Extending structuration theory: A study of an IT-enabled budget reform in Mexico.

摘要

For more than 50 years, governments have been engaged in recurrent reforms to their budgetary systems. New budgetary and managerial techniques and information systems (IS) are often coupled together with the goal of facilitating the adoption of budget reforms. The result is a joint innovation unevenly adopted across different organizations and professional groups.This study advocates more communication between IS and budgeting fields to develop a common theoretical framework to study budget reforms. Based on a review of the IS and budgeting literature, an extension of structuration theory was used to study the joint adoption of budgetary techniques and IS in budget reforms. By applying the extended model, this study learned about three aspects of a budget reform: description of its components identification of factors that influence its adoption and exploration of how and to what extent cross-boundary and inter-professional collaborations formed by different organizations and professional groups play a role in the adoption of these initiatives.Based on the results, the extended structuration model was revised. The results confirmed that budget reforms are complex phenomena involving overlaping contextual, organizational, budgeting, information systems, and collaboration and individual structures. The data shows the interaction of multiple participants in cross-boundary and inter-professional collaboration. These participants unevenly adopt different IS and budgeting structural properties of the budget reform through various formal and informal practices. Only a subset of formal practices prescribed by reformers was effectively adopted while new informal practices were enacted by participants. Several outcomes of interaction were identified. Finally, some practical lessons for the adoption of budget reforms are prescribed.The study used an embedded case study design employing qualitative research methods to a recent case of budget reform in Mexico. This design grounded the extended theoretical framework for budget reforms and captured a broad set of data and factors involved in their adoption. 28 semi-structured interviews and 2 focus groups sessions were conducted with top-level officials and members of budget, IS, management, planning and evaluation staffs of the Mexican federal government. Analysis of various official documents was also conducted.