TY  - JOUR
A1  - Wenzel, Bertolt
T1  - Rational instrument or symbolic signal?
BT  - Explaining coordination structures in the Directorate-General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs of the European Commission
JF  - Public Policy and Administration
N2  - This article examines the reorganization of formal coordination structures in the Directorate-General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs of the European Commission. While rational approaches in organization theory emphasize functional efficiency as an explanation for organizational design and coordination structures, the findings of this study indicate that the reorganization was not driven primarily for reasons of efficiency and to increase the coordination capacity of the organization. The study demonstrates that, even in a highly technical policy area such as fisheries management in the European Union, the (re-)design of formal organizational structures does not follow primarily a technical-instrumental rationale. Instead, the formal coordination structures have also been adapted to live up to changing expectations in the institutional environment, to modern management concepts in marine governance, and to ensure the legitimacy of the organization. However, although the empirical findings of this study substantiate the theoretical assumptions of an institutional perspective, institutional explanations alone are insufficient to comprehensively understand why organizational structures are reorganized and changed.
KW  - Coordination structures
KW  - European Commission
KW  - fisheries policy
KW  - marine governance
KW  - organizational reform
KW  - organization theory
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1177/0952076716683764
SN  - 0952-0767
SN  - 1749-4192
VL  - 33
IS  - 2
SP  - 149
EP  - 169
PB  - Sage Publ.
CY  - London
ER  -