The paper argues the ideas developing the provisions of behavioral economics as a branch of economic theory. The authors substantiate a new method of studying the economic space, called 'the dialogue between the individual and the environment', characterize the causes of deformation in the development of economic relations, taking into account the features of economic space as a certain dynamic structure with peculiar topological properties. The research is focused on the task of identifying the main characteristics of economic space and pointing out those responsible for the development of socially inefficient institutions. The authors develop the concepts of balance and stability as applied to economic space, and work out the spatial approach to the study of economic relations. It is argued that the use of topological model makes it possible to set mathematically correct tasks of dealing with institutional crises as perturbations of the economic space. It is proved by the example of one of the types of organizational cultures, that the method proposed by the authors allows moving from the descriptive character of models to the content one. The proposed approach lets carry out a synthesis of theory and practice and thereby answer the question-why economics and practice are always there, but not together.