Abstract
In this dissertation, I study organizational behavior primarily at the macro level using organizational institution theory to explain how organizations emerge and compete over time and in proximal space. The empirical setting is the deregulation of the Swedish education system in 1992 and the ensuing development of schools over the following two decades. This dissertation consists of separate papers in which I look at factors both within and outside organizations to understand how they influence are influenced by market and non-market forces. My studies are based on detailed school-level panel data including all Swedish schools constructed from multiple data sources. I focus specifically on high schools which are more susceptible to competition for students. The studies use both quantitative and qualitative methods. A central approach to these studies is the use of multiple levels of analysis in order to understand the consequences of competition among organizations following the deregulation of a former public sector entity.