From individual contradictions to collective actions - An institutional perspective on change to the finance function

Abstract: This paper draws on institutional theory to explore how management accountants (MAs) initiate and mobilize change to the finance function in a decentralized setting. We conduct a case study on a multinational industrial company to get insights on the barriers and motivations MAs in the company face when they are challenged to alter their roles and ways of doing things. We argue that a variety of pressures can lead to the development of contradictions for the MAs, that lowers barriers and raises motivation thus turning the passive embedded agent into an active change agent. Our study contributes to previous research through (1) showing how change is initiated and mobilized with limited authoritative power, (2) presenting informal interventions as powerful tools for raising contradictions in a decentralized setting, (3) revealing a more diversified and unexplored role of shared service organizations and (4) expanding on the notion of MAs as business partners.