Institutionalization of IT Compliance: A Longitudinal Study

Against a backdrop of serious corporate and mutual fund scandals, governmental bodies, institutional and private investors have demanded more effective corporate governance structures procedures and systems. The compliance function is now an integral part of corporate policy and practice. This paper presents the findings from a longitudinal qualitative research study on the introduction of an IT-based investment management system at four client sites. Using institutional theory to analyze our data, we find the process of institutionalization follows a non-linear pathway where regulative, normative and cultural forces within the investment management industry produce conflicting organizational behaviours and outcomes.