The impact of emerging institutional norms on adoption timing decisions: evidence from C‐TPAT—A government antiterrorism initiative

Drawing upon an institutional theoretic perspective, this study explores the performance outcomes associated with adoption timing and level of investment in a government antiterrorism initiative—the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C‐TPAT). Using a large‐scale sample of C‐TPAT certified importers, this study found that performance outcomes for high levels of investment in adoption processes differ depending upon the strength of institutional forces. Specifically, early adopters of C‐TPAT processes in a weak institutional context that reported high levels of investment performed no better than firms who invested nominally in the processes, while late adopters in a strong institutional context that reported high investment levels outperformed those that invested nominally. This finding can be explained by viewing C‐TPAT as an ‘emerging’ institution, where forces are coalescing. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.