How Institutional Constraints Affected the Organization of Early U.S. Telephony

Although a great deal of social science research now focuses on institutions, the bulk of this work attempts to explain the emergence and form of particular institutions. Many of these efforts look at the underlying interests that influence the content of, say, a law (e.g., Wilson, 1980; Fligstein, 1990), while other efforts examine properties of the institutions themselves (e.g., Williamson, 1985). With the major exception of efficiency considerations, far less research-indeed, hardly any-examines the actual behavioral consequences of institutions once they are established. Direct investigation of institutional effects often is neglected for theoretical reasons. As Moe (1990: 215) explains, "a theory capable of explaining institutions . . . presupposes a theory of institutional effects." This is so because, "institutions arise from the choices of individuals [who] choose among structures in light of known or presumed effects." If an institution's actual effects coincide with its intended effects, then an explanation of why the