상징적 경영(Symbolic Management): 제도환경과 지배구조, 경영전략의 경계에서

Why do we observe a persistent separation between institutional environment and actual activities of a firm? Why do the institutions, as a collection of agreements among the stakeholders of the firm, often fails to achieve their objectives regarding firm behavior? Prior studies provide multiple answers to these questions by observing how a firm engages in different tactics of decoupling, impression management, and social influence tactics against institutional pressure. This paper defines symbolic management as a set of activities where corporate actors engage to exert influence over the perceptions and behaviors of corporate stakeholders, which forms the basis of the institutional environment. The paper further provides a consolidating mechanism underlying the different tactics of symbolic management. The paper first examines the symbolic arena outside and within a firm, where institutional logics and organizational culture and norms are defined by different actors. The plurality of institutions, autonomy of corporate actors, and possibility of cooptation are presented as the key determinants predicting the use of different symbolic management tactics. Finally, the paper derives topics for future studies in Korean context, by emphasizing the historical and situational contingency of symbolic management. They include 1) the genesis and evolution of institutional logics of Korean management, 2) how it translates into the internal corporate culture and norm of Korean companies, and their strategic decision making, and 3) the consequences on their long-term performance.