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The Iron Cage Enchanted: Institutional Isomorphism and the Embrace of Mindfulness as Organizational Practice

Nina Bandelj, Annie Wang

American Behavioral Scientist October 24, 2026 DOI: 10.1177/00027642261496672 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Historical analysis with case studies Peer reviewed
Topics Meditation
Key findings Argues that normative, mimetic, and coercive isomorphism pressures help explain the adoption of mindfulness as a corporate practice, interacting with social movements and emotional economies in late capitalism. Concludes that while revisiting the iron cage reveals glimmers of re-enchantment, these do little to erode capitalism's enduring grip.

Abstract

In 1983, Paul DiMaggio together with Walter Powell published what would become one of the most influential articles in social science. “The Iron Cage Revisited” stipulated new drivers of collective rationality in organizational fields that departed from Weber’s emphasis on bureaucratic rationalization and disenchantment of society. In recent years, scholars have argued that forms of enchantment nevertheless persist as organizational practices. Along these lines, this article adopts the central conceptual framework proposed by DiMaggio and Powell to examine the rise of mindfulness as corporate practice through the lens of institutional isomorphism. We use historical analysis of organizational change and case studies to identify the extent to which normative, mimetic, and coercive isomorphism pressures help explain mindfulness practices in corporations, how these pressures interact with the role of social movements in organizational change, and manifestations of emotional economies in late capitalism. On the whole, the analysis points to how an attempt at revisiting the iron cage today identifies glimmers of re-enchantment; however, these do little to erode capitalism’s enduring iron grip.

Comparable studies

Other case reports and case series on meditation, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Brain sources of EEG gamma frequency during volitionally meditation-induced, altered states of consciousness, and experience of the self Advanced meditator 2001 Case study n = 1
Mindfulness Meditation for Alcohol Relapse Prevention: A Feasibility Pilot Study Adult alcohol-dependent graduates of an intensive outpatient program 2008 Prospective case series n = 19
How does it feel to lack a sense of boundaries? A case study of a long-term mindfulness meditator. A single long-term mindfulness practitioner (S) with 40 years of practice in... 2015 Qualitative case study n = 1
Loving‐kindness meditation to enhance recovery from negative symptoms of schizophrenia Individuals suffering from schizophrenia-spectrum disorders with persistent negative... 2009 Case study
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Problem Gambling A female problem gambler 2011 Case study n = 1

Citations in the library

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