 Chapter LXV Performance and Accountability in E-Budgeting Projects Gabriel Puron-Cid Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, SUNY, USA J. Ramon Gil-Garcia Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, Mexico Copyright © 2008, IGI Global, distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. introduction An infuential theoretical tradition in informa- tion systems research suggests that information and communication technology has the power to transform organizational structures and indi- vidual behaviors. This approach has been called “technological determinism.” In contrast, recent studies have found evidence of more complex relationships between information technologies and the organizational and institutional contexts in which those technologies are embedded (Fountain, 2001; Kling & Lamb, 2000; Orlikowski & Baroudi, 1991). The theories that Orlikowski and Iacono (2001) have categorized as the “ensemble view” explain that information technologies should not be conceptualized as physical artifacts only, but that the social relations around those artifacts should also be considered. In addition, the relation- ship between information technologies and social structures is at least bidirectional, and therefore organizational characteristics and institutional arrangements also have an impact on government ICT projects (Fountain; García, 2005; Kraemer, King, Dunkle, & Lane, 1989). As a result of this embedment of ICT in government settings, certain characteristics of the information technologies are expected to refect important aspects of the institutional and organizational environment and, therefore, help preserve the status quo instead of promoting change (Fountain; Kraemer et al.). In the last decade, the Mexican federal govern- ment has attempted to signifcantly transform its administrative processes and improve the quality