FROM RITUAL TO REALITY: DEMOGRAPHY, IDEOLOGY, AND DECOUPLING IN A POST-COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT AGENCY

摘要

Decoupling-the creation of gaps between formal policies and actual practices-is ubiquitous in organizations. Yet little research has examined how decoupling unfolds over time. This qualitative case study of a post-Communist government agency develops process models of what precedes and what follows the decision to decouple. I show that the demography and ideology of powerful organization members influence whether decoupling occurs, how it unfolds, and whether it is sustainable. Further, I suggest decoupling may carry seeds of its own decay: under certain conditions, the decision to decouple can trigger demographic changes that eventually erode decoupling.