Institutional drivers of environmental management accounting adoption in public sector water organisations

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the influences on the adoption of environmental management accounting (EMA) in corporatised water supply organisations, from an institutional theory perspective, drawing on the concepts of reflexive isomorphism and institutional logics. Design/methodology/approach: The primary research involves case analysis of three companies in the Australian water supply industry, drawing on interviews, internal documents and publicly available documents, including annual reports. Findings: Two key drivers for the adoption and emergence of EMA are: the emergence of a government regulator in the form of the Essential Services Commission (ESC) and community expectations with regard to environmental performance and disclosure. The water organisations were found to be reflexively isomorphic, while seeking to align their commercial logic to “sustainability” and “ensuring community expectations” logics to the legitimate adoption of EMA. Originality/value: The paper contributes to the literature by providing case study evidence of the intentions and motivations of management in adopting EMA, and the nature of that adoption process over an extended period. Further, it provides empirical evidence of the applicability of reflexive isomorphism in the context of EMA and institutional logics

The limits of markets: the politics of water management in rural Australia

The intensity of conflict over water and water management has been increasing. Focusing on the recent federalist compact, the National Water Initiative (NWI), the use of market and property rights instruments in water governance in Australia are explored. Does the use of such instruments imply a reduced role for the state, as new instruments displace previous top down or regulatory modes of governance? The view that the new market-based system of governance can be self-managing is challenged. It is argued instead that the market requires substantial metagovernance, which challenges approaches to governance that assume a reduced role for the state

Contemporary developments in Australian trade practices and their implications for industrial relations

Originally designed as a legal framework intended to govern the nature of business-to-business and business-to-consumer dealings, Australia’s principal competition and consumer law, the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth), has evolved over the last 30 years to the point where it also has a significant impact on a number of industrial relations issues. As competition law continues to evolve, it creates flow-on effects that are also felt within the workplace. This article provides an overview of some key recent developments in competition regulation that have had an impact on industrial relations practices. These include the increased use of the Trade Practices Act as a tool in employment contract disputes; the role competition policy is having on redefining the nature of work in the professions; the impact of secondary boycotts and collective bargaining on the work of trade unions; and the treatment of the self-employed individual