Faculteit Economie En Bedrijfskunde Hoveniersberg 24 B-9000 Gent Working Paper Management Reform in Flemish Local Authorities: Testing the Institutional Framework

This research empirically examines the process of organisational change through management reform (New Public Management) by an examination of the level of compliance with the reformed management regulations. A management index is constructed and applied on a sample of 100 Flemish local governments using a questionnaire, their annual accounts and interviews. The institutional framework proves to be a useful base for considering the level of adoption and testing cross-sectional differences on a number of explanatory factors. This study reveals that in practice the level of adoption of the governmental reform is restricted and mediated by both local organisational aspects and wider institutional influences.

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