Humanitarian identifications: heterogeneous responses to institutional complexity at Médecins Sans Frontières

Abstract

Abstract Studies of institutional complexity have explored how multiple logics influence organizational practices. This article illustrates how a single logic is maintained through its heterogeneous enactments and practices, via strong identification, in this case, with the logic of humanitarianism. Using the case of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), we develop a theory around identity work and the heterogeneous enactment of institutional logic. We illustrate, via three historical examples, how MSF engaged in radically different practices across time and space, while adhering to a continuous yet polymorphous humanitarian logic. We explain this apparent paradox by referring to the internal contradictions within humanitarian logics, contradictions that do not lead to chaos because of the persistent cohesion effects of identity. We discuss implications for understanding organizational identity and institutional diversity.

Keywords

• Humanitarian organizations
• Organizational identity
• Non-governmental organizations
• Institutional complexity