State capture and its effects on institutional isomorphism and deinstitutionalization

Abstract

The credibility of Institutions contributes towards public trust, which ordinarily increase when institutions achieve their set mandate and objectives. The reliance on state institutions to deliver basic social services to the public requires effective systems and injection of financial capital for sustainability. All these happen while institutions continue to evolve and battle with the everchanging complexities and need to adapt to various trends and pressures. The study established that many of the initiatives introduced for institutions to remain agile and self-sustainable have provided a gateway for shadow states to enter, capture and sustain corrupt activities in the Constitutional state, despite the norms, standards, practices, rules and laws enacted to govern them. The study investigates how state institutions were infiltrated and captured by shadow states through various passageways. It is anchored within the broadly studied Institutional theory that perceives institutions as structured based on enforcement of rules and laws that govern them. Due to high volume of data collected on the subject, three papers were developed aimed at bringing back Institutional theory to the scholarly debate, a theory said to have gone beyond its purpose. We use South Africa as the context of study. The articles produced respectively focused on three related thematic areas, i.e., how firms gained and sustained state capture in South Africa; the role played by oversight structures in aiding state capture; lastly the transformation initiatives introduced to redress the imbalances brought about by the colonial era and how these became a machinery for state capture. The investigation revealed how similar traits and strategies were used to deinstitutionalize well established state entities, an example is how they all suffered financial distress requiring additional funds. These resulted in institutional isomorphism. The study contributed to the broadly studied Institutional theory through exploring how these structured institutions were deinstitutionalized by state capture. It further filled a methodological gap by using the uncommon qualitative approach in Institutional theory research. Distinguishing the study from others is the selection of the ultra-elite high profile respondents. The study established that enablers of state capture are the role-players within the Constitutional state that provide entry opportunities to shadow state to capture the state. The practical contribution will aid scholars and technocrats to develop strategies to address the phenomenon.