Abstract

This presentation explores the cultural and institutional aspects of the transformation environment, its paradoxes and tensions. It is based on an integrated theoretical approach and research carried out in Lithuania. The comparative social research has for long been dominated by two major research perspectives – cultural and institutionalist. Their research agendas have been traditionally more isolated than complementary. However, such isolation becomes counterproductive when trying to explain the dynamically evolving social systems in Eastern Europe or South East Asia. The theoretical insights to be presented in the seminar offer one of the possible approaches to bridging the cultural-institutionalist divide. The empirical research carried out in Lithuania (covering a variety of organizational contexts) included more than 5,000 respondents, and has revealed some interesting paradoxes of a dynamically evolving socioeconomic system (including education) that will be presented for the discussion.