Even when accelerated by a jolt, deinstitutionalisation is most often a long process constituted by short timestep and long timestep periods. Little has been said however to explain the pace of deinstitutionalisation and the factors that may accelerate or slow down this process. Not only strategic actions contribute to deinstitutionalisation. Multiple actions are involved and have an impact on the pace of deinstitutionalisation, depending on efforts of maintenance and disruption which may be opposed, isolated or cumulated. Based on Dorado’s profiles of institutional change, we draw out some core claims: (1) the pace of deinstitutionalisation is slower when defensive actions are related to leveraging- strategic actions; (2) the interaction between leverage-strategic actions and accumulating-sensemaking actions explains the creation of residues that later become essential in disrupting an institution; (3) long timestep periods of deinstitutionalisation are related to the tendency for disruptive agents to be weakened and dispersed due to their lack of strategic vision. We conclude by presenting “convening” as an efficient form of action to considerably slow down the deinstitutionalisation process. Our case is supported by a longitudinal analysis of the deinstitutionalisation of asbestos in France during the 20th century.
