This paper seeks to reconceptualize the micro-macro institutionalization process as repetition of signs. A sign is a triadic structure, known as the semiotic triangle, that consists of signifier, signified, and referent. The semiotic triangle allows for a more balanced consideration of the symbolic (i.e., signifier and signified) and the material (i.e., referent) aspects of social actions and social structure as we theorize the micro-macro relation. It can be extended to present meaning processes that involve potentially infinite chains of semiosis regression toward the signifier, signified, or referent as the sign spreads, generating three types of sign repetition. Repetition is a Deleuzian concept understood as intensive encounters. I argue that early management and organization practices are semiosis regression towards the referent, followed by regression towards the signified and, more recently, we are observing semiosis regression towards the signifier, which is akin to what Baudrillard would call the simulacra or copies without originals. This reconceptualization brings heterogeneity and more dimensionality to the micro-macro dynamic. It enhances the theoretical rigor of loosely coupled institutional change and enables organization theorists to engage the broader ideological context which is often missing in micro-macro research.
