Comunicazione e strutturazione di un quadro istituzionale. Riflessioni sulla recente crisi del sistema finanziario (Communication and structuring of an institutional framework. Reflections on the recent crisis of the financial system)
Keywords:
communication;, institutional framework;, Institutional Work;, narrative analysis;, power;, financial crisis;Abstract
Purpose of the paper: This work aims to identify the contribution of the communication activities carried out by key actors for the definition of the institutional framework governing any organizational context. The communication mechanisms are analysed in the frame of the Institutional work, where they are used as strategic lever by the actors to produce and disseminate “discourses” to drive the decision-making processes that generate regulation (normative framework) and to shape a shared vision of the world (symbolic framework).
Methodology: These arguments are tested in respect to the Institutional work processes that built the institutional framework of the U.S. financial system in the period prior to the 2007 financial crisis. The analysis adopted a qualitative methodology -the narrative approach- to investigate the Institutional work in the period prior to the issue of two fundamental deregulation laws (GLBA/1999, CFMA/2000).
Results: The study of the communication mechanisms used by the key players contributes to the identification of the antagonistic positions they held in the political debate and the role they played in the deregulation process.
Limits: The references on which the analysis is based are not uniform: while there is abundance of documents testifying the positions of the actors supporting the deregulation, there is scarcity of sources on the opponents' views.
Practical Implications: The work shows the way forward to further studies on the role of communication in the construction of institutional frameworks. It also provides a key to the reading of the crisis, enabling a greater comprehension of some phenomena in view of the construction of the “new financial order”.
Originality of the work: The chosen theoretical approach helps shading light on the communication dynamics orienting decision-making processes otherwise not clearly identifiable.
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