Budgetary stewardship, innovation and working culture: Identifying the missing ingredient in English and Welsh local authorities’ recipes for austerity management

Ferry, L.; Coombs, H.; Eckersley, P.

Abstract

Drawing on fieldwork with 70 local authorities in England and Wales, this paper builds on previous studies of austerity management by highlighting the importance of organisational cultures to achieving strategic objectives. It finds that, in line with their prevailing ‘belief system’ of budgetary stewardship, local authorities in both countries are holding down input costs to deal with austerity. However, the scale of funding cuts means that this strategy is unlikely to be successful over the longer term. Instead, they need greater freedom to generate revenue, in order to facilitate innovation and develop more sustainable business practices and service models.

Citation

Ferry, L., Coombs, H., & Eckersley, P. (2017). Budgetary stewardship, innovation and working culture: Identifying the missing ingredient in English and Welsh local authorities’ recipes for austerity management. Financial Accountability and Management, 33(2), 220-243. https://doi.org/10.1111/faam.12117

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 26, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Apr 3, 2017
• Publication Date: May 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Oct 23, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 3, 2019
• Journal: Financial Accountability and Management
• Print ISSN: 0267-4424
• Electronic ISSN: 1468-0408
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 33
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 220-243
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/faam.12117
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1397000