推动机构为共同利益向前发展，从而就如何在既定的一阶实践之外应用规则达成一致。有人认为，二阶服从可以被理解为康德传统中的一种政治伦理模式的代理，补充了代理的组织制度主义中的流行观念，主要是政治。目的是通过参与更大的共享生活方式框架和更开放和探索性的态度，以推动机构为共同利益向前发展，就如何在既定的一阶实践之外应用规则达成一致。有人认为，二阶服从可以被理解为康德传统中的一种政治伦理模式的代理，补充了代理的组织制度主义中的流行观念，主要是政治。目的是通过参与更大的共享生活方式框架和更开放和探索性的态度，以推动机构为共同利益向前发展，就如何在既定的一阶实践之外应用规则达成一致。有人认为，二阶服从可以被理解为康德传统中的一种政治伦理模式的代理，补充了代理的组织制度主义中的流行观念，主要是政治。