Richard A. Colignon is Associate Professor in the Center for Social and Public Policy and the Department of Sociology at Duquesne University.

• Preface Acknowledgments 1. Institutionalization 2. Tennessee Valley Authority As a Contingent Event 3. Genesis: The Roots of Tennessee Valley Authority 4. The Tennessee Valley Authority Act 5. Public Interest Conflicts 6. Tennessee Valley Authority As a Microcosm of Society 7. Power Pooling and Reappointment 8. Judiciary Act of 1937 9. Institutionalization through Purge and Purchase 10. Tennessee Valley Authority As an Instrument: Part of the Sociopolitical Processes of the 1930s Notes References Index

"The author puts forth an important thesis—organizations are better understood as contested political struggles than as objects sui generis—and makes it stick in the empirical discussion." — David Strang, Cornell University"The author does a good job of pointing to the weaknesses of the current version of 'institutional' organization theory. He pays meticulous attention to the historical record. The work is a compelling statement of an 'action' oriented organization theory."— Wolfgang Bielefeld, University of Texas at Dallas