Identifying elastic hybridity through a multilevel perspective of institutional complexity. Case study of a French prison
Résumé
Driven by external constraints and internal requirements, the prison institution is an
ever-changing environment. Prisons are subject to a pendulum effect of public policy, with grey
areas around the application of best practices. To theorize the alternance between various
institutional requirements, we will use the institutional logics perspective and question the
recent concept of elastic hybridity.
Drawing on the hybrid exploratory approach, we have performed a case study of a French prison
in order to understand the beliefs, discourses and practices of the penitentiary field. First, we
identified four institutional logics (protection, reintegration, legal bureaucratic, and
performance), characterize the field and the organization to explain antecedents of oscillation.
Therefore, we analysed the concept of complexity via multi-level characteristics: the degree of
conflict intensity, the degree of attention to conflict, and the degree of means’ availability. Then,
we identified consequences of this balancing act with greater precision through illustration of
creation spaces. We illustrate how temporary organizational arrangements can shape and
influence institutions through the creation of spaces for interpretation and negotiation.
Therefore, our research contributes to deepening scientific knowledge in the management of
societal institutions and its constant adaptation to societal challenges. The study of
organizational practices resulting from the management of elastic hybridity in the penitentiary
field also brings empirical contributions to institutional theory
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