Hvad styrer den kommunale økonomistyring? Typer af rationalitet blandt kommunale ledere

Abstract

In this master's thesis, it is investigated what influences the budget-responsible decentralized managers in the Municipality of Lolland's financial management of their area of budgetary responsibility.
The question has been investigated by interviewing managers and financial consultants, as well as by participant observation among senior management and financial consultants in the Municipality of Lolland. The empirical data has been analyzed using the methodology Grounded Theory, where three categories and several concepts have been drawn up through a coding process of the empirical data. The coding is amongst others based on Weber's theory of social action and types of rationality, as well as on the Principal-Agent theory. The coding led to the formulation of three hypotheses, which were then tested.
The conclusion is that the managers' financial management of their areas is influenced by several special conditions that characterize their area, including uncertainty, management from other levels of the organization and external conditions. How managers react to these conditions depends on the type of rationality they are primarily characterized by.