LAUSR

This article examines how governance mechanisms were put in place in three organizational transformation projects undertaken in university hospital centers. Our focus is guided by a theoretical discourse on the place of rational choices on organizational design versus the desire to imitate other organizations. The article presents two complementary points of view: a longitudinal study and a recent a posteriori reflection with five key players. A first result highlights efforts invested in the preparation stages and that these nevertheless resulted in comparable performances: hence, the concept of equifinality. However, a second result reveals complementarity between equifinality and institutional isomorphism.