Reporting practices in situations of conflicting institutional logics: the case of a German federal authority

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Celina Gisch ◽  
Bernhard Hirsch ◽  
David Lindermüller
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Sector Organisation ◽  
Federal Authority ◽  
Accounting Reports ◽  
Organisation Management

Purpose This study aims to understand how reporting practices act as drivers of change in situations of conflicting institutional logics in a public sector organisation. Design/methodology/approach The findings are based on a case study of a German federal authority, where management accounting reports were introduced as part of a “new” managerial logic of control. Findings In the case organisation, management accounting reports were intended to change the behaviour of executives but were still guided by an “old” logic of justification. Nevertheless, over time, the addressees of the reports used the reports and reconciled different logics. This documents a process from decoupling to compromising and, finally, reconciling different institutional logics. Originality/value By examining the practices of management accounting reporting, this study elaborates the tensions placed on individuals by conflicting institutional logics and provides insights into how organisational practices are used to handle and reconcile conflicting logics in a public sector organisation. Therefore, this paper contributes to the discussion on how organisational practices act as drivers of organisational change.

New perspective on the black box of internal auditing and organisational change

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (8/9) ◽  
pp. 804-820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aviv Kidron ◽  
Yuval Ofek ◽  
Herztel Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Internal Audit ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
Internal Auditing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Internal Auditors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Innovative Model ◽  
Audit Information

Purpose The shift from the traditional audit towards performance audit implies that internal auditors in the public sector function as change agents who underpin the fundamental change process. This paper aims to propose a model that identifies the determinants of organisational change in the public sector that result from internal auditing and the way internal auditors facilitate it. Design/methodology/approach The conceptual discussion of this paper is based on a review of relevant literature, both practical and academic. Findings This paper develops an innovative model that describes the factors leading to auditees’ change readiness after undergoing internal audit processes. The independent variable is audit information quality and the dependent variable, organisational change. Auditees’ perceptions is the mediator variable, and accessibility to audit information is the moderator variable. Practical implications The proposed model suggests the advantages that can be gained by audit-related services, which in turn will add value to the organisation. The relationships between the variables inform practitioners on how to support effective audits as a means of increasing performance and influencing organisational change. Originality/value As the paper offers an innovative model, it may open up new research areas in internal auditing that can be studied by using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

Institutional pressures influencing environmental management accounting adoption by Malaysian local governments

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Che Ku Hisam Che Ku Kassim ◽  
Noor Liza Adnan ◽  
Roziani Ali
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
State Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
The State ◽  
Institutional Pressures ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Environmental Management Accounting

Purpose Because of the heightened environmental awareness of the public, local governments (LGs) are being pressured to improve on the extent and quality of environmental disclosures (EDs) provided in an array of reporting media. The lack of an accounting tool to identify, measure and report EDs has propelled the infusion of environmental management accounting (EMA) to support the reporting practices. This paper aims to examine the institutional pressures influencing EMA adoption by Malaysian LGs. Design/methodology/approach Using the consensus approach, a self-administered questionnaire survey is conducted on accountants in LGs in Peninsular Malaysia. The items in the questionnaire are based on the findings of prior studies on EMA adoption. Findings The results suggest that coercive isomorphism from the state government is perceived to be the influential institutional factor placing intense pressures on LGs to adopt EMA. Research limitations/implications The results solidify the potential role of the state government in any public policy changes which could further stimulate and promote the adoption of EMA. Originality/value Insufficient empirical evidence on the adoption of EMA in LGs within a developing country’s perspective contributes to a limited understanding on the development of environmental-related practices in different economic stages and environment as well as within the public sector’s perspective.

Leadership of change in South Africa public sector turnarounds

2018 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mampe Kumalo ◽  
Caren Brenda Scheepers
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
Director General ◽  
Change Processes ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Financial Consequences

PurposeOrganisational decline has far-reaching, negative emotional and financial consequences for staff and customers, generating academic and practitioner interest in turnaround change processes. Despite numerous studies to identify the stages during turnarounds, the findings have been inconclusive. The purpose of this paper is to address the gap by defining these stages, or episodes. The characteristics of leaders affect the outcome of organisational change towards turnarounds. This paper focusses, therefore, on the leadership requirements during specific episodes, from the initial crisis to the full recovery phases.Design/methodology/approachA total of 11 semi-structured interviews were conducted with executives from the public sector in South Africa who went through or were going through turnaround change processes and 3 with experts consulting to these organisations.FindingsContrary to current literature in organisational change, this study found that, in these turnaround situations, leadership in the form of either an individual CEO or director general was preferable to shared leadership or leadership distributed throughout the organisation. This study found four critical episodes that occurred during all the public service turnarounds explored, and established that key leadership requirements differ across these episodes. The study shows how these requirements relate to the current literature on transactional, transformational and authentic leadership.Practical implicationsThe findings on the leadership requirements ultimately inform the selection and development of leaders tasked with high-risk turnaround change processes.Originality/valueFour episodes with corresponding leadership requirements were established in the particular context of public sector turnaround change processes.

Assessing performance-use preferences through an institutional logics lens

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-20
Author(s):  
Benard Ngoye ◽  
Vicenta Sierra ◽  
Tamyko Ysa
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Measurement Systems ◽  
Cognitive Frames ◽  
Public Market ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
Performance Measurement Systems

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of shared cognitive frames, in particular, that of institutional logics, on the deployment and use of performance measurement systems (PMSs) in the public sector.Design/methodology/approachUsing novel priming techniques derived from behavioral and social psychology, three institutional logics – the public, market-managerial and professional logics – are differentially surfaced in three independent experimental groups. The influence of these primed institutional logics on performance measurement use preferences are then empirically assessed using appropriate analysis of variance techniques.FindingsContrary to theoretical predictions, the paper reveals logic congruence regarding some uses of PMSs in the public sector, and divergence regarding others. Individuals applying a public logic were more likely to propose performance measurement use for strategic planning or strategic alignment; while those applying a professional logic were more likely to propose performance measurement use for learning, compared to otherwise primed individuals.Research limitations/implicationsConsidering the sample size and the novelty of the priming tools, it is feasible that other potentially significant effects may have been missed.Originality/valueThe paper addresses a gap in literature regarding the influence of shared cognitive frames on performance measurement use in public sector organizations. The paper further presents priming techniques embedded within an experimental design as an appropriate method for the micro-level study of attitudes, preferences and judgments in the public sector.

scholarly journals Institutional drivers of environmental management accounting adoption in public sector water organisations

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 984-1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Imtiaz Ferdous ◽  
Carol A. Adams ◽  
Gordon Boyce
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Adoption Process ◽  
Australian Water ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perspective Drawing ◽  
Community Expectations ◽  
Environmental Management Accounting

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influences on the adoption of environmental management accounting (EMA) in corporatised water supply organisations, from an institutional theory perspective, drawing on the concepts of reflexive isomorphism and institutional logics. Design/methodology/approach The primary research involves case analysis of three companies in the Australian water supply industry, drawing on interviews, internal documents and publicly available documents, including annual reports. Findings Two key drivers for the adoption and emergence of EMA are: the emergence of a government regulator in the form of the Essential Services Commission (ESC) and community expectations with regard to environmental performance and disclosure. The water organisations were found to be reflexively isomorphic, while seeking to align their commercial logic to “sustainability” and “ensuring community expectations” logics to the legitimate adoption of EMA. Originality/value The paper contributes to the literature by providing case study evidence of the intentions and motivations of management in adopting EMA, and the nature of that adoption process over an extended period. Further, it provides empirical evidence of the applicability of reflexive isomorphism in the context of EMA and institutional logics.

Exploring the rationale for integrated report assurance

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1826-1854 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warren Maroun
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
The Status ◽  
Perceived Relevance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine why companies assure some of the information found in their integrated reports, possible changes required to existing assurance practices and the motivation for either seeking to expand current technologies of assurance or to maintain the status quo. Design/methodology/approach The research is exploratory/interpretive. Data are collected from detailed interviews with preparers and assurance experts. Framing theory provides the data analysis framework. Findings Three broad views on assurance are identified. An expectation management perspective focusses on the role of assurance as a legitimisation tool and requires no changes to existing assurance standards. A value-adding perspective emphasises the role of assurance in improving the usefulness of information being reported to stakeholders and its function as part of a broader corporate governance system. This can evolve into a change-potential outlook in terms of which assurance is used to promote positive organisational change, something which may require the development of new standards/guidelines for assuring integrated reports. Research limitations/implications Only preparers and assurance experts are engaged to explore the rationale for seeking to have parts of an integrated report assured. The views of the broader stakeholder community are not taken into account. The study is also limited to a single jurisdiction where integrated reporting practices are relatively well established. Practical implications Assurance of non-financial information cannot be understood only in terms of broad drivers such as firm size, environmental impact or listing status. It is inextricably linked with the perceived relevance of integrated (or sustainability) reporting and the value which assurance provides to an organisation and its stakeholders. Originality/value The study complements the mainly quantitative research on determinants of assurance of environmental or social disclosures. It is one of the few to provide primary evidence on the reasons for having these types of disclosures assured and how this informs the need for changes to existing assurance practices. The paper is also one of the first to deal with the assurance of environmental or social information in an integrated reporting context.

Accountability through accounting and reporting lenses

Humanomics ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hisham Yaacob ◽  
Saerah Petra ◽  
Azimah Sumardi ◽  
Hairul Suhaimi Nahar
Keyword(s):  
Management Accounting ◽  
Financial Accounting ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Multiple Factors ◽  
Islamic Country ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Accountability Policy ◽  
Religious Image

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review, understand and document the contemporary waqf-S management, financial accounting and reporting practices and to understand relevant drivers behind the current accountability culture in waqf-S, aiming at exploring the intertwined nature of accounting, reporting and the religion of Islam. The accountability literature has been relatively scant on the role played by accounting and reporting in not-for-profit, religious-based organizations and its implications for accountability discourse. Three accountability drivers of regulatory, stakeholders and religious image are tested. It is interesting to research how management, accounting and reporting are being practiced in an Islamic organization setting in a non-Islamic country. Design/methodology/approach – Consistent with the established research objectives, this study adopts the qualitative research approach of a single case study research involving semi-structured interviews and archival documentation review and analyses. Sample is chosen using purposive sampling to suit the research objectives. Findings – The paper finds that waqf-S is a very successful awqaf manager. The administration and management are carried out in the most effective manner with comprehensive rules, guidelines and procedures. The awqaf financial reporting and management are impressive as annual financial reports are published on time and available for the public online. The paper proposes three lenses to examine the accountability drivers of waqf-S: Regulatory, Stakeholders and Religious image of Islamic organization and, it turns out that all three are equally important in driving the organization accountability practices. Research limitations/implications – The sample is an Islamic organization in a non-Islamic country; therefore, the results are unique and may not be generalised to organizations in Islamic nations, as it will be a different setting with different variables. Secondly, the paper only focuses on awqaf financial accounting, awqaf reporting and investigating the driving factors for the institution’s accountability culture. Practical implications – This paper is important as it shows that the management and administration of awqaf, which has been plague by mismanagement, embezzlements and lack of talents, can be improved and managed systematically, although there is a clear evidence of the lack of capable or talented human resources. It is compensated by the significant use of technology. Originality/value – Focusing on a single awqaf institution (waqf-S) operating in a non-Islamic Southeast Asian country, our analysis allows us to observe the influence of multiple factors influencing its organizational wide accountability policy. We consider this as a contribution to the literature, as it generates knowledge on how management, accounting and reporting are being devised as strategic tools in the institution’s accountability policy framework, beyond the normal office management, financial data recording and disclosure per se. Multiple factors drive the structured and transparent reporting by waqf-S, transcending beyond the traditional financial accounting and reporting boundary of meeting regulatory requirements; it reaches the concerned while ensuring that the necessary accountability towards stakeholders is observed and upheld.

The impact of management control systems on organisational change and performance in the public sector

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-495
Author(s):  
Nuraddeen Abubakar Nuhu ◽  
Kevin Baird ◽  
Ranjith Appuhami
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Employee Empowerment ◽  
Strategic Flexibility ◽  
Interactive Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
And Performance

Purpose This study aims to examine the role of organisational dynamic capabilities (strategic flexibility and employee empowerment) in mediating the relationship between management control systems (MCSs), in particular the interactive and diagnostic approaches to using controls, with organisational change and performance. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected based on a mail survey of public sector organisations in Australia and analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings The findings indicate that strategic flexibility and employee empowerment mediate the association between the interactive approach to MCSs with organisational performance, and strategic flexibility mediates the relationship between the interactive approach to MCSs with organisational change. Practical implications The study’s findings inform public sector practitioners as to how to enact change within and enhance the performance of public sector organisations. Specifically, managers are advised to focus on the use of interactive controls and the development of two dynamic organisational capabilities, strategic flexibility and employee empowerment. Originality/value The study provides an initial empirical insight into the relation between controls and dynamic capabilities and their role in enacting change and performance within the public sector. The findings suggest that the achievement of new public management ideals is reliant upon the organisational environment, with change and performance facilitated by the interactive use of controls and strategic flexibility and employee empowerment.

scholarly journals Institutional logics and practice variations in sustainability reporting: evidence from an emerging field

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeeshan Mahmood ◽  
Shahzad Uddin
Keyword(s):  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Practice Variation ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Practice Variations

PurposeThis paper aims to deepen the understanding of logics and practice variation in sustainability reporting in an emerging field.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopts the institutional logics perspective and its conceptualization of society as an inter-institutional system as a theoretical lens to understand reasons for the presence of and variation in sustainability reporting. The empirical findings are based on analysis of 28 semi-structured interviews with significant social actors, and extensive documentary evidence focusing on eight companies pioneering sustainability reporting in Pakistan.FindingsThis paper confirms the presence of multiple co-existing logics in sustainability practices and lack of a dominant logic. Sustainability reporting practices are underpinned by a combination of market and corporate (business logics), state (regulatory logics), professional (transparency logics) and community (responsibility logics) institutional orders. It is argued that institutional heterogeneity (variations in logics) drives the diversity of motivations for and variations in sustainability reporting practices.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper offers a deeper theoretical explanation of how various logics dominate sustainability reporting in a field where the institutionalization of practice is in its infancy.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the conditions that influence the logics of corporate decision-makers will provide new insights into what motivates firms to engage in sustainability reporting. A broader understanding of sustainability reporting in emerging fields will foster its intended use to increase transparency, accountability and sustainability performance.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to relatively scarce but growing empirical research on emerging fields. Its major contribution lies in its focus on how multiple and conflicting institutional logics are instantiated at the organizational level, leading to wide practice variations, especially in an emerging field. In doing so, it advances the institutional logics debate on practice variations within the accounting literature.

Cloud computing and ERP assimilation in the public sector: institutional perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nizar Mohammad Alsharari
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Computing ◽  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Institutional Work ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Erp System ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government

Purpose This study aims to explore the influence of contingent factors on the assimilation of the cloud enterprises resources plan (ERP) system in the UAE’s public sector. It explains the relationship between institutional logics and institutional work while implementing ERP-based cloud computing (CC) to transform the government. Design/methodology/approach This study uses qualitative methods and an interpretive approach to provide an in-depth explanation for a detailed case study in the public sector. The institutional logics framework has been used to inform the integration between ERP system and CC in the public sector case. Findings Findings show that the UAE public sector could align institutional work processes with the inbuilt logics of ERP-based CC, resulting in successful assimilation of the cloud version. This study concludes that institutional pressures in highly institutionalized environments will generate organizational responses, but those responses are dependent upon and influenced by aspects of organizational culture. This study found that the organizational culture has led to a radical change by implementing the cloud ERP system and institutionalizing its usage toward transforming government. Moreover, ERP assimilation is the extent to which an organization has developed from understanding the ERP system’s functionalities to mastering and deploying them in their processes. Research limitations/implications This study has important implications and contributions to the literature in three ways. First, this study examines an understudied topic, the interaction between CC and institutional logics. Second, this study contributes to the public sector research by providing a fine-tuned interpretation of the organization’s strategic behavior in response to a new information technology (IT) trend. Finally, this study also focuses on this new trend of CC which can influence the global IT industry, and it is worthy of being considered. Originality/value Explanatory case study research has a value to the public sector that one might be discovering new phenomena while analyzing the public sector case. The implementation of cloud ERP is one of the best methods of integrating technology with the public sector’s organizational, technical, economic, social, cultural and other environmental domains.

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