Factors affecting institutional change: a study of the adoption of Local Agenda 21 in Spain

Purpose – This paper aims to examine how Spanish local councils respond to changes in their institutional context by implementing a sustainable practice: Local Agenda 21 (LA21). Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses the institutional approach to explain the factors influencing the adoption o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of organizational change management 2013-01, Vol.26 (6), p.1045-1070
Main Authors: Llamas-Sanchez, Rocio, Garcia-Morales, Victor, Martin-Tapia, Inmaculada
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Bias
Councils
Design engineering
Design factors
HR & organizational behaviour
Institutionalization
Legitimacy
Management
Organizational change
Organizational change/development
Organizational structure/dynamics
Organizations
Studies
Sustainability
Sustainable development
Theory
Towns
Values
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Summary:Purpose – This paper aims to examine how Spanish local councils respond to changes in their institutional context by implementing a sustainable practice: Local Agenda 21 (LA21). Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses the institutional approach to explain the factors influencing the adoption of LA21. It develops a series of hypotheses about how specific institutional factors affect the town and city councils that have implemented an LA21, as well as the differences between local councils with high versus medium implementation levels. Findings – The analysis reveals some institutional factors that explain the process of institutional change, the outcomes of LA21, and the differences between local councils. Research limitations/implications – Only one respondent from each local council completed the questionnaire. The authors tested for common method bias and did not find it to be present. Practical implications – From a more practical point-of-view, the authors consider LA21 to be an effective instrument for improving both the sustainability of towns and the management of local councils. Originality/value – The paper proposes institutional theory as a perspective that can explain change in organizations. The main value of the research lies in its identification of the factors affecting the process of change and the outcomes of implementing a sustainable practice like LA21.
ISSN:0953-4814
1758-7816
DOI:10.1108/JOCM-03-2012-0037