ABSTRACT
The conception of the system as a social construction by individuals regards regulation as deriving from domination: power games, and their counterintuitive and at times irrational outcomes determine organizational regulation. From the process-centered perspective, the power-dependence balance characterizes all relationships between agents, whether they are conflictual, competitive or cooperative in nature. This can occur, for example, when someone who was subject to heteronomous rules claims autonomy. More generally, when beliefs concerning the legitimacy of certain rules change, other rules that are regarded as legitimate – even if not necessarily legal – tend to take their place, bringing about sizeable changes in the power relationships.
