Abstract
This paper investigates how individual-level characteristics shape initiative-taking during the implementation of Italy’s accrual accounting reform in local governments. Drawing on the theory of institutional entrepreneurship, it operationalizes three key characteristics concepts – agency and motivation, adaptability to change, and perceived legitimacy – into survey-based indices. Using a classification tree model, the study identifies agency and motivation as the strongest predictors, with legitimacy and adaptability playing conditional roles. By translating theoretical attributes into empirical measures, it advances understanding of how individual dispositions – and not only formal positions – shape reform behavior in decentralized and fragmented public sector environments.