As discussed in chapter one, in research on organizations the new institutional approach has provided various explanations for organizational behavior. Unlike earlier theories of organizations, this approach has focused primarily on cultural cognitive aspects of organizations, instead of technical aspects and resources, to explain how organizations act. Within this field of research, one strand of the literature has focused on explaining why organizations show such similar characteristics to such a large extent. The work of the two sociologists, DiMaggio and Powell (1983), within this tradition has become very influential. The main reason for using this particular strand of the literature within organizational research is that it provides a significantly different picture for how public officials in African countries could respond to foreign ideas and practices than presented in the development literature, which could then become a fruitful counterpoint for investigation and analysis. While the development literature has focused mainly on coercive mechanisms for understanding how administrative reforms have been introduced in African countries, the organizational research tradition presented here also includes other aspects, such as norms and imitation, as important explanations for why organizations act in certain directions, aspects that are discussed to a lesser extent within the development literature.9
9 Bayart (2009) does argue that Africans import and sometimes mimic Western ideas, however when he discusses the state and administration in Africa he explicitly states that the nature of the state in Africa is so different that is it not comparable with the Western Weberian model. Additionally, he claims that Western and African institutions may appear similar on the surface but act very differently in practice (p. 27, 243-270). Likewise, some development scholars (e.g. Ekeh 1975; Englebert 2000; Young 2001) argue that elites in African societies imitate Western behavior, mainly because they have been educated in Western countries. Nonetheless, this is regarded as the behavior for a small exclusive group, which does not influence African public
In their article, DiMaggio and Powell (1983) question the, at the time, mainstream organizational theory, which mainly focused on explaining differences in structure and practice among organizations. Since empirical investigations also proved significant similarities among organizations, they started to focus on mechanisms driving such homogenization. DiMaggio and Powell (1983) claim that although various structures and practices may exist among organizations when they are established, organizations in the same category, i.e. within the same organizational field, will become eventually very similar in structure and practice. The organizations’ desire to be legitimate within their institutional environment is argued, within this literature, to be the main mechanism driving homogenization among them. In their analysis, DiMaggio and Powell (1983) identify three different kinds of institutional homogenizing, i.e. isomorphic, forces: a coercive, a mimetic and a normative pressure.
Coercive isomorphism is defined as pressure imposed on organizations, for instance binding regulation issued by the government. Since organizations within the same field often are subject to the same laws and regulations, coercive isomorphism will consequently lead to the same structures within the same kind of organizations. Likewise, resources may be regarded as a coercive pressure, where organizations adopt certain structures in order to attain crucial resources. In the discussion on coercive mechanisms, DiMaggio and Powell (1983) mainly refer to the national context where coercive rules and regulation are issued, as well as the cultural context within the country that leads organizations to adopt structures and practices that are connected to resources. However, coercive pressures may also be found on an international level. In a study into how ISO 9000 Quality Certificates were spread and adopted in organizations around the world, Guler, Guillén and Muir Macpherson
(2002) argue that it was mainly a process of coercive pressures.10
They argue that adoption of the ISO 9000 Quality Certificates was important for the organizations’ opportunities to make trade agreements, and as a consequence retain crucial resources. Hence, adoption of international standards may be a result of coercive pressures if the standards are linked to critical resources for the organization.
There is however an important difference between their study and this thesis. Here national state audit institutions are in focus, and although they are involved in an international context, their main activities are directed towards public sector organizations in their country, and their main stakeholders are found at the national level. In addition, being a national public sector organization, they obtain their funding from their government, and they are also required to follow national rules and regulation. This may be compared to the international public audit standards, whose observance is voluntary and where there are no resources or sanctions connected to the standards. Moreover, the international professional organization (INTOSAI) that issues the standards states that observance of the standards is voluntary and that each state audit institution should adjust them to their national context and the national prevailing rules and regulations.11Against this background, I argue that although
coercive isomorphism has been proven to influence organizational behavior, it is not the main mechanism within this study. Accordingly, the following sections will focus on how isomorphic mechanisms lead organizations to adapt to structures and practices without coercive pressures.
10 Quality certifications are used for guaranteeing that particular organizational practices are used by organizations. These practices aim for improvement, and thereby quality, in the produc- tion processes. One of the most influential certificates globally is the ISO 9000 certificates, which are sponsored by the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) (Guler, Guillén & Muir Macpherson 2002, p 208).