eCommons

DigitalCollections@ILR
ILR School
 

Institutional Sources of Change in the Formal Structure of Organizations: The Diffusion of Civil Service Reform, 1880-1935

dc.contributor.authorTolbert, Pamela S.
dc.contributor.authorZucker, Lynne G.
dc.date.accessioned2020-11-17T17:23:40Z
dc.date.available2020-11-17T17:23:40Z
dc.date.issued1983-03-01
dc.description.abstractThis paper investigates the diffusion and institutionalization of change in formal organization structure, using data on the adoption of civil service reform by cities. It is shown that when civil service procedures are required by the state, they diffuse rapidly and directly from the state to each city. When the procedures are not so legitimated, they diffuse gradually and the underlying sources of adoption change overtime. In the latter case, early adoption of civil service by cities is related to internal organizational requirements, with city characteristics predicting adoption, while late adoption is related to institutional definitions of legitimate structural form, so that city characteristics no longer predict the adoption decision. Overall, the findings provide strong support for the argument that the adoption of a policy or program by an organization is importantly determined by the extent to which the measure is institutionalized — whether by law or by gradual legitimation.
dc.description.legacydownloadsTolbert3_Institutional_sources_of_change.pdf: 14330 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020.
dc.identifier.other459575
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1813/75701
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.relation.doihttps://doi.org/10.2307/2392383
dc.rightsRequired Publisher Statement: Reprinted from “Institutional Sources of Change in the Formal Structure of Organizations: The Diffusion of Civil Service Reform, 1880-1935” by Pamela S. Tolbert and Lynne G. Zucker, published in Administrative Science Quarterly Volume 28 Issue 1 by permission of Administrative Science Quarterly. © 1983 by Cornell University.
dc.subjectcivil service reform
dc.subjectinstitutional change
dc.subjectorganizational change
dc.titleInstitutional Sources of Change in the Formal Structure of Organizations: The Diffusion of Civil Service Reform, 1880-1935
dc.typearticle
local.authorAffiliationTolbert, Pamela S.: pst3@cornell.edu Cornell University
local.authorAffiliationZucker, Lynne G.: University of California, Los Angeles

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Tolbert3_Institutional_sources_of_change.pdf
Size:
1.3 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format