Escape from the Iron Cage? Organizational Change and Isomorphic Pressures in the Public Sector

Ashworth, Rachel Elizabeth; Boyne, George Alexander; Delbridge, Rick

doi:10.1093/jopart/mum038

Cited by 314 publications

(300 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Institutional theory suggests that organizations pursue legitimacy by adjusting or matching to existing isomorphic pressures in their environment (Ashworth et al, 2009) and therefore in this case the theory is relevant to explain the performance measurement system as one of NPM concept which is expected to give benefit in increasing efficiency, accountability, and service quality of public sector organization (Ahyaruddin and Akbar, 2016).…”

Section: Performance Measurement and Isomorphismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on the concepts in institutional theory, Ashworth et al (2009) states that the main reason behind organizational change is simply to gain legitimacy rather than substantively improving performance. This is also reinforced by the findings of several studies which state that the organization will be faced with competition to gain institutional legitimacy and political power, as well as community and customer support (Chenhall, 2003;Akbar et al, 2012;Sofyani and Akbar, 2013 ;Wijaya and Akbar, 2013;Akbar et al, 2015;Ahyaruddin and Akbar, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Indonesian Local Government’s Accountability and Performance: the Isomorphism Institutional Perspective

Ahyaruddin

Akbar

2018

JAI

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This research aims to explore the accountability and performance of government agency in perspective of institutional theory. It analytically answer two research questions: Do institutional isomorphism exist in the implementation of performance measurement system and accountability in public sector organizations? (RQ1) and Do government agencies actually use performance measurement information to aid decision-making and help plan for future performance improvement? (RQ2). This study is a qualitative research to answer two research question proposed with use semi-stuctured and open interview from SKPD officers in the local government of Yogyakarta Province. The results of interview were analyzed use thematic content analysis. Our finding show that three form of institutional isomorphism (coersive, mimetic and normative) were existed in the implementation of performance measurement system and accountability in public sector organizations. This result also show an interesting finding in government agency that performance information who reported in LAKIP was only a formality. The information content in LAKIP is not used as feedback to aid decision-making and plan for future performance improvement.

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Section: Performance Measurement and Isomorphismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indonesian Local Government’s Accountability and Performance: the Isomorphism Institutional Perspective

Ahyaruddin

Akbar

2018

JAI

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“…One need not search far to discover sources of these coercive forces in recent developments in sustainability efforts, perhaps most strikingly in the financial incentives provided by numerous federal and state funding efforts related to sustainability, primarily in the environmental domain [86]. Mimetic isomorphism obtains in uncertainty, whereby the organization models a response based on other organizations [12].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Capital and Longitudinal Change in Sustainability Plans and Policies: U.S. Cities from 2000 to 2010

et al. 2013

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This study examines changes from 2000 to 2010 in the adoption of sustainability plans and policies in a sample of U.S. cities. The study's framework posits sustainability initiatives as communitarian outcomes intended to meet the needs of both current and future generations. We hypothesize, accordingly, that a community's social capital level, in the form of the relative presence of social trust, is a primary facilitating condition for the adoption of sustainability initiatives. The analysis assesses whether trust-based social capital is similarly associated with the adoption of plans and policies at both time points (2000 and 2010), as well as whether social capital is associated with change in the adoption levels documented across the ten-year period. The paper concludes by suggesting that the effect of social capital is substantially reduced in 2010 as a consequence of institutional network dynamics featured in the theory of isomorphic change.

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“…Here the specific aspects of organisational similarity that may be of interest are engagement structures and norms, the latter being in the sense of commitments: in short, both the capacity to engage and the willingness to do so. Non-market-induced isomorphic changes are also understood as a shift to greater legitimacy with stakeholders (Ashworth et al, 2009). …”

Section: A Combined Socio-technical and New Institutionalist Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ashworth et al, 2009) are non-existent in the literature on energy infrastructure planning. Yet isomorphism introduces ideas of common logics, shared pressures and a limited set of functionally successful responses that arguably resonates with the reality in which infrastructure developers generally find themselves.…”

Section: Avenues For Further Research Addressing Organisational Strucmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organisational aspects of public engagement in European energy infrastructure planning: the case of early-stage CCS projects

Breukers¹,

Upham

2013

Journal of Environmental Planning and Management

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Recent years have witnessed a proliferation of studies on public perceptions of carbon capture and storage (CCS), accompanied by efforts to translate such knowledge into toolkits for public engagement and communication. At the same time, both literature and toolkits have paid little attention to the organisational dynamics and views of project implementers with regard to public engagement. Here we investigate the views of project development consortia employees in five European CCS projects, focusing on their experience of organisational norms and structures relating to engagement. Finding that planning for this engagement has in several cases been hampered by a lack of shared internal vision on engagement and communication within the project consortia, at least initially, we draw upon the socio-technical approach to technology embedment and new institutional theory, to observe that internal organisational alignment is crucial in multi-organisational projects when seeking effective public engagement and communication. We observe that this aspect of internal organisation is not yet reflected in the toolkits and guidelines designed to aid engagement in CCS projects. Engagement guides need to direct the attention of project implementers not only in specific outward directions, but also towards reflexively considering their own internal structures, perspectives, motivations, expectations and aims in relation to engagement and communication practice. The work was begun while at the Tyndall Centre, University of Manchester.Breukers S, Upham P. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 2013 DOI:10.1080/09640568.2013 2 Key words:Public engagement; communication; CCS; organisational dynamics Organisational practice in public engagement and communicationThe literature on public opinion of renewable and low carbon energy infrastructure has variously focussed on the characteristics of the technology involved; the psychological processes of the receiving population; and institutional, planning and governance-related factors ; for reviews see Bell, Gray and Hagget, 2005;Upham et al., 2009 andWhitmarsh et al., 2011;Wolsink, 2006). Reflecting increasingly nuanced understandings of public opinion in this context, energy infrastructure developers in Europe and elsewhere are now typically encouraged towards early public engagement and to obtain an understanding of the social context of planned developments. In pragmatic terms, early public engagement acknowledges that local acceptance may be contingent on situational, highly local circumstances (Renn, 2008) and that a developer would do well to anticipate some of these.In general, then, the focus in the siting literature is on affected populations and their environment in a wide sense. It is much less common to examine public engagement in energy infrastructure developments from the perspective of the organisations promoting the development. Responding to this, here we investigate opinion, dynamics and structures within the boundaries of the firms involved in develo...

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Escape from the Iron Cage? Organizational Change and Isomorphic Pressures in the Public Sector

Cited by 314 publications

References 51 publications

Indonesian Local Government’s Accountability and Performance: the Isomorphism Institutional Perspective

Indonesian Local Government’s Accountability and Performance: the Isomorphism Institutional Perspective

Social Capital and Longitudinal Change in Sustainability Plans and Policies: U.S. Cities from 2000 to 2010

Organisational aspects of public engagement in European energy infrastructure planning: the case of early-stage CCS projects

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