COMPETITION, INSTITUTIONAL LINKAGES, AND ORGANIZATIONAL GROWTH

We examine the effects of competition and institutional linkages on the growth of day care centers (DCCs) in Metropolitan Toronto, Canada, between 1971 and 1989. Estimates obtained from a model of organizational growth show that density-dependent, mass-dependent, and size-localized forms of competition decreased DCC growth and that the possession of institutional linkages increased growth. The results also show that the growth advantage of institutional linkages increased with the intensity of competition. These findings extend the integration of ecological and institutional theories that has developed in research on population vital rates to the domain of organizational growth. © 1993 Academic Press.