Stability and change at FPTL: An Institutional perspective

Abstract

Once institutionalised, routines are a force for stability and resistance to change. This creates a problem for institutional theorists in explaining changes in accounting practice. This paper attempts to illustrate that institutional theory can encompass a processual explanation of change, through a case study of Fiji Posts and Telecommunications Limited (FPTL). We illustrate how institutional contradictions or inconsistencies were an impetus to institutional change in the organisation. Institutional entrepreneurs were instrumental in abandoning the existing routines and introducing new commercial ones. The commercial business norms were stabilised by the management team through the process of enactment, reproduction and routinisation.