The Historical Study of Institutional Change Over Long Periods: Pitfalls And Perspective. A Commentary On The Article By Hélène Peton And Stéphan Pezé.

Abstract

M@n@gement recently published an article by Hélène Peton and Stéphan Pezé, entitled “The Unsuspected Dynamics of the Regulative Pillar: The Case of Faute Inexcusable in France” (2014). Based on a historical study of the legal concept of faute inexcusable (inexcusable conduct) in France between 1898 and 2010, Peton and Pezé identify three main tipping points – in 1898, 1941, and 2002 – in the definition and application of the concept of inexcusable conduct. The authors illuminate the political institutional work at the heart of these institutional changes (Lawrence, Suddaby & Leca, 2009). They show that this multifaceted work is not the privilege of the State alone, but also involves legal professionals and members of civil society. Peton and Pezé propose a three-step dynamic model to account for the production of legal rules: An event triggers a period of advocacy work by various groups of interest; when successful, this leads to a change in the legal texts. By underlining the dynamic underlying the coercive pillar of institutions (Scott, 1995), so far neglected by neo-institutionalist research, the authors “highlight a regulative pillar that is ‘ahead’ of the cognitive and normative pillar” within institutional change (page 174).