Institutional theories and public institutions: Traditions and appropriateness

Jean-Claude Thoenig (1)

1 DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management

Public institutions are organized configurations which are prone to institutionalization processes. They reflect as well as produce and diffuse valuues, norms, cognitions, meanings and identities about life and evolution of society, polity or economy. The text covers a set of theories which share a strong Verstehen perspective: historical institutionalism, sociological institutionalism, new institutionalism, and local order institutionalism. It presents their main hypotheses, their analytical methods, and most relevant findings. The empirical facets of such theories question the relevance or normative theories wich prescribe so-called rational or scientific solutions deducted from very abstracts axioms

Keywords: institutionalism; path dependence; new institutionalism; change; norms

Keywords: écoles institutionnelles; déterminismes; changement; ordre social.

Domains: Business administration; Economics and Finance; Political science; Sociology; History

Jean-Claude Thoenig. Institutional theories and public institutions: Traditions and appropriateness. Peters Guy and Jon Pierre. Sage, pp.22, 2003, Handbook of Public Administration. ⟨halshs-00139954⟩