In the case of IEEE we keep the institutional name, but change our bylaws virtually every Board meeting. It is as if we keep the box, but replace the inner circuitry. It may look like the old computer, but functions differently. In today's environment, such computer replacements happen every day. Start-up companies are established for the sole purpose of being sold two or three years later.
Huge corporations divide and merge.
A Darwinian marketplace determines the rules of the game. The weak ceases to exist, and today's mighty may become the weakling of tomorrow. The IEEE might be heading in the same direction. While there are some attempts to simplify the bylaws and give them greater permanence, there are also attempts that might further weaken the institutional stability. There are proponents who would liberalize IEEE membership requirements to the point that virtually anyone who can pay the dues would be admitted to membership.