The stabilizing work of public actors. A study of the deployment of the Respect Module in French prisons
Abstract
Although institutions evolve through gradual, often discrete and cumulative adjustments carried out by actors seeking to adapt them to persistent institutional pressures, the literature on institutional work has difficulty explaining these slow, incremental dynamics of endogenous change. The processual perspective of institutional stabilization (Reinecke & Lawrence, 2023) is a relevant theoretical framework in this regard but has not been fully developed to explain the actions of actors, especially public ones, who contribute to these changes. This article analyses how public actors operating in highly constrained institutional contexts participate in institutional stabilization. The analysis is based on qualitative research and a case study of the deployment of the Respect Module in French prisons from 2014 to 2025. Through an analysis based on observations, semi-structured interviews, and secondary data, we demonstrate that institutional stabilization occurs through a multi-level process of questioning, redefining, testing, and formalizing practices. This process is structured by the joint evolution of meanings, prescriptions, and modes of participation of actors. The article conceptualizes stabilizing work as a specific form of institutional work that transcends the dichotomy between maintenance and creation. It highlights the subtle yet cumulative role of public actors in the gradual evolution of institutions. The article thus emphasizes that implementing reforms in public organizations, particularly decentralized ones, depends on recognizing, supporting, and gradually harmonizing local initiatives led by public middle managers.