Abstract
This study focuses on how firms strategically navigate and proactively catalyze institutional environmental changes for survival and competitive advantages. Using the Institution-Based View, the study investigates the motivations and processes behind firms initiating institutional environmental changes – from the micro-level of how individual firms shape a new institution to the meso-level of how other industry players respond, and finally to the macro-level of institutional environmental changes. The study deconstructs, discerns, and interprets how strategic positioning unfolds. Facing dynamic environmental shifts, it is important to understand one's role and strategically initiating institutional changes can effectively reshape the game rules of industry. Through in-depth interviews, this study may contribute to both academies and practice on firms’ strategic actions.