capacity to reinterpret or mobilize an array of resources in terms of schemas other than those that constituted the array’’ (p.
20). Both Giddens and Sewell note that the degree to which agency may be exercised does vary between actors. That is, actors
have different degrees of power to effect change. Thus, Sewell notes that the social position a person occupies governs their
access to resources, as well as their knowledge of different schemas, and thus determines the extent to which they can effect
change. This is a crucial point because it is the existing structure that defines the individual’s social position. As Sewell points
out, ‘‘Structures, and the human agencies they endow, are laden with differences in power’’ (p. 21).
Sewell (1992) also identifies two key dimensions of structure: depth and power. He suggests that the depth and power of
structures have implications for the durability and dynamics of those structures. Depth, relating to schema, refers to the
extent to which a structure is taken for granted or is unconscious. The deeper the structure, the more pervasive it is and the
lower the level of actor awareness of the schema. Sewell suggests that the durability and strength of a structure is governed
primarily by its depth. Power on the other hand, concerns the magnitude of the resources mobilized by a structure. It is a
measure of the structure’s ultimate impact and tangible influence.
Barley and Tolbert (1997) provide an empirical foundation to the theoretical work of Giddens and Sewell by articulating
‘‘a model of how institutions are formed, reproduced, and modified through an interplay of action and structure’’ (p. 94).
They do this by moving from Giddens’ static portrayal of structuration to a dynamic model. The model is depicted in Fig. 1. By
this means they link structuration theory with institutional theory to provide a basis for better understanding how
institutions are reproduced and altered. In other words structuration theory can then be used to help understand what
underpins or sustains the processes of institutionalization, including accounting research homogeneity.
A central tenet of the Barley and Tolbert (1997) model is the concept of scripts or behavioural regularities, which they
define as ‘‘observable recurrent activities and patterns of interaction characteristic of a particular setting’’ (p. 98). The model
consists of four ‘‘moments’’ and conceptualizes institutionalization as occurring and changing through time in a continuous
process. In the first moment, scripts in particular settings are encoded with the institutional principles. In the second
moment, actors enact these scripts. Importantly, Barley and Tolbert note that this frequently occurs outside the
consciousness of the actors who ‘‘simply behave according to their perception of the way things are’’ (p. 102).
In the third moment actors either replicate or revise the scripts. Barley and Tolbert note that replication by actors is much
more likely than revision or change and that this tendency underpins the persistence of institutions over time. In explaining
this tendency, they note that change typically requires some intentional and conscious choice, perhaps as the result of an
exogenous shock. They suggest that ‘‘contextual change is usually necessary before actors can assemble the resources and
rationales that are necessary for collectively questioning scripted patterns of behaviour’’ (p. 102). In the fourth and final
moment, the newly arising patterns of behaviour are objectified and externalized and ‘‘acquire a normative, ‘factual’ quality’’
(Barley and Tolbert, 1997, p. 103).