The valuation of fixed assets in Norwegian health care: an account of change agent struggle
Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change
ISSN: 1832-5912
Article publication date: 5 September 2016
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how accrual accounting is translated into new accounting norms and what role change agents have had in that process. The main research question is: How were private sector accounting norms translated within the Norwegian public health sector?
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses framing theory to understand how the different actors involved in the translation frame their arguments. The field study considers the specific case of public health care. The main data sources are archival data combined with semi-structured interviews.
Findings
The empirical study uses framing theory to show how the Big Four consultants worked as change agents to impose a valuation based on a full accrual accounting logic. The first finding shows that there are two framing processes to valuate fixed assets. The central government has a pragmatic framing trying to get the budget in balance, while the Big Four consultants together with private sector accounting experts have an accrual accounting ideology framing. The second finding shows how the Big Four consultants become a change agent by forming alliances with accounting experts, health enterprises and politicians. These findings point to the need to focus explicitly on the role of change agents as drivers of public sector organizational change and the important role accounting as a tool can have.
Practical implications
The paper is likely to be useful for governments, practitioners and researchers to gain knowledge about the implementation of accrual accounting.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to our understanding of change agent's role in successfully introducing a new accounting logic in the public sector, especially within an inter-organizational setting.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The research in this paper draws on Anne Robbestad’s doctoral studies undertaken at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) from 2006 to 2011. The authors would like to thank seminar attendees at the Norwegian School of Economics in 2007 and 2008, delegates at the 2007 European Accounting Association conference in Lisbon and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and suggestions on earlier versions of this paper. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance of a grant from the Health Economics research group in Bergen and the language editing assistance of Paul Wilson Glenn.
Citation
Kaarbøe, K. and Robbestad, A. (2016), "The valuation of fixed assets in Norwegian health care: an account of change agent struggle", Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 386-407. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-03-2014-0018
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited