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This article examines the role of control tools in the dynamics of institutional change within public organisations facing pre-existing institutional complexity. The (2016-2022) case study highlights the ability of these tools to disseminate a new managerial logic within a French local authority. We show how the same tool can evolve from a role as an intermediary to a mediator, depending on the degree of compatibility perceived by the actors involved. The concept of ‘compartmentalised hybridisation’ is proposed to describe the change strategy resulting from the tool’s mediation, which may be balanced or unbalanced.