Berger and Luckmann’s (1966) project was to deal with the question of where
social order in society comes from (see also the later reflection of Berger, 2000).
In that sense, it is more a theory of continuity than it is about change, but we will
see that a more particular understanding of organizational change can be derived
from their approach. Their answer centers on the proposition that social order is a
human product, a consequence of continuous social interaction; hence their title:
‘The Social Construction of Reality’. Berger and Luckmann make a distinction
between ‘objective reality’ and ‘subjective reality’. To them, objective reality is
what is being constructed as a consequence of a process of institutionalization.
Reality has taken on a meaning and significance that transcends an individual
member of society. Subjective reality, then, is how each individual understands
society. To Berger and Luckmann, the emergence and maintenance of social
order is a matter of the three social construction activities of institutionalization,
legitimation, and internalization.