Factors affecting institutional change: a study of the adoption of Local Agenda 21 in Spain
Journal of Organizational Change Management
ISSN: 0953-4814
Article publication date: 14 October 2013
Abstract
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.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Science and Research and the Local Council of Economy, Innovation and Science of Andalusia's Regional Government for their financial support through projects ECO2009-09241 and P11-SEJ-7988.
Citation
Llamas-Sanchez, R., Garcia-Morales, V. and Martin-Tapia, I. (2013), "Factors affecting institutional change: a study of the adoption of Local Agenda 21 in Spain", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 26 No. 6, pp. 1045-1070. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-03-2012-0037
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited