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Chapter LXV Performance and Accountability in E-Budgeting Projects

introduction An influential theoretical tradition in information systems research suggests that information and communication technology has the power to transform organizational structures and individual behaviors. This approach has been called " technological determinism. " In contrast, recent studies have found evidence of more complex relationships between information technologies and the organizational and institutional contexts in which those technologies are embedded (Fountain, 2001; Kling & Lamb, 2000; Orlikowski & Baroudi, 1991). The theories that Orlikowski and Iacono (2001) have categorized as the " ensemble view " explain that information technologies should not be conceptualized as physical artifacts only, but that the social relations around those artifacts should also be considered. In addition, the relationship between information technologies and social structures is at least bidirectional, and therefore organizational characteristics and institutional arrangements also have an impact on government As a result of this embedment of ICT in government settings, certain characteristics of the information technologies are expected to reflect important aspects of the institutional and organizational environment and, therefore, help preserve the status quo instead of promoting change (Fountain; Kraemer et al.). In the last decade, the Mexican federal government has attempted to significantly transform its administrative processes and improve the quality Performance and Accountability in E-Budgeting Projects of the services it provides through the use of ICT (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD], 2003; Puron-Cid & Gil-García, 2004). This trend toward service quality and results (performance) has been reflected in numerous organizational transformations and the implementation of performance-oriented Accountability and control are indeed always concerns for government agencies, particularly for the Ministry of Finance, and therefore some tensions between performance and accountability within budgetary reform will exist. Based on the analysis of three federal initiatives, this chapter argues that due to the embedment of ICT in government institutional and organizational environments, the tensions between performance and accountability become also reflected in the goals, features, and functionality of e-budgeting projects (see " Key Terms "). Furthermore, the prevalence of accountability for finance and fairness (accountability bias) already identified in the literature (Behn, 2001) is also reflected in the formal goals, general characteristics, and technical capabilities of the e-budgeting systems. The cases thus support the general hypothesis that information technologies do not necessarily have the power to transform government radically, at least not in the case of e-budgeting initiatives. This chapter is organized into six sections, including this introduction. The second section …