Lack of institutional work and organizational change failure in Brazilian local governments

Abstract This article proposes a theoretical framework to explain the failure of the compulsory adoption of new practices in the financial management cycle in local governments. The empirical analysis applies the framework to the control systems implementation in Brazilian municipalities. The findings of a qualitative comparative analysis applied to seven local governments show that despite human capabilities and information systems being a necessary condition, they are insufficient to deeply implement such internal control practices. Institutional capital is a condition sine qua non for the adoption of new practices on financial management and control in Brazilian local governments. The adoption of such reforms depends on an active network of powerful actors involved in institutional work supporting the changes.

摘要 本文提出一套理论框架，用以解释地方政府财务管理周期中新举措强制推行失败的成因。本研究以该框架为分析工具，针对巴西市镇的内部控制系统落地实践开展实证分析。针对7个地方政府开展的定性比较分析（Qualitative Comparative Analysis）结果显示，尽管人员能力与信息系统属于必要前提，但二者并不足以支撑此类内部控制实践的深度落地。制度资本是巴西地方政府推行财务管理与内部控制新举措的不可或缺的必要条件。此类改革的落地，有赖于一个由强势行动者组成的活跃网络，该网络通过开展制度性工作为变革提供支撑。