Case study of accounting automation from the perspective of institutional theory

The objective of this research is to understand how organizational changes occurred with the implementation process of accounting automation, focusing on the processes related to the automation of accounting records, which is a topic little explored in the literature. For this purpose, adopt a single case study in a medium-sized Brazilian industry. After a diagnosis made in conjunction with an external consulting company, select the redeployment of your ERP system. In this context, the present study sought, in the light of the Institutional Theory and the approach of the Old Institutional Theory, to understand how the institutionalization of accounting automation altered the structure of the organization. Based on the theoretical constructs, interviews with directors and questionnaires were interviewed for a group of managers, in addition to analyzing various company documents, to collect data for comparison of the institutional framework of accounting automation at different times in the reimplantation process of an ERP system. The findings demonstrated organizational changes triggered by the institutionalization process of accounting automation and the enactment of new enabling rules and how these rules change the organization's habits and routines. The analysis also showed how accounting automation cause changes in the organizational structure.