Reasons for Non-Disclosure of Accountability Practices Information on the Website of Malaysian Local Governments

Abstract

This paper attempts to explore the reasons for non-disclosure of accountability practices information (API) on the website by selected Malaysian local governments. The behaviours of Malaysian local governments towards non-disclosure of API is explained from the perspective of institutional isomorphism concept. Data collection was carried out through semi structured interviews among officers who are directly or indirectly involved in making decision related to accountability practices and agenda. The analysis of data revealed a greater influence of coercive pressures exerted on the selected local governments' non-disclosure of API on the website. This paper reveals the effect of regulatory regulations, informational control, and behavioural control on the disclosure behaviours of local governments. Contribution of the study to the literature of public sector studies is prominent as it provides an insight into the factors influencing the non-disclosure of API. The findings of this study share useful contributions to the local government organisations to improve the accountability practices and its disclosure.

Council’s Online Disclosure of Accountability Practices: Isomorphism Inquiries

“…SC is a "process of monitoring and correcting a firm's strategy and performance" (Dess et al, 2017, p. 268) which is used in the strategy to achieve the intended goals, including disclosure practices. Two central aspects of SC predominantly used in the management field of study as suggested by Dess et al (2017) are BC and IC These two aspects of control have been found to significantly affect the non-disclosure practices of the organisation (Ahmad, Joseph, & Said, 2020). Along the same line, it is suggested that the DACP could be explained by analysing reasons for disclosure with isomorphism and SC concept i.e.…”

“…There are limited studies that link BC and disclosure practices, particularly DACP. Recent work by Ahmad et al (2020) investigated what causes non-disclosure of information and found that BC is one of the factors determining whether an organisation discloses information on websites or not. The BC system exists due to strong culture which includes knowledge, values, belief, and habits in organisations that create a system of informal rules that influences how the people inside the organisations behave (Anuja, 2021).…”

“…Pettigrew (1972) further argued that communication helps organisations to meet the demand of their diverse activities. The organisation needs to consider a few factors before the disclosure of information, and by controlling the information, the organisation could disclose good information (Ahmad et al, 2020). For instance, organisations may control information by requiring approval or consent from top management or specific officers before disclosure.…”

Ciências sociais aplicadas: Estado, organizações e desenvolvimento regional 4

“…Outros estudos desenvolveram a questão dos determinantes do controle social dos recursos do fundo especial do ponto de vista da responsabilidade social dos municípios e das instituições envolvidas (Walker, 2016;Uygur, 2020;Ayliffe et al, 2017;Bahramirad, 2018) e transparência (Ahmad et al, 2020;Pivac et al, 2017;Abu Bakar & Saleh, 2015;Ortega-Rodríguez et al, 2020), além de envolver questões subjacentes e interligadas, como processos de doação para projetos (Trussel & Parsons, 2007;Yao, 2015;Degasperi & Mainardes, 2017), a prestação de contas das entidades sociais (Azevedo, 2017;Caldas & Freire, 2020;Moreno-Albarracín et al, 2020), a divulgação (Ling et al , 2018;Shahib & Risky, 2017;Nor et al, 2019;Agustiningsih et al, 2017), mídias sociais e ação comunicativa, que são importantes para entender as diferenças significativas que ocorrem no volume transmitido às instituições sociais.…”

Análisis de la producción científica sobre control social, rendición de cuentas social, gestión social, de 1990 a 2020: un estudio bibliométrico de los determinantes en el proceso de rendición de cuentas municipal

“…UNLaM Departamento de Ciencias Económicas -FR1 Otros estudios han desarrollado el tema sobre los determinantes del control social de los recursos del fondo especial desde el punto de vista de la responsabilidad social de los ayuntamientos y de las instituciones implicadas (Walker, 2016;Uygur, 2020;Ayliffe et al, 2017;Bahramirad, 2018) y de la transparencia (Ahmad et al, 2020;Pivac et al, 2017;Abu Bakar & Saleh, 2015;Ortega-Rodríguez et al, 2020), además de implicar temas subyacentes e interconectados, como los procesos de donación para proyectos sociales (Trussel & Parsons, 2007;Yao, 2015;Degasperi & Mainardes, 2017), la rendición de cuentas de las entidades sociales (Azevedo, 2017;Caldas & Freire, 2020;Moreno-Albarracín et al, 2020), la divulgación (Ling et al, 2018;Shahib & Risky, 2017;Nor et al, 2019;Agustiningsih et al, 2017), los medios sociales y la acción comunicativa, que son importantes para entender las diferencias significativas que se producen en el volumen transmitido a las instituciones sociales.…”