Implementation of standards. Explaining translation of the Common Language Standard in the Danish municipalities

Abstract

There is an abundance of standards in the local policy area. Such standards include: The Balanced Scorecard, LEAN Management, Common Language just to mention a few. Standards are characterised by being well-defined formulas to be used by many actors within a field. However, standards are not necessarily being used in the same way everywhere. Standards are translatable. The article contributes with empirical knowledge about the implementation of the Common Language Standard that is used in the senior-citizen area in the Danish municipalities. It is shown that organizational as well as actor based resources can explain the translation processes. Theoretically the explanation is build on sociological new-institutional theory and insights from actor-centred institutionalism. Methodologically the analysis builds on quantitative data in the form of a questionnaire survey among Danish municipalities.