Symbolic Management

The Theory Of Symbolic Management Reveals A Pervasive Pattern Of 'symbolic Decoupling' - A Separation Between Appearances And Reality - At Every Level Of The Governance System. At Each Level The Processes Of Governance Are Less Efficient Or Effective Than They Appear; From Interpersonal Relations Within Organizations Such As Those Between Ceos And Directors, Top Managers And Lower-level Employees, To Relations Between Firm Leaders And External Stakeholders Such As Journalists And Security Analysts. There Is Even A Separation Between Appearances And Reality At The Level Of The Governance System Itself. In This Book, James Westphal And Sun Hyun Park Develop Symbolic Management Into A Major Theoretical Perspective On Governance. Not Only Does Symbolic Management Provide A Compelling Behavioral Alternative To Economic Perspectives Such As Agency Theory, But It Subsumes Economic Theory. Agency Theory Is Reconceived As A Historically Contingent Institutional Logic That Became Taken For Granted Among Corporate Stakeholders For A Period Of Time And Eventually Replaced By A New Logic Of Governance. Through A Body Of Extensive Empirical Research Westphal And Park Demonstrate How The Symbolic Management Activities Of Firm Leaders Have Contributed To This Historical Shift In Prevailing Logics Of Governance, And Present A Warning To Regulators, Investors, And The General Public.