We are working on a project about social norms and it is very interesting to know how and why societies construct social norms? It is curious to know how and why societies construct some progressive norms that lead to transform a society and some regressive norms that push societies backward. Any empirical research and theories behind it will help a lot.
Morning, colleague,
I have two suggestions for you:
1. Path dependence theory might explain why some norms become inefficient and even regressive. There are many work on the theory. Start with David, 1985 and move to works of Sydow and Koch (2009?).
2. There was a pretty interesting model of Vince and Voronov on emotions in institutions. This model explains why some "needed" institutions are ignored, whereas some "wanted" institutions are implemented (even being regressive).
I hope it will help you with your research!
Faithfully,
Eugene
PS. You asked about empirical research. I remembered a paper on Finnish paper industry. It was pretty path dependent. And when a certain external event occurred, they managed to change the path and swith to energy generation. You can look at this phenomenon as an institutionalist. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of the paper but I am sure you will find it easily by keywords.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1805621
http://www.wiwiss.fu-berlin.de/forschung/pfadkolleg/downloads/AMR_09.pdf
http://www.academia.edu/download/35836959/Voronov___Vince_AMR_2012.pdf
In a paper on trust related dynamics we explore how identity shapes relations between different groups as well as the social norms that these groups develop and maintain for interactions within the group as well as for dealing with people from the other group. These indeed prove to be strongly path-dependent.
Culture Theory, available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254583153_Culture_Theory, ought to shine a little light on this. That short article notes that some needs are common to all people—at all times and in all places. They are the need to make a living, the need for social organization, the need for knowledge and learning, the need for normative and metaphysical expression, and the need for aesthetic manifestation. These nuts and bolts of everyday life work through the co-evolving realms of environment, economy, society, polity, and technology to make up systems of mutual sustainability or (in opposition) mutual vulnerability. I recommend reference to the work of Richard Norgaard on co-evolution: Development Betrayed: The End of Progress and a Co-Evolutionary Revisioning of the Future, published in 1994 by Routledge, is well worth reading.
Article Culture Theory
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