7.1.3 PARTICIPACIÓN CIUDADANA

accounting change Chapter 5:

The case of Greek higher education Chapter 7: Interviewing of accounting change Chapter 8: Integrating results: confirmation and comprehension

The second section (Section B) is divided into four chapters. The first chapter (Chapter 4) is concerned with the methodology’s philosophical assumptions and strategic approaches respectfully to both the literature and the scope of the current study. In specific, it discusses analytically the mixed methodology research approach together with the employment of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis. Next chapter (Chapter 5) presents a detailed and comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analysis of the collected data based on the extant literature and the findings based upon previous studies and governmental documents. These are considered as being a valuable asset in the process of making inferences and providing answers to the research questions related to the macro- level institutional forces emerged and influenced the accounting reform attempted in Greece during the decade 1998-2008. Specifically, it reaches the analysis of the environmental determinants through an institutional approach, in order to deeply understand the institutional dynamics of the external HEIs’ environment that have influenced the adoption of the accrual accounting system within them. Furthermore, the extent to which the Greek HEIs have responded to these is examined and analyzed in terms of the type and category of each individual institution. In this chapter, a micro- level analysis of the institutional and change dynamics activated towards the implementation of the accrual accounting and forming the response of each HEI will be attempted. The following chapter (Chapter 6) presents and analyzes the findings of data collected by undertaking a survey of the attitudes of senior management in thirty eight public Greek HEIs, universities and TEIs, on the experienced accounting change during the decade 1998- 2008. In addition, findings of data collected are analyzed mirroring the extent in which daily accounting practices (routines) have been adopted towards the full

implementation of the accrual accounting system within each individual Greek HEI. The final chapter (Chapter 7) of the second section (Section B) of the thesis presents and analyzes the findings of the data collected by interviewing ten Directors of financial departments who were acting as representatives of ten respectively Greek HEIs. Respectively to the research problem, the goal of this chapter is to present the extent of the adoption of the accrual basis accounting system by the Greek HEIs and the intra organizational dynamics that had motivated and influenced its implementation under the external institutional pressures, guiding thus to new daily accounting practices and routines.

In the final section (Section C) of the thesis the findings derived from the above empirical phases of this study are integrated. This part constitutes one chapter (Chapter 8), gains the confirmation/corroborations of the empirical findings, answers the research questions and reflects a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. Finally, it concludes with an overall analysis of the entire research by presenting, integrating and harmonizing the results in order to be corroborated/confirmed and allow for a complete and more comprehensive understanding of the investigated phenomenon. Implications for further research are also discussed.

1.5 Summary

This chapter considered that public sector reforms have been an important area of interest during the last years. These reforms have been aligned with the demand called for improvements and radical changes in public sector. As a result, an extensive and

worldwide wave of changes via managerial and accounting reforms has taken place. During this process, the benefits of NPM have been broadly claimed such as the effective cost and revenue measurement, the efficient use of resources and the improved comparability and accountability of published results. At the heart of these new practices it was argued that accounting was a key element. It was considered that the shift from cash-basis accounting to accrual-basis accounting was the result of demand for greater accountability and transparency in the public sector. This view is adopted in this study driving towards the investigation of the phenomenon in a particular aspect such as the implementation of the accrual accounting system in the Greek HEIs.

The Greek HEIs, as a part of the Greek public sector, were faced with governmental pressure for the adoption of such private sector like accounting systems and the reform of the existing management accounting systems. All in all, the current study focuses on providing an answer to the question of how HEIs in Greece responded to governmental pressures for accounting reform during the decade of 1998-2008; specifically, it focuses on the extent to which HEIs implement the accrual accounting system and the influence of the isomorphic and intra organizational dynamics on its implementation. The aim of this enquiry is to assist in providing a deep understanding of the external and internal dynamics that influence the adoption and implementation of the MA systems, resulting thus, to new daily accounting practices within certain organizations. The current study is not limited in researching the various ways in which the Greek HEIs cope with the management of the change pressures but also aims towards studying the effect of the internal and external institutional environment within which organizations operate. This

institutional environment exerts influence on the behavior of the organizations with regard to change.

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