Purpose

Within societies in the 21st century, individuals who are embedded in a controlled context that impedes their political actions deal with the tensions they are experiencing through attempts at resistance. Several studies that examine individual infrapolitics in organizations explain how the subtle mix of compliance and resistance are constructed at the level of individual identity in a complex mechanism that both questions the system and strengthens it. However, the interplay between managers' identities and management accounting tools in this process is a topic that deserves more investigation. The aim of this article is to understand how the subtle resistance of individuals constructs neoliberal reforms through management accounting (MA).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a case study on three health and social organizations two years after major reforms were implemented in the health and social services sector in Québec, a province of Canada. These reforms were part of a new public management dynamic and involved the implementation of accounting tools, here referred to as New Public Management Accounting (NPMA) tools.

Findings

The authors’ findings show how managers participate in reforms, at the same time as attempt to stem the dehumanization they generate. Managers engage in subtly resisting, for themselves and for their field professional teams, the dehumanization and identity destruction that arises from the reforms. NPMA tools are central to this process, since managers question the reforms through NPMA tools and use them to resist creatively. However, their subtle resistance can lead to the strengthening of the neoliberal dynamic of the reform.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to both the literature of infrapolitics and MA by showing the role of NPMA tools in the construction of subtle resistance. Their article enriches the MA literature by characterizing the subtle forms of resistance and showing how managers engage in creative resistance by using the managerial potential flexibility of NPMA tools. The article also outlines how NPMA tools play a role in the dialectic process of resistance, since they aid managers in resisting reform-induced dehumanization but also support managers in reinventing and reinforcing what they are trying to fight. The authors’ study also illustrates the dialectic dynamic of resistance through NPMA in all its dimensions: discursive, material and symbolic. Finally, the authors contribute to management accounting literature by showing that NPMA tools are not only the objects of neoliberalization but also the support of backstage resistance to neoliberalization.

中文翻译：

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经理通过管理会计对新自由主义改革的微妙抵抗

目的

在21世纪的社会中，受制于阻碍其政治行动的受控环境中的个人通过抵抗的尝试来应对他们所经历的紧张局势。多项研究组织中个体弱势政治的研究解释了如何以一种复杂的机制在个体身份层面构建顺从性和抵抗性的微妙组合，既质疑该体系又加强该体系。但是，在此过程中，管理者身份与管理会计工具之间的相互作用是一个值得进一步研究的话题。本文的目的是了解个人的微妙抵抗如何通过管理会计（MA）构成新自由主义改革。

设计/方法/方法

作者在加拿大魁北克省的卫生和社会服务部门进行了重大改革之后的两年，对三个卫生和社会组织进行了案例研究。这些改革是新的公共管理动态的一部分，涉及会计工具的实施，此处称为新公共管理会计（NPMA）工具。

发现

作者的发现表明，管理者如何参与改革，同时试图阻止他们所产生的非人性化。经理们为自己和他们的现场专业团队巧妙地抵抗了改革带来的非人性化和身份破坏。NPMA工具是此过程的核心，因为管理人员通过NPMA工具质疑改革，并利用它们进行创造性的抵制。但是，他们的微妙抵抗会导致改革的新自由主义动力增强。

创意/价值

作者通过展示NPMA工具在构建微妙抵抗中的作用，为基础政治学和MA做出了贡献。他们的文章丰富了MA的文献，描述了抵抗的微妙形式，并展示了管理者如何利用NPMA工具的管理潜力灵活地进行创造性的抵抗。本文还概述了NPMA工具如何在抗辩的辩证过程中发挥作用，因为它们可以帮助管理人员抵制改革导致的非人道化，同时也支持管理人员重新发明和增强他们正在努力奋斗的目标。作者的研究还阐明了NPMA在所有方面的辩证动态：话语，材料和符号。最后，