Bending and bowing the BIS
By: MARCUSSEN, Martin
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ArticlePublisher: Oxon : Routledge, April 2009Critical Policy Studies 3, 1, p. 84-104Abstract: The official story of the Bank for International Settlements is one of continuous transformation over a period of almost 80 years. It has survived one crisis after the other. It is true that its functions and purpose have changed over the years, but the chameleonic change the Bank exhibits does not reflect change in all aspects of what is a very complex organization. If we look inside the organization we get a picture of basic command structures that have remained completely intact for the entire life-span of the organization. Thus, a study of the Bank for International Settlements clearly illustrates that actors play decisive roles for organizational change as well as for stability. Institutional entrepreneurs adapt the functions and purpose of an organization to the changing environment, whereas maintenance workers invest all their skills and resources in protecting and consolidating the power relations that were established during the very first months of the organization's life.
The official story of the Bank for International Settlements is one of continuous transformation over a period of almost 80 years. It has survived one crisis after the other. It is true that its functions and purpose have changed over the years, but the chameleonic change the Bank exhibits does not reflect change in all aspects of what is a very complex organization. If we look inside the organization we get a picture of basic command structures that have remained completely intact for the entire life-span of the organization. Thus, a study of the Bank for International Settlements clearly illustrates that actors play decisive roles for organizational change as well as for stability. Institutional entrepreneurs adapt the functions and purpose of an organization to the changing environment, whereas maintenance workers invest all their skills and resources in protecting and consolidating the power relations that were established during the very first months of the organization's life.
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