Extending the Bridge: Racialized Organizations, Inhabited Institutionalism, and Racialization

This article extends the nascent bridge between the sociology of race and ethnicity and organizational sociology by fostering a dialogue between the theory of racialized organizations and inhabited institutionalism. The recent, foundational work on racialized organizations challenges views that treat organizations as race-neutral structures, instead identifying them as vehicles for racialization. Inhabited institutionalism emphasizes the role of social interactions in shaping organizational behavior, offering insights into how racial meanings are constructed. We argue that, together, the approaches fill gaps and offer an expanded conceptualization of “coupling configurations,” shedding new light on how the interplay of institutional mythologies, racial ideologies, social interactions, and cognitive schemas generate racialization within organizations. To make our case and demonstrate the added value of this combined approach, we provide an exegesis of Michael Walker’s ethnographic research on race-making in a penal institution, expanding its relevance while creating signposts for new research.