. From the earliest ecological studies, it was recognized
that ecological processes work W-ithin and are affected by broader social,
political, and economic processes. Slinchcombe (1965), in particular, was
attentive to the role of general societal processes in shaping the fate of varying
types of organizations. For example, in expl.ai!ling the emergence of organizations,
he stressed the causai influence o( factors such as the breakup of
traditional