Although scholars have been increasingly interested in organizational responses to complex institutional environments, we have limited understanding of the consequences such responses may have for organizations. In this paper, we argue that organizations that have established an institutional footprint by consistently demonstrating conformity to an institutional logic are more likely to be supported by resource holders and thus enjoy higher survival chances in complex institutional environments. The effect of institutional footprint on survival chances is expected to increase when an institutional logic gains dominance at the industry level. We test and find strong support for these arguments using population data on producer firms in the French film industry (1994–2008).
