Abstract
This study examined why existing institutions persist despite the introduction and spread of new institutions and practices from the perspective of new institutional theory. Prior institutional maintenance research argued that resistance by organizations is important for existing institutions to persist. However, studies of institutional maintenance assume the heterogeneity of the field, and thus do not sufficiently explain micro-level interactions and institutional maintenance from the perspective of resistance alone. Therefore, we examined one genre of the Japanese film industry, the "special effects film genre," as a case study. This phenomenon is presented as 'the evolution of institution'. As a result, it presented a new theoretical perspective that existing institutions can expand their influence by incorporating new institutions.