受到「小國家、大社會」的理念與大部制改革的影響，大陸政府自二○○六年起便逐漸放寬民間組織的設立登記程序，以促進更多與多樣的民間組織協助政府彌補因政府精簡導致的公共服務缺口及參與解決社會與經濟事務。在路徑創造論中，造成制度變遷的主因並非路徑依賴強調的歷史連貫性而是企業家的施為，當企業家即時採取行動以型塑新路徑而脫離結構鑲嵌的過程，即是路徑創造意指的經心偏離過程。本文以路徑創造論探討一九四九年以來大陸民間組織登記管理制度從無序管理、嚴格控制的雙重管理，轉換至程序簡化的直接、統一登記而偏離現行路徑以走向新路徑的創造過程。從結果而言，因統一登記的適用對象仍將有所限制，路徑轉換的結果仍僅是次佳的狀況；但就過程來看，從統一登記理念的浮現、試驗與中央及地方政府的實際行動，已顯示制度企業家能即時以策略脫離鑲嵌於「大國家、小社會」的雙重管理結構以展現路徑創造的經心偏離過程。

Under the stimulus of ‘small state, big society’ and the Super-Ministry System reform, the central and local governments in China have loosened their civil organization registration system since 2006 in order to increase the number of and to broaden the range in their civil organizations, hoping to fill the gaps left by the downsized state and to activate these civil organizations’ participation in social and economic affaires. In path creation, change in institutions results from entrepreneurial agency rather than the continuity of path dependence. To disembed from existing structures, entrepreneurs would react by creating new paths in motion in real time. This shows a process of ‘mindful deviation’, the heart of path-creation. This current study applies path creation to exploring the transformation process of China’s civil organization registration system since 1949, which went from a disorder management, a strict dual management system to a simplified integration registration. The process demonstrates a deviation from an existing path to an innovated one. While the result of integrated registration is limited and thus in a sub-optimal situation, the process reveals a fact that institutional entrepreneurs are able to manipulate strategies to enact in real time and to become disembeded from the structure of ‘big state, small society’. This process fits the definition of mindful deviation in path creation.