Steering Institutionalization through Institutional Work: The Case of an eProcurement System in Indonesian Local Government

Corruption is arguably one of the main hindrances to development. In their effort to combat corruption, governments in developing countries turn to information technology to enhance transparency in decision making. However, implementation of an information system in this context is not straightforward. Premised upon institutional theory, this interpretive case study traces the role of institutional actors in the institutionalization of an eProcurement system in Indonesian local government. It draws on different streams of research on institutional work to develop an interpretive lens to understand what institutional actors do to steer the institutionalization process. It identifies a set of institutional work carried out by them in disrupting the old institution, and, creating and maintaining the new one. The findings give a better understanding of the institutionalization process. It provides a fine-grained conceptualization of forms of institutional work, and its constituent dimensions.