Premium
The enabling role of institutional entrepreneurs in the adoption of IPSAS within a transitional economy: The case of Estonia
Author(s) -
Argento Daniela,
Peda Peeter,
Grossi Giuseppe
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
public administration and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.574
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1099-162X
pISSN - 0271-2075
DOI - 10.1002/pad.1819
Subject(s) - accounting , post communist , public sector , european union , transition economy , economics , business , soviet union , communism , economic system , market economy , economy , international trade , political science , law , politics
Summary In the light of neoinstitutional theory and by adopting case study research methodology, this article explains the adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards for modernizing public sector accounting in Estonia. This article reveals that the smooth—yet gradual—adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards‐compliant accounting systems was enabled by the involvement of powerful actors (i.e., institutional entrepreneurs) with foreign and/or business backgrounds. In addition, the change in public sector accounting in Estonia was facilitated by the developments in its international positioning, characterized by the transition from a Soviet communist to a market economy and subsequent European Union membership and by the absence of past accounting practices, which could potentially hinder the change.