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Cited by 1,656Management and Organizational StudiesPublic Policy and Administration ResearchCorporate Social Responsibility Reporting

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 136 of the 136 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

From Smoke and Mirrors to Walking the Talk: Decoupling in the Contemporary World

Bromley, Patricia, Powell, Walter W.·2012·Academy of Management Annals
DOI 10.5465/19416520.2012.684462
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Abstract

The pervasive spread of rationalizing trends in society, such as the growing influence of managerial sciences and increasing emphases on accountability and transparency, has created significant changes in organizations’ external environments. As a result, there is growing pressure on organizations to align their policies and practices, and to conform to pressures in an expanding array of domains, from protecting the natural world to promoting employee morale. In this context, we reconsider the concept of decoupling as it applies to organizations. Through a review and critique of existing research, we argue that the common understanding of decoupling—as a gap between policy and practice—obscures the rise of a more prevalent and consequential form of decoupling—a gap between means and ends. We describe when to expect both policy–practice and means–ends decoupling, and we indicate promising areas for research. The major consequences of this overlooked form of decoupling are that in an effort to monitor and evaluate activities where the relationship between means and ends is opaque, (a) internal organizational structures become increasingly complex, (b) organizations persist in a state of perpetual reform, and (c) resources are often diverted away from core goals.

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Citations

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Show all 136 references

Research works printed but not linked: 14

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  11. Selznick P., 1949, TVA and the grass roots
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  13. Thompson J. D., 1967, Organizations in action
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Metadata

Authors
Bromley, P., & Powell, W. W.
Affiliations
University of Utah (US)
ORCID
Venue
Academy of Management Annals
Publisher
Academy of Management
Published
2012-06
Volume
6
Issue
1
Pages
483-530
ISSN
  • 1941-6067 (ISSN-L)
  • 1941-6520
DOI
10.5465/19416520.2012.684462
OpenAlex
W4241062781
Cited by
1,656
References
136
Citations by year
2026: 416 · 2025: 200 · 2024: 139 · 2023: 127 · 2022: 100 · 2021: 123 · 2020: 138 · 2019: 85 · 2018: 70 · 2017: 85 · 2016: 59 · 2015: 50 · 2014: 34 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 5
FWCI
71.53
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Academy of Management Annals (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Management and Organizational Studies
  • Social Sciences › Public Administration › Public Policy and Administration Research
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting
Keywords
decoupling, means-ends decoupling, policy-practice gap, organizational rationalization, managerialism, accountability, transparency, organizational complexity, organizational reform, resource allocation

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