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Structuration Theory
The central theme of structuration theory is that individuals are members of social structures, and those structures support continued performance of routines over time (Giddens, 1976, 1979, 1984). The theory focuses on the fundamental circularity (recursiveness) of social life. It assumes that the structural properties of social systems are composed of the practices of individuals and of the outcomes of those practices (Giddens, 1979).
Further, the theory examines (1) the extent to which the voluntary behaviors of people create and shape social structures (agency) and (2) the extent to which social structures shape, constrain, and enable the behaviors of individuals, or what Giddens (1984) called the “duality of structure ...
