The impact of a new regulatory framework upon water management in Spain. The company Aguas de La Coruna S.A. (1975-2008)

The institutional framework has an undeniable influence on the business environment. The aim of the paper is to reflect on the impact of the transformation of the institutional environment that came with the advent of democracy in Spain upon the systems of water service management. The object of study is a water supply firm that is located in a city of the wet Spain, in which, in principle, there are no substantial difficulties to access the resource. The management of the service has gone through a long time transformation, since the foundation of a private company, which was working under concession regime. With the Franco dictatorship, the regulatory framework underwent a gradual transformation that resulted in a change of attitude of the public sector with respect to public utilities. The result was an increasing pressure by the authorities, whose aim was to reverse the management to the municipal authorities.