Working time? - A Sociological Institutionalist account

Abstract: The EU is characterised by a decentralised model of implementation, leaving significant space for the member states in the process. This paper seeks to advance a Sociological Institutionalism (SI), an under-represented approach on transposition studies. The frame of analysis deals with institutionalization, norms, logics of appropriateness and the concept of change; which in turn is applied on a case of delayed transposition: The Working Time Directive. The process in Sweden and the UK are studied. The study shows that the process of transposition was politicized, with many and high level actors involved. The norms and rules in the directive together with national level logics of appropriateness were mapped, and clearly conflicted, giving rise to substantial conflict. Although the countries differ in several relevant aspects, the central conclusion is that the strongly institutionalized, political character of the policy field, together with the fact that the international rules and norms clashed with the national logics of appropriateness seems to have caused the delay. This in turn contributed to limited and incremental change.