Departure of performative from ostensive aspects of routine as source of artifacts persistence and organizational change

Several studies have enriched our understanding of routine dynamics by shedding light on the relationships between their ostensive and performative aspects. In this article, we integrate artifacts to better understand the consequences of the full generative system on stability and change. Empirically, we study disciplinary sanction routines in French public nursing homes. Analyses show that directors tend to minimize penalties for misconducts while engaging in training and sometimes organizational change to avoid further misconducts. We argue that minimizing penalties in performative routines impedes the evolution of legal artifacts while being source of local adaptations of behaviors and other routines. We thus suggest that instead of creating new artifacts, departures of performative from ostensive aspects of routines can favor artifacts persistence while being source of changes in other routines.