I processi decisionali come rituali di interazione: giochi di faccia e interazione sociale in un gruppo politico di maggioranza

Abstract

- This paper proposes a view of decision making as a social interaction process. Drawing on Goffman's face theory, it documents and interprets the micro interaction dynamics within the ruling political coalition of an Italian town council. Two main arguments are put forward. First, decision making unfolds through face games and impression management tactics where individuals are primarily concerned with attributing plausible sense to situations while maintaining a coherent image of self. Second, face-to-face behavior has structuring properties. It generates an interaction order amongst the participants that becomes progressively consolidated as the actors in- volved strive to affirm their respective situated identities through repeated face-to-face exchanges. A number of organizational implications are drawn from the study.Keywords: Decisional process, face game, interaction's ritual.