Evolution of Social Institutions in the Journey Towards Sustainability: The Case of the Galápagos Islands

Abstract

Two hundred years after the birth of Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution was influenced by the Galápagos Islands, we investigate the myriad of institutions that influence the domain’s governance. We provide insight into the complex web of economic, environmental, and social factors that result in a lack of clear direction and thus lead UNESCO to list the Islands as “at risk” in the past. Using institutional theory, with specific interest in competing logics or differences in senses of place among the major organizational populations in the Islands, we investigate the context in which the Islands exist. Several forces, both positive and negative, are driving change, and despite attempts to achieve equilibrium in the Islands, governance is in constant flux due to high turnover among key personnel in the organization populations. Instability and lack of continuity exist not only in the domain but also within the organizational populations themselves.