What constitutes agency? Determinants of actors' influence on formal institutions in Swiss waste management

Institutional change is crucial for the transitions of socio-technical systems. This study addresses why some actors have strong agency by uncovering the determinants of their influence on formal institutions. We focused on a recent and major policy process in Swiss waste management as the empirical case. We carried out content analysis of consultation documents, expert surveys, online questionnaire and social network analysis. The resulting data were then analysed with Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to determine the necessary and sufficient conditions associated with large influence. Results suggest that only several actors have a major influence on the policy output. Possessing material or non-material resources is found to be necessary yet not sufficient, as actors need to exhibit high activity and embeddedness in social networks or articulate a discourse rich in various concepts. By elucidating the configuration of endowments critical for actors' influence on formal institutions, this study yields novel insights into the ingredients of strong agency. The analytical approach we present can be applied to various settings and thus can be pursued for a systematic analysis on the determinants of actors' influence and how it varies with political or organizational context.

Automated summary

This study explores why some actors have strong agency in influencing formal institutions, focusing on a policy process in Swiss waste management. The findings indicate that possessing resources alone is not enough, as actors also need to be highly active and embedded in social networks or articulate complex concepts. By revealing the critical endowments necessary for actors' influence, this study offers insights into the ingredients of strong agency and provides an analytical approach that can be applied in various contexts for systematic analysis on actors' influence determinants.