Abstract

The evolution of organizations is a key element to figure out how its structures, processes and strategies are built. By analyzing the "optimal organizational" that is seek, it seems at first glance that this would not always give priority to the elements that generate profits or remarkable performances in their daily exercise. In this regard, it seems necessary and appropriate to be able to understand the application of the theory of isomorphism in the shaping of institutional structures. Subsequently, the comments made by peer evaluators in the process of Institutional Accreditation of seven Chilean universities were examined. Considering the above, this paper aims to provide a preliminary and summary approach to the concept of Organizational Isomorphism (OI), and further review of some inquiries applied to the field of universities. To achieve this goal, a methodology based on the use of secondary sources was used, primarily literature review, combined with a historical analysis of the creation of universities. The most relevant findings suggest that there is clear evidence for the presence of coercive isomorphism mechanisms in universities; and to a lesser extent, mimetic OI; in any case, it is necessary the conduction of further studies to validate these perspectives.