Call to service: The Register of Australian Accountants for National Service 1940–1944

PurposeThe paper explores the creation in Australia of the Register of Accountants for National Service. Established at the outset of the Second World War, the Register operated for four years from June 1940 providing voluntary, non-remunerated, part-time and after-hours services to a highly stressed and seriously stretched federal government bureaucracy by members of the main Australian professional accounting bodies. Departments of the Navy, Army, Air Force, Supply and Development and Munitions were the largest consumers of the services offered.Design/methodology/approachThe study of the Register relies mainly on an extensive archive of war-time documentation from the Federal Government and various accounting professional institutes which has survived, predominantly in the National Archives of Australia. The resource is particularly rich in material covering the complex negotiation processes that brought the Register into operation together with documentation recording and reporting the work of the Register. The themes of professionalization, institutional legitimacy, volunteerism and patriotism are all invoked to explain the presence of the Register in the machinery of government that was assembled to deliver the ultimately successful war effort. Created by the principal professional accounting institutes, the Register attests to the commitment of their members to the war effort and, thereby, the importance of the profession to Australian society.FindingsThe perilous situation of Australia at a time of war provided a compelling incentive for the accounting profession to organise itself in an efficient and highly effective manner to assist with the war effort. The disparate and somewhat fractured accounting profession at the time was able to work together in a structured, cohesive and disciplined manner to provide voluntary services when called upon. To deliver the voluntary services promised, a purpose-built set of institutional arrangements was put in place. An extensive inventory of the potential services that could be provided by members of the main professional accounting bodies was conducted to facilitate the smooth matching of government needs with services available.Research limitations/implicationsDiscussion focusses only on Australia where the Register was unique. No other examples have been discovered where a profession has self-mobilised to serve a nation in a time of war. A further limitation is that the activities reported are restricted to self-reporting by the Register and a small loose collection of documents prepared by the Department of the Navy.Originality/valueThe uniqueness of the Register is the core of the originality and value of this study. How and why it came into being and the method by which it completed the “task” assigned to it stand as testament to a profession strategically placed to contribute in a substantive manner to the war effort at minimal cost to the nation.

How Civility Matters in Civil Matters: Procedural Justice and Court Legitimacy in the Midst of a Legitimacy Crisis

The procedural justice thesis that quality of treatment matters more than outcomes in people’s perception of institutional legitimacy is supported by a large body of research. But studies also suggest that distributive justice and the effectiveness of authorities are more important in certain legal settings (civil courts) and national contexts (posttransition societies). This study tests these ideas through a survey of 192 civil litigants in Poland, a postcommunist country where the national judiciary has recently been subject to intense political scrutiny. Our findings support the generalizability of procedural justice, and especially voice, but also demonstrate the significance of outcomes and legal cynicism. We also discuss prior court contact, role (plaintiff versus defendants), and representation (presence of counsel) as potential moderators on litigants’ perceptions of court legitimacy.

La lucha urbana por la reconquista y la redefinición del espacio público en América Latina

Since its inception in ancient Greece, public space has played a key role in the politics and democracy of cities. Its role has been degraded in post-modernity, and reached its deepest crisis in the full maturity of the post-Fordist system (from 1990 onwards). This economic and representation depression, as well as institutional legitimacy, that States are experiencing, have promoted the emergence and resurgence of different social movements that flood cities globally. Here is where the concern of the Frente Urbano Amparo Poch y Gascón collective lies, formed by the authors, to recognize and characterize, from a socio-urban logic, these manifestations and the sustained occupation that public spaces have experienced in different Latin American cities during the last decade. This research, framed within the Virtual Latin American Meeting, Utopías Líquidas, is proposed starting from a mixed methodology of collective mapping, recognizing public spaces, and characterizing their occupation exercised by Latin American social movements, in the dispute to redefine them and regain their political character, and thus value the different Latin American social movements and their struggles, in an act that encourages resistance and solidarity.

Strategic accountability for sustainability of natural resources – public discharge and optimism in sub-Saharan Africa

Purpose This study aims to explore individual perceptions about how the government, as the main architect of policies and regulations, discharges strategic accountability in Ghana’s oil and gas sector and, in so doing, promotes resource sustainability. Design/methodology/approach The study reports on a series of interviews with key actors using institutional theory as a lens for discussion and interpretation of results. This approach forms the basis for a number of specific contributions to knowledge regarding strategic accountability around natural resource discoveries. Findings Whilst many deeply-set problems appear to persist, the paper reports some favourable movement in public perceptions regarding institutional accountability that has not been identified previously. The empirical findings demonstrate how the three elements of institutional theory work together in an emerging country’s natural resource industry to drive a potentially holistic strategic institutional legitimacy, contrary to the existing pervasive picture of detrimental regulative, normative and cognitive institutionalism found within the region. Practical implications The findings suggest that, contrary to existing regional evidence regarding institutional financial accountability practices around natural resources, Ghana has made favourable strides in terms of strategic accountability discharge. This discovery implies that with persistence and commitment, a meaningful degree of intelligent strategic accountability can be achieved and, with appropriate empirical methodology, identified and rationalised. Social implications The persistent coercive pressure from the Ghanaian society that caused the government to listen to overtime and take positive steps in the institutionalisation of their strategic accountability process which translated into a holistic institutional legitimacy that has eluded the sub-region for decades, is a glimmer of hope for other societies within the sub-Saharan region that all is not lost. Originality/value The paper suggests an empirically driven approach to understanding the institutionalisation of strategic accountability practices and their impact on sustainability around natural resources in sub-Saharan Africa. The focus on the strategic aspect of accountability – rather than the financial as in most prior work – and the consideration of opinions at more than a single point in time permits the identification of novel evidence regarding accountability in emerging economies.

Be Green to Be Innovative: The Role of Government Subsidies

Corporate environmental investment has long been recognized as a non-market strategy that helps secure both economic and social benefits. However, we know much less about how environmental investment affects corporate innovation. We argue that investment in environmental protection is an important source of institutional legitimacy for firms to secure government resources, thus providing financial support for corporate innovation activities. Using a sample of Chinese industrial firms, we find that firms investing more in environmental protection can receive more government subsidies and then have better innovation performance. This study emphasizes the mechanism of government resources, which enriches our understanding of the effect of environmental investment on corporate innovation.

Successful, coasting and low-performing school principals in Israel: an explanatory model

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the successful school and principal (SSP) model, which has developed over 13 years of Israeli involvement in the ISSPP study.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper summarizing the findings of more than 20 case studies of successful, coasting and low-performing schools and their principals, into the SSP model. In all the cases, ISSPP protocols were used to collect the data, and the findings were analyzed in accordance with the organizational approach and organizational routine theory.FindingsThe explanatory SSP model comprises three cyclical phases that explain cause–effect relationships and presents intervention points for school improvement toward success. The first phase is an organizational restructuring of two core routines: the school schedule routine and the school tracking routine, which shape and affect school staff behavior. The second phase is the priorities and values revealed in these behaviors and which shape the school as a learning environment. The third phase in school improvement is the institutional legitimacy derived from and reflecting the school’s priorities and values. All these phases are based on the principal as a crucial key player who turns the wheel.Originality/valueTheoretically, the SSP model explains cause–effect relationships and indicates possible interventions and improvements. Practically, the SSP model can influence principal preparation programs, novice principal mentoring and serve as a roadmap for school improvement.

Institutional legitimacy as a source of corporate reputation

El presente artículo se concentra en el desarrollo del concepto de legitimidad social en las organizaciones, como fundamento o piso teórico de la reputación. Se establece una triangulación en la revisión de literatura que inicia con la teoría institucional hasta llegar al concepto de legitimidad institucional y su importancia como piso teórico en el estudio de la reputación corporativa. Se coloca de precedente las dimensiones o fuentes de la legitimidad, como lo son: la moral, cognitiva y evaluativa. En el mismo sentido, se soporta la investigación de revisión de literatura con corte descriptivo, la cual se edificó mediante la revisión o consulta de un amplio grupo de fuentes y bases de datos académicas que contribuyeron a darle una mayor comprensión al concepto de reputación corporativa desde el campo de la sociología con la teoría institucional.

More Security, More Legitimacy? Effective Governance as a Source of State Legitimacy in Liberia

What explains the legitimacy of state institutions in areas of limited statehood? In order to ensure effective governance, it is critical for states with limited capacities to establishthe legitimacy of state authority. Yet, the sources of institutional legitimacy are not well understood in areas of limited statehood where legitimacy is often the only mechanism for the state to ensure compliance and cooperation of citizens. This article argues that inareas of limited statehood a state’s legitimacy among the domestic population crucially depends on whether that population feels safe and secure. We test this argument withan original survey fielded with 2,000 respondents from Liberia using multilevel modelling. Our results demonstrate that security perceptions of the population play a key role instrengthening state legitimacy at both the community and county level. We also find that explicit attribution of security to specific institutions is key for linking more effectivegovernance with more legitimacy. However, security alone is not enough to acquire state legitimacy. Our analysis also reveals that states gain legitimacy when locals perceiveinstitutions as just and elections as free and fair in addition to feeling secure. The results demonstrate that the sources of state legitimacy are multifaceted and that the provisionof security is an important component thereof. Thereby, our study speaks to lates theoretical debates on the various sources of state legitimacy and contributes novelempirical evidence.

Capital Punishment in Brazil: Exploring Factors That Predict Public Support for the Death Penalty

The primary purpose of this study was to examine public support for the death penalty in Brazil and to determine factors that influence such support. Currently, Brazil has the death penalty for cases involving war crimes, genocides, terrorism, and crime against humanity. The country’s constitution, however, prohibits the use of the death penalty in ordinary crimes. Analyzing individual-level cross-sectional data collected by the American Barometer Survey, we found that a significant majority of Brazilians support the death penalty, with more than two thirds expressing greater support. In terms of factors, it was revealed that frequency of murders, sense of insecurity, and perceived institutional legitimacy largely influence support for the death penalty. In addition, ethnicity, religiosity, and religious affiliation affect citizens’ attitudes toward the death penalty. The findings of this study have serious implications for research and practice.