Rule systems as sources of organizational lock-ins and what to do about them

Erhard Friedberg

pp. 253-262

in: Stephan Duschek, Michael Gaitanides, Wenzel Matiaske (eds), Organisationen regeln, Wiesbaden, Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2012

Abstract

The unfolding of any collective action supposes the stabilization of patterns of interaction and the effective coordination of behavior. It is unthinkable without the cognitive, normative, material and political rule-systems and structures capable of fixing and aligning behavior, creating routines, repertoires and interests, imposing terms of reference and terms of legitimacy, in other words frames able to guarantee a minimum of orderliness, of foresight and of trust in an otherwise chaotic and uncertain world.