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The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent the initiatives of local governments to launch modernisation processes are facilitated by local autonomy, which is increasingly important in both the theory and practice of public policy and management.

Local government reforms are distinguished according to the institutional structure at which they are directed and local autonomy is assessed as a multidimensional concept. Drawing on a multilevel analysis of the Swiss case, this paper combines data stemming from a survey conducted at the local tier with secondary data from the regional tier.

The main empirical findings are threefold. First, when local governments undertake managerial or political reform initiatives, their autonomy with respect to higher levels of government matters. Second, it is not local autonomy but rather the perception of structural problems that is the force driving territorial reforms. Third, it is not the autonomy enjoyed by local governments vis-à-vis local factors, but rather the pressures stemming from that context that may lead to reforms.

By adopting a comparative approach to local autonomy, this paper shows that local governments which have sufficient latitude for local policy making are likely to take initiatives to improve service delivery in accordance with local preferences.

This article analyzes the economic policy reform experience of three less developed countries (LDCs) during the 1980s -- Costa Rica, Ghana and Jamaica -- in three policy areas, exchange rate, trade, and agriculture. A political management model that shows how strong but skillful political leadership is as critical to policy reform success as is economic content is used for the analysis. The model proposes that government officials have to make policy reforms politically feasible if the reforms are to succeed. The assumption is that successful decision makers will take three kinds of political initiatives: (1) appeal to national sentiments, (2) seek the collaboration of affected interest groups, and (3) manage external actors. The article provides evidence that the economic perfomance of three countries correlated with the degree of political initiative taken. Costa Rican policy elites demonstrated the highest level of 1initiative. Ghana ranked second in political management, and Jamaica ranked third. The success of some LDCs also provides instructive experience for the Clinton Administration as it moves forward with a variety of policy reforms.

This paper aims to analyse the reform syndrome, bottle‐neck effects and their impacts on teachers and school education in the last ten years and highlight the direction of new developments.

The paper examines educational reforms in Hong Kong in the last decade.

Echoing the international trends of educational reforms, Hong Kong, as an international city, has initiated a series of educational reforms in the past decades. The experiences of educational reforms in Hong Kong may provide a good case for understanding the dynamics of educational reforms and drawing theoretical and practical implications for research, policy formulation and implementation not only in Hong Kong but also in other international communities.

From the analysis of the reform syndrome, particularly the bottle‐neck effect, there should be seven key aspects for policy‐makers, educators and stakeholders in Hong Kong to address the emergent key issues in educational reforms and work for the further development of their education system in the coming few years.

The National Health Service is key to Britain’s welfare state, and has been subject to repeated reform initiatives. Such reforms rarely “fix” the problems for which they are introduced, but evaluations have neglected the significance of local action. Reform implementation involves local translation of politically contextualized ideas into workable practice. I focus on implementation processes and the role of professions. Ethnographic data reveal local actors engaging with policy objectives to protect existing structures within the boundaries of official reform rhetoric. Actors employ multiple strategies to maintain existing systems. Rather than “failing,” policy is made through localized collaboration.

The purpose of this paper is to explain the emergence processes of accounting change in the Jordanian Ministry of Finance as well as the Jordanian public sector within its socio-economic contexts, as brought about by public and fiscal reforms. The study explains the ways in which accounting change dynamics can emerge on the basis of interaction between “external” origins and “internal” accounts; which identifies that accounting is both shaped by, and shaping, wider socio-economic and political processes.

The paper uses an interpretive case study approach. The study adopts institutional and structuration theory as a theoretical lens and uses triangulation in data collection, including interviews, observations and documents and archival records.

The paper concludes that the new budgeting systems together with the Results-Based Management emerged as a result of interaction between “external” origins and “internal” accounts. It also highlights the interaction between these levels from one side, and the accounting and organizational change from the other side. The study confirms that factors other than economic may also play an influential role in the emergence of accounting change. It also concludes that there is a radical change of accounting systems in the case study (Ministry of Finance), which is not only a cosmetic change in accounting but is also represented in the actual working practices. The study also confirms that accounting is not a static phenomenon, but one that changes over time to reflect new systems and practices.

The paper has important implications for institutional research on accounting change and public sector reforms in responding to recent calls to bridge the gap between the extra- and intra-organizational levels of analysis. Hence, it has essential implications for the way in which successful change can be defined in accounting and organizational change literature. It also identifies that management accounting is both shaped by, and shapes, wider socio-economic and political processes, which has important implications for the methods of studying management accounting change.

The paper is one of the few case studies in the accounting literature to analyze the practical issues organizations face when changing their method of budgeting as influenced by public sector and fiscal reforms. The study contributes to both accounting literature and institutional theory by providing further understanding and “thick explanation” of the dynamics of accounting change in the public sector.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the dilemma that exists between the aims of public sector reforms and the ways organisations adjust to the management control reforms.

To study the research purpose, empirical data were collected from Norwegian Regional Hospital Enterprises. The aim was to describe how these institutions have chosen to implement formal and informal mechanisms of control for coordination and management of hospitals.

The results indicated a comprehensive map of the different formal and informal adjustments to radical institutional reform changes. The reform strategies were met with a mixture of intended adjustments, partly realised ambitions and ignorance in the organisations, and the change towards accrual accounting system was found to have reversed effects compared with the original ambitions.

This study was based on a small sample of organisations and interviews. The dimensions were somewhat crude, and the findings can be generalised reliably only to the population studied here. More research is needed for further explorations of these findings. The study reveals as similar with prior macro level institutional research a complex view on the implications of government initiatives as only one of many potentially powerful actors in such regulatory processes.

This work adds to leaders' understanding of how intended governmental strategies follow diverse paths of implementation.

These results provide useful support of prior findings as to the deeper understanding of why organisations that are exposed to the same reform initiatives, turn out to behave differently.

The purpose of the paper is to address the question of the influence of the administrative tradition and the politico‐administrative context on the formulation and implementation of public management reform in Portugal.

The paper is based on empirical evidence collected from various sources. It reflects the personal experience of the author, who was personally involved in the reform process, and is also the result of a wide‐ranging review of literature on public administration and public management reform in Portugal and other European countries.

The paper identifies different phases of reform, and acknowledges the existence of a recurrent problem with public expenditure and increasing public employment. It concludes that there has been no lack of great reforms, and suggests a different approach – one that does not require special speeches or special doctrine, but is based on discreet work by politicians and managers seeking to fulfil the traditional values of the public service.

Mainly due to a lack of both studies and evaluation practices – make it difficult to assess the actual impact of the different waves of reforms. However, administration has managed to cope with the process of change while maintaining a key orientation towards the citizen and society.

The value of the paper is that it is the first time the whole cycle of reforms, from 1974 until 2007, has been covered and also related to the politico‐administrative tradition. It contains summarised but complete information and suggests a new approach based on the ethical values of the public service.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss why public sector reforms hybridize during implementation processes, consequences on accountability relations and practitioners’ and policymakers’ reactions to these changes.

The paper considers experiences from three initiatives related to the governance reform in the Norwegian hospital sector. Data were collected via interviews and document studies, and all three cases were longitudinal studies.

Unexpected consequences of reform initiatives and contextual changes are causing controls to hybridize and having profound effects on accountability relations. However, the gradually alignment of controls in a dynamic pattern of hybridization enables the balancing of conflicts in the chain of accountabilities. Hybrid controls are observed to emerge as stronger than the initial ideal control models. The longitudinal studies of control hybridization illuminate the sector’s survival in the long run, as they allow for adaptation to changes in contexts.

This work augments leaders’ understanding of how governmental strategies may follow diverse paths and yield results that diverge from intentions. Narrow accountability bases inhibit the government from implementing political decisions through agencies. Conversely, agents must relate to direct control from authorities. The predictability of agents’ decision space is reduced, and the control process becomes more ambiguous.

Through connecting what happens in agencies with accountabilities in the political level, it is possible to study the flexible nature of accountability relations and why controls hybridize. The paper underlines the need for longitudinal studies to describe complex patterns of reform initiatives.

This paper aims to investigate public sector reform (PSR) initiatives in Kazakhstan, and how such reform efforts have helped the government to be more responsive to the needs and demands of the citizens.

The paper examined four key PSR initiatives: decentralization, Civil Service reform, e‐governance, and civil society in improving governance in post‐Soviet Kazakhstan.

In light of Kazakhstan government's efforts to reform the public sector, the study finds that substantial progress has been made in improving its service delivery systems and enhancing good governance.

The study is an investigation of four out of several PSR initiatives aimed at improving good governance.

The study provides insights into how aspects of PSR can be fundamentally useful in promoting good governance.