The influence of institutional pressures on the implementation of a performance measurement system in an Egyptian social enterprise

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to explore the influence of field-level funding pressure and resource dependency on conflicting institutional logics in implementing a new performance measurement system (PMS) within a privatised social enterprise (SE) in a developing country. It answers the research question: how accounting-based key performance indicators (KPIs) were chosen within a privatised SE to maintain co-existence between two different institutional logics, the social and commercial logics, to gain legitimacy in the government funding scheme. Design/methodology/approach This study expands the application and contribution of the Besharov and Smith’s (2014) logics multiplicity framework to previous management accounting literature on PMS and institutional logics. It adds a new dimension to previous literature to theorise the cognitive dynamics of institutional logics at three distinct but interrelated institutional levels, namely, field, organisational and individual. Data come from an interpretive case study of an Egyptian SE, involved in implementing a social project (drinking water refining) in rural communities. Findings PMS acts as a political tool through which the privatised case company has gained societal acceptance and legitimacy in the government funding scheme. Its non-political KPIs have turned into political tools to meet the institutional demands of the funding scheme. This government involvement represents field-level institutional logics, which influenced the organisational-level interplay of commercial and social logics and then the individual-level choice of internal KPIs. This contributes to the fact that institutional logics and their interplay between these three levels are “in a state of flux” within SEs’ internal PMS. Originality/value This study deals with a real-life practical case that proves the prevalence of one institutional logic over another at both the organisational and individual levels may be occasioned by organisational field pressures and opportunities rather than by other intra-organisational conflicts as discussed in most previous literature on PMS and institutional logics.

Performance measurement in smart city governance: a case study of an Egyptian city council

“…By contributing to previous literature, the present study is more concerned with the developing context (Egypt) and reveals this potential relationship by accrediting “intra-organisational” performance metrics within a single organisation (city council) to face the political demands and decisions for smart city governance. This further supports the recent study of Englund and Gerdin (2020), arguing for the importance of studying the conforming influences of intra-organisational performance evaluations to better understand their powerful roles within individual organisations (see also Alsaid and Ambilichu, 2020; Steccolini et al , 2020). To go one step further, the present study also revealed that the intra-organisational performance measurement system within the case (individual) organisation has been built on specific (accounting/accountability-based) metrics (integrating a blending of economic and social political performance measurements) rather than just mediating (technological and managerial) instruments as indicated previously in most institutional management accounting case studies on the relationship between performance measurement systems and smart city governance.…”

“…The institutionalised performance measurement system plays a powerful role(s) in formulating political decisions in the city council. This further supports the findings of Alsaid and Ambilichu's recent study (2020) on the influence of institutional pressure on the implementation of a performance measurement system in an Egyptian social enterprise. This further supports the recent study of Englund and Gerdin (2020), arguing for the importance of studying the resulting influences of intra-organisational performance evaluations to better understand their powerful roles within individual organisations (see also Steccolini et al , 2020; Speklé and Verbeeten, 2014).…”

Smart city dynamics and multi-level management accounting: unfolding a case of sustainable enterprise resource planning

“…Further, the interplay between different sustainability demands has placed MAAD in the status of "institutional dynamics" (Dillard et al, 2004) since the inception of the city project in 2017. These dynamics were not only from the higher (political) level to the lower (field) level and then to the lowest (organisational) level, but these were also from the lowest to the lower and then to the higher institutional levels (Alsaid, 2021;Alsaid and Ambilichu, 2020;Wanderley and Cullen, 2012). For example, consistent with the DRG recursive dynamics where government agencies have influenced MAAD through higher organising sustainability principles, values and criteria, MAAD has also influenced them through regular sustainability "reports" that are an influencing factor in the (political) decisionmaking processes.…”

“…In the DRG's view, SOEs were affected by the political leadership decided to adopt smart city projects, which imposed multiple institutional sustainability pressures on different economic fields (ministries and associated enterprises) then on the institutionalisation of different systems to meet these projects. Public institutions in Egypt, especially SOEs that still contribute, have contributed to the implementation of a large proportion of these projects compared to the private sector, which shuns itself because these projects aim at achieving social aspects, not economic ones (Alsaid and Ambilichu, 2020).…”

Measuring the impact of the use of smart energy in logistics companies on technological progress, operations performance and green environment: Egypt as a case study

“…Besides those projects, the Egyptian government started to depend on renewable and clean resources of energy to be adopted all over Egypt. Finally, it could be noted that there is a gap in research that investigated the adoption of smart energy in Egypt, as well as those studies that focused only on smart cities projects without focusing on smart energy in a certain industry or project (Hamza, 2016;Alsaid andAmbilichu, 2020 andAlsaid, 2021). Other studies, such as; Ibrahim (2012) and Bahgat (2013), focused only on the conversion from non-renewable resources to renewable and clean resources of energy without focusing on smart energy projects.…”