From institutionalisation to embeddedness

This article examines how a formally adopted collaborative governance model becomes internally institutionalised within a public administration. Its aim is to explain the mechanisms through which collaborative logics are embedded in bureaucratic routines. The study employs a longitudinal qualitative...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Pomares Urbina, Egoitz
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/77600
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/77600
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:collaborative governance
institutional work
socio-materiality
embeddedness
boundary objects
Descripción
Sumario:This article examines how a formally adopted collaborative governance model becomes internally institutionalised within a public administration. Its aim is to explain the mechanisms through which collaborative logics are embedded in bureaucratic routines. The study employs a longitudinal qualitative case study of the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa (Spain), based on systematic document analysis of meeting minutes, organisational artefacts and authorising documents produced during 2020. The analysis traces the sociomaterial evolution of two key artefacts (the Project Portfolio and the Monitor) and identifies a four-phase mechanism of creating, translating, legitimising and maintaining. These mechanisms reveal how boundary objects mediate institutional work and gradually stabilise new collaborative practices inside the administration. The findings show that internal institutionalisation is not merely procedural but a sociomaterial accomplishment. The article contributes to socio-legal debates on democratic innovations by specifying how participatory logics become materially anchored and embedded within the everyday work of public bureaucracies.