What is "structure" in structuration theory?

Not a visible framework like an organization chart, but the rules and resources people draw on when they act. Structure exists only in action and is reproduced or changed through action.

How does structuration theory differ from Archer's morphogenetic approach?

Giddens treats structure and agency as an inseparable duality, while Archer separates them for analysis so that one can trace the temporal sequence in which structure conditions action and is then transformed by it.

Structuration Theory

👥 Sociology By CampusDown Wiki Editorial Team Last updated October 26, 2026

Structuration theory, systematized by sociologist Anthony Giddens, holds that social structures both constrain and enable human action while being continually reproduced or transformed through that action, a relationship he called the "duality of structure."

Contents

1. The problem of structure and agency
2. The duality of structure and the agent
3. Critiques and applications
4. FAQ
5. References

The problem of structure and agency

Sociology long divided between two positions. Functionalism and structuralism treated individual action as a product of social structure, while symbolic interactionism and phenomenological sociology held that individuals construct society by making meaning. In New Rules of Sociological Method (1976) and The Constitution of Society (1984), Anthony Giddens sought to overcome this dualism. He defined structure not as a framework outside people, like a building, but as "rules and resources" drawn on in action. Rules are procedures that create meaning and legitimate conduct; resources are capacities to command objects and people. Structure is "instantiated" only when action occurs, and the result is social systems, recurring patterns of relations.

The duality of structure and the agent

The heart of structuration theory is the "duality of structure": structure is both the medium and the outcome of action. The rules of a language's grammar, for example, are what make speaking possible, and they are reproduced each time we speak. Giddens viewed agents as knowledgeable beings who continuously engage in "reflexive monitoring" of their conduct. Most of that knowledge, however, lies at the level of "practical consciousness," used skillfully in daily life without being put into words, as distinct from "discursive consciousness," which articulates reasons. Action begins from unacknowledged conditions and produces unintended consequences that become conditions of further action. Giddens also stressed how society is organized in time and space, through routines and time-space distanciation, leading to his work on reflexive modernity in The Consequences of Modernity (1990) and Modernity and Self-Identity (1991), which connects to the risk society debate. Pierre Bourdieu's (1977) concept of habitus is often compared because it also tries to mediate structure and agency.

Critiques and applications

Margaret Archer (1982, 1995) argued that merging structure and agency into a "duality" prevents analyzing their interplay over time, and proposed a "morphogenetic" approach in which structure precedes action and is transformed after it. William Sewell (1992) refined Giddens's rules and resources, arguing that multiple overlapping, transposable structures make change possible, and Rob Stones (2005) proposed a "strong structuration theory" usable in empirical research. Although criticized as too abstract to test, the theory is widely applied. Orlikowski (1992) proposed the "duality of technology," in which technology shapes organizational structures and is reinterpreted in use; DeSanctis and Poole (1994) developed "adaptive structuration theory" to analyze information system use; and Whittington (2006) extended the approach to strategy-as-practice research. New institutionalism and actor-network theory share similar concerns.

FAQ

What is "structure" in structuration theory?: Not a visible framework like an organization chart, but the rules and resources people draw on when they act. Structure exists only in action and is reproduced or changed through action.
How does structuration theory differ from Archer's morphogenetic approach?: Giddens treats structure and agency as an inseparable duality, while Archer separates them for analysis so that one can trace the temporal sequence in which structure conditions action and is then transformed by it.

Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26

References

Giddens, A. (1976). New Rules of Sociological Method. London: Hutchinson.
Giddens, A. (1979). Central Problems in Social Theory. London: Macmillan.
Giddens, A. (1984). The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Giddens, A. (1990). The Consequences of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and Self-Identity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1977). Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Archer, M. S. (1982). Morphogenesis versus structuration: On combining structure and action. British Journal of Sociology, 33(4), 455–483.
Archer, M. S. (1995). Realist Social Theory: The Morphogenetic Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sewell, W. H., Jr. (1992). A theory of structure: Duality, agency, and transformation. American Journal of Sociology, 98(1), 1–29.
Stones, R. (2005). Structuration Theory. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Orlikowski, W. J. (1992). The duality of technology: Rethinking the concept of technology in organizations. Organization Science, 3(3), 398–427.
DeSanctis, G., & Poole, M. S. (1994). Capturing the complexity in advanced technology use: Adaptive structuration theory. Organization Science, 5(2), 121–147.
Whittington, R. (2006). Completing the practice turn in strategy research. Organization Studies, 27(5), 613–634.

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This article was last updated on October 26, 2026. It is based on widely recognized original works and textbooks; when citing it in a paper, please check the original sources listed in the references.