Distance and coupling: analyzing the pressures of accounting change in a city

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the accounting performance measurement (PM) change process in a Finnish city.Design/methodology/approachInterpretive case study. Data consisted of 16 semi‐structured interviews. Analysis was based on institutional theory, particularly on “new institutional sociology” (NIS) studies.FindingsBudgeting and accounting PM became coupled into action when various intertwined (mostly institutional) pressures affecting change converged. Perceived crises were found to accelerate accounting change by deinstitutionalization, i.e. by breaking (drastically) existing routines and myths. Further, accounting rules and routines changed somewhat independently. Further, the notion of “distance” between rules and routines clarifies the dynamic nature of coupling of institutional rules and routines. Further, analysis of both internal and external institutional pressures facilitates understanding of the case events.Research limitations/implicationsCase studies cannot be generalized and so further research on public sector PM change is encouraged.Practical implicationsUnderstanding of the interplay of various organizational pressures, deinstitutionalization and institutionslization of routines may facilitate management of PM change processes.Originality/valueThis analysis of the pressures and rationales of PM change in a Finnish city contributes to the accounting literature by noting the complexity of public sector change pressures. For example, some changes in accounting PM in the municipal field only occur when several non‐dominant pressures align.