Institutional Syncretism in the Digital Age: The Adaptive Institutional Fusion (AIF) Framework

This paper introduces the Adaptive Institutional Fusion (AIF) framework, a mid-range sociological theory explaining how formal and informal institutions interact under conditions of digital exposure. Research question: How do offline–online hybrid institutional arrangements form, adapt, and influence governance, education, labor, and social norms in transitional societies? Theoretical gap: The existing literature treats informal practices primarily as governance deficits, while digital sociology examines platform governance in isolation. Neither approach explains how hybrid systems evolve when locally embedded authority intersects with global digital visibility. AIF conceptualizes "fusion nodes" where formal regulations and informal practices converge, shaped by adaptive legitimacy, elasticity versus rigidity, and feedback loops generated by online exposure. Propositions: (1) Greater online visibility heightens legitimacy contests around hybrid institutions; (2) elastic hybrids with open digital interfaces formalize faster than rigid, patronage-bound systems; (3) digital exposure reinforces positive feedback in responsive institutions but amplifies dysfunction under elite capture; (4) hybrid nodes are durable, not transitional anomalies, and can be deliberately shaped by policy. Drawing on Bangladesh cases—madrasa digital curricula, shalish arbitration on Facebook, online labor markets, and activism campaigns—and global parallels such as M-Pesa, Brazilian favela leadership, and the gig economy, the paper argues that hybrid systems can deliver public value if recognized and governed rather than eradicated. The AIF framework offers a basis for rethinking institutional reform strategies and future research on algorithmic governance and cross-national validation.