Institutional Theories and Public Institutions.

This chapter covers the evolution of institutional theory and its application to public adminsitrations in the last 20 years. It discusses the various streams, their reseach agendas and their contributions, but also their limits to add value to knowledge.New institutional theories: historical, sociological, "new institutionalism", co-constructed local orders.

Territorial Institutions

Territorial politics as social and political constructs are major issues for governement and for policy-making. Studying its properties and its dynamics shapes a domain of its own in social sciences. The text presents dominant approaches that have structured knowledge in the last thirty years about center-periphery relationships. Is also summarizes key findings from a comparative perspectiveterritories; nation-state dynamics; state theories; interorganizational systems; comparative contexts

RESCUING PUBLICNESS FROM ORGANIZATION STUDIES

Does publicness still make sense as an issue for further research? Classic organizational sociology (or standard theory) has provided a breakthrough for understanding public administration and management, but has not fully explored the agenda. Publicness is analytically characterized by the ownership of two production functions: efficiency (outputs), effectiveness (societal outcomes). While similarities may exist between public and non-public entities on some aspects of their organizational models, the effectiveness function they are accountable for is quite specific. Such a perspective allows public administration and organizational scholars to explore new perspectives such as organizing and organized (or the agenda of extended theory).organizational analysis; publicness; organized; organizing; public administration

Power, theory building, and heuristics.

Avoir recours à une perspective en termes de pouvoir ouvre des opportunité nombreuses pour renouveler l'agenda de la recherche en management. Une des valeurs ajoutées trop souvent méconnues est d'ordre méthodologique ou heuristique. Enfin l'article énonce des pistes de recherche encore à explorer.Power can be used as a way to create fruitful opportunities for scientific agendas. Power also offers an analytical tool to make sense of social phenomena. This does not imply that power theory building only may derive heuristic benefits using it. The paper concludes by a series of still open issues for further research.Analytical tool; Scientific enigmas; Power; Organized action;

Territorial Administration and Political Control

Based on recent field research, the paper suggests an interpretative model of territorial government in France. Relations between national and local authorities as well as policy- making processes suggest that the centralized State has faced a major decline of its hegemony and that decentralization reforms have induced a polycentric dynamics. Seven basic characteristics and three key properties of the model are discussed. The emerging model fits neither a new localism nor a new centralism pattern. It is the product of on-going incremental trade-offs between centrifugal and centripetal rationales. This complexity reflects a situation that is under the rather conservative and tight control of national politicians holding multiple local elected mandates.Local governance ; Decentralization ; Partisan interests ; Center and periphery

Some lessons from the Nordic way of doing science

For more than 20 years the Nordic scholars have been major contributors to the advancement of knowledge in orgganization studies. Four aspects are considered: they are both global oriented and locally embedded, they combine disciplinary roots with interdisciplinary openess, they are functioning as a stream open to pluralism, the have constructed a common scientific identity.organizational studies; discplinary roots; paradigms

El rescate de la publicness desde lo estudios organizationales

Como debe definirse el concepto de la publicness desde la perspectiva de los estudios organizacionales? El texto considera importante regresar a las teorias fundacionales. Las organizaciones publicas son organizaciones con una naturaleza especifica. Un tercer momento presenta algunas razones y ejemplos de por què las politicas, su hechura y gestion, ofrecen elementos fructiferos para plantear nuevas indagaciones empiricas sobre las organizaciones publicasestudios organizacionales; politicas y organicaziones publicas

Institutional theories and public institutions: Traditions and appropriateness

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 axiomsinstitutionalism; path dependence; new institutionalism; change; norms

Territorial administration and political control. Decentralization in France

The paper is based on intensive longitudinal field research. It suggests an interpretative model of territorial governement in France. Relations between national and local authorities as well as policy-making processes suggest that the centralized state has face a major decline of its hegemony and that decentralization reforms have induced a polycentric dynamic. Seven basic characteristics and three key properties of the model are discussed. The emerging model is neither a new localism nor a new centralism pattern. It is the product of incremental and ongoing trade-offs between centrifugal and centripetal forces. This complexity reflects a situation that is under the rather conservative, as well tight, control of national politicians who hold multiple local elected mandatesintergovernemental relations; France; national state; local authorities; coordination, policy-making; political integration

Pour une épistémologie des recherches sur l'action publique

Ce texte passe en revue le développement moderne et contemporain des approches élaborées par les sciences sociales et qui concerne les politiques publiques. Il propose un bilan critique de l'état de l'art en science politique et en sociologie politique. Il liste les conditions pour que des étapes nouvelles soient franchies par la connaissanceaction publique; travail politique; épistémologie; politiques