The logics of innovation. Institutional logics and isomorphic pressures in public service media innovation labs in the age of artificial intelligence

Abstract

This study explores how Public Service Media (PSM) innovation laboratories navigate a complex institutional environment that simultaneously constrains and demands innovation. Drawing on the concepts of isomorphic pressures and institutional logics, the study investigates strategies used by PSM innovation labs to innovate within institutional constraints. Based on interviews with editorial technologists from three PSM innovation labs in Germany, we identify five institutional logics that enable innovation despite strong normative and coercive pressures: the logics of agility, efficiency, public service, audience, and interdisciplinary collaboration. These logics function as adaptive mechanisms that enable PSM innovation labs to balance the demands of innovation with adherence to norms, regulations, and limited resources. Our findings illustrate how PSMs can manage institutional complexity and sustain innovation within constrained operational environments. Hence, this study offers a dynamic view of isomorphism, where conformity and agency coexist, and where innovation can emerge from within institutional boundaries rather than in opposition to them.