Activity based costing, modernity and the transformation of local government

This is a study of the implementation of the UK central government's modernization policies for local government. The specific focus of the study is on one particular implementation tool which local authorities were required to use by central government edict: activity based costing. This article uses institutional theory, and in particular, isomorphism, to examine the manner in which local authorities responded to this initiative. The findings have implications for the implementation of ABC in government settings, for modernization programmes and for the further development of institutional theory.