Quasi-privatisations: an institutionalisation perspective

This research examines the process of quasi-privatisation of a U.K. organisation, Historic Royal Palaces, from an institutionalisation perspective. It evaluates the relevance of a staged model of privatisation, previously developed in the course of research into fully privatised organisations in Sweden, in this new context. The model identifies Initiation, Problem Solving, Consensus Building, and Consolidation phases in privatisations, each stage being influenced by different factors. Initially, regulatory and market forces are important; gradually, however, these give way to isomorphism, leadership, and increasingly positive outcomes for the organisation. The application of the model to Historic Royal Palaces has shown that the organisation has so far progressed through three of the four phases. However, negative external environmental influences together with lack of clarity within the organisation on ownership and control have created tensions which for the time being remain unresolved, thus delaying the consolidation phase of the model.