Search results

1 – 3 of 3
Per page
102050
Citations:
Loading...
Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 23 December 2021

Siasa Issa Mzenzi and Abeid Francis Gaspar

The paper aims to investigate how the governance practices of public-sector entities (PSEs) in Tanzania are shaped by competing institutional logics and strategies used to manage…

447

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to investigate how the governance practices of public-sector entities (PSEs) in Tanzania are shaped by competing institutional logics and strategies used to manage the logics.

Design/methodology/approach

In the paper, empirical evidence was gathered through documentary sources, non-participant observations and in-depth interviews with members of boards of directors (BoDs), chief executive officers (CEOs), internal and external auditors, senior executives and ministry officials. The data were analyzed using thematic and pattern-matching approaches.

Findings

The paper shows that bureaucratic and market logics co-exist and variations in governance practices within and across categories of PSEs. These are reflected in CEO appointments, multiple roles of CEOs, board member appointments, board composition, multiple board membership, board roles and evaluation of board performance. External audits also foster market logic in governance practices. The two competing logics are managed by actors through selective coupling, compromise, decoupling and compartmentalization. Despite competing logics, the bureaucratic logic remains dominant and is largely responsible for variations between the underlying logics and governance practices.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that public-sector reforms in emerging economies (EEs) must account for the fact that governance practices in PSEs are shaped by different institutional logics embedded in socioeconomic, political and organizational contexts and their corresponding management strategies.

Originality/value

Few previous studies explicitly report relationships between institutional logics and the governance practices of PSEs in EEs. The current study is one of few empirical studies to connect competing institutional logics and the associated management strategies, as well as governance practices in EEs in the context of public-sector reforms.

Details

Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-1168

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 2 November 2015

Abeid Francis Gaspar and Tausi Ally Mkasiwa

The purpose of this paper is to investigate performance measurement practices in the Tanzanian Local Government Authorities (LGAs). It seeks to understand the performance…

2329

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate performance measurement practices in the Tanzanian Local Government Authorities (LGAs). It seeks to understand the performance measurement practices in the context of new public management (NPM) (Hood, 1991, 1995). Specifically, the paper focuses on the annual performance assessment (the local government development grant system), which operated in the Tanzanian LGAs as a base for accessing grants from the central government.

Design/methodology/approach

The study executed a grounded theory strategy for data collection and analysis. Fieldwork was undertaken in three Tanzanian LGAs.

Findings

The findings revealed how performance measurement practices were involved in the process of managing legitimacy, and consequently, in the acquisition of grants from the central government. Dialogue and learning about the performance measurement exercise and the production and manipulation of evidence were the two strategies employed by LGAs in the management of legitimacy.

Practical implications

In practice, efficiency in organizations may be achieved through the appropriate design of systems, and by understanding, and addressing problems which emerge during their implementation. Learning is a significant strategy used by actors, and this needs to be taken into consideration by reformers when designing and implementing reforms.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to existing research by providing a framework for managing legitimacy. The framework supports and extends Oliver’s (1991) typology of strategic responses to institutional processes and Suchman (1995) legitimation strategies. It identifies dialogue and learning as other forms of significant strategy in actors responses to institutional pressures. The study also provides additional evidence of the responses to the accounting changes and the NPM reforms.

Details

Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-1168

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 6 July 2015

Siasa Issa Mzenzi and Abeid Francis Gaspar

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the contribution of external auditing to accountability in the Tanzanian local government authorities (LGAs).

2184

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the contribution of external auditing to accountability in the Tanzanian local government authorities (LGAs).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses content analysis of the external audit reports of the LGAs for the past ten years. Corroborative evidence was gathered through interviews with external auditors, councillors, Parliamentary Committee members and selected internal auditors of the LGAs.

Findings

The study finds that external auditing had marginally contributed to the enhancement of accountability within the LGAs. This is mainly attributed to the limited scope and failure of the responsible officials to address audit recommendations. In the light of agency theory, the findings suggest that external auditing has not sufficiently enabled the stakeholders to hold LGAs’ officials accountable.

Practical implications

The findings indicate that external auditing can enhance accountability when the scope is widened to provide relevant information and also when audit recommendations are implemented by responsible officials.

Originality/value

Most studies of external auditing and accountability have focussed on the developed countries; this is one of the few papers which explores the phenomenon in the context of emerging economies.

Details

Managerial Auditing Journal, vol. 30 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-6902

Keywords

1 – 3 of 3
Per page
102050