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No D/582: An institutional sociology perspective of the implementation of activity based costing by Spanish health care institutions

Scott D. Eriksen and Ignacio Urrutia ()
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Scott D. Eriksen: Instituto de Empresa
Ignacio Urrutia: IESE Business School, Postal: Research Division, Av Pearson 21, 08034 Barcelona, SPAIN

Abstract: According to institutional sociology, hospitals will respond to external environmental pressures and adopt Activity-Based-Costing (ABC). This theory overemphasizes conformity and fails to consider the advantages of organizational non-conformance. A conflict of interests between physicians and management leads to physician resistance to accepting ABC. This paper investigates the Spanish government's response to this resistance by creating new public foundation hospitals, and involves a case study of the Alcorcón foundation hospital. Population ecology is offered as an explanation for the emergence of new entities as a result of inert existing entities' resistance to reform.

Keywords: Activity based costing; ABC implementation; Health care; Institutional sociology; Spanish health care sector

24 pages, February 21, 2005

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