Institutional Environment Pressures Perceived by Bilateral Development Cooperation Agency's Constituents

Abstract

Public organisations have rarely been the subjects of neo-institutional research. Intra-organisational behaviour has also been under-researched. This study examined how four distinct groups of Bilateral Development Cooperation Agency's staff perceive institutional environment pressures from home and host countries. One-hundred thirty-one valid responses obtained through an online survey were analysed. Staff in both the headquarters and overseas offices felt a powerful home country accountability pressure. This tendency is prominent for management staff. The test results, as seen through the lens of a neo-institutional perspective, suggest that overseas office staff prioritise accountability to home country stakeholders over that to host country stakeholders.