Inhibiting factors of the budget process institutionalization in a Brazilian Public University

Abstract

The research aimed at analyzing the inhibiting factors of the budget institutionalization as managerial practice in a Brazilian Public University (IFES). To achieve this goal, we used the integrated analysis model of the budget process proposed by Frezatti et al. (2010, 2011) and elements of content analysis and discourse analysis for data analysis. The relevance of this research is in the perception that it is possible to improve the budget process by managing its constituent elements. The results indicate the validity of the proposed theoretical model, with the inclusion of a new factor, called “power and politics”. The application of the model in the IFES allowed to conclude that the budget process is not used by the managers and that the management model ends up inhibiting the involvement and commitment of the involved actors, who declared to participate in the process only in a ceremonial way. The political use and “bargain” for the management of available resources contribute to the aggravation of the problem. The results provide theoretical and empirical support for the improvement of the budget process in the institution researched, as well as in the other entities, by demonstrating that inhibitory factors must be managed in order to institutionalize management practices.

Keywords: institutional theory, budget, management control.