Balanced or unbalanced routines :the case of two routines dynamics in a French hospital

International audiencePurpose – The performative approach views organizational routines as generative systemswith internal aspects – ostensive and performative – and dynamics (Feldman and Pentland,2003). This paper intends to better understand under which conditions the routine dynamicshappens or not.Design/methodology/approach – To deal with this issue, for 13 months, we conducted acomparative and longitudinal case studies based on the evolution of the organizationalroutines in absence management in two departments of a French hospital.Findings – The results show contrasting dynamics in the studied organizational routines: oneevolved, the other in contrast, seemed blocked. The authors suggest that the routine dynamicsdepends on the relative weight of its ostensive and performative aspects: a balance situationmakes mutual adaptions possible and an imbalance situation leads to the conservation ofdefective routine. The research underlines also that, in the hospital context, the capacity ofmanagement and teams to discuss and to negotiate the implementation of external rules playsan important role in the balance of the internal dimensions of routine.Originality/value –While the literature on performative approach focuses on the “how andwhy” the routine act as a source of continuous change, this research investigates more indepth the working of the routines dynamics itself. The issue of balance or imbalanceintroduces a new element in the framework of routine dynamics and can constitute aninteresting focus for managers looking to transform their organizational routines