The Coupling of the Symbolic and the Technical in an Institutionalized Context: The Negotiated Order of the Gao's Audit Reporting Process *

Abstract

The relationship between the work an organization actually performs backstage and the image it presents to external parties has received continuing research attention but is as yet unresolved. Various organizational scholars have held that these two facets of organizations should remain disconnected from one another as they are fundamentally different and any link between them could contaminate one or the other. Other scholars have held that the two facets are indeed connected in a complex interrelationship. We examine this relationship through a qualitative field study of the U.S. General Accounting Office's (GAO) audit reporting process. We find that the GAO's internal work and the image it presents to such parties as the Congress, the press, and the federal agencies it audits are indeed complexly interconnected. We also find that the strength of these connections is influenced by the relative power of the various types of external parties with which the GAO interacts. We conclude by exploring implications for current theory and future research in various types of organizations.