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Accounting academic leaders’ perceptions on New Zealand’s performance-based research funding system

Sharon Manasseh (Centre for Business and Enterprise, Waikato Institute of Technology – Hamilton City Campus, Hamilton, New Zealand)
Mary Low (School of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Waikato Management School, Hamilton, New Zealand)
Richard Calderwood (Division of Education, Te Kura Toi Tangata School of Education Operations, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand)

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change

ISSN: 1832-5912

Article publication date: 5 January 2024

90

Abstract

Purpose

Universities globally have faced the introduction of research performance assessment systems that provide monetary and ranking rewards based on publication outputs. This study aims to seek an understanding of the implementation of performance-based research funding (PBRF) and its impact on the heads of departments (HoDs) and accounting academics in New Zealand (NZ) tertiary institutions. The study explores NZ accounting academics’ experiences and their workload; the relationship between teaching and research in the accounting discipline and any issues and concerns affecting new and emerging accounting researchers because of PBRF.

Design/methodology/approach

Applying an institutional theoretical lens, this paper explores accounting HoDs’ perceptions concerning the PBRF system’s impact on their academic staff. The research used semi-structured interviews to collect data from NZ’s eight universities.

Findings

The key findings posit that many institutional processes, some more coercive in nature, whereas others were normative and mimetic, have been put in place to ensure that academics are able to meet the PBRF requirements. HoDs suggest that their staff understand the importance of research, but that PBRF is a challenge to new and emerging researchers and pose threats to their recruitment. New academics must “hit the ground running” as they must demonstrate not only teaching abilities but also already have a track record of research publications; all in all, a daunting experience for new academics to overcome. There is also a teaching and research disconnect. Furthermore, many areas where improvements can be made in the design of this measurement tool remain.

Originality/value

The PBRF system has significantly impacted on accounting academics. Central university research systems were established that subsequently applied coercive institutional pressures onto line managers to ensure that their staff performed. This finding offers scope for future research to explore a better PBRF that measures and rewards research productivity but without the current system’s unintended negative consequences.

Keywords

Citation

Manasseh, S., Low, M. and Calderwood, R. (2024), "Accounting academic leaders’ perceptions on New Zealand’s performance-based research funding system", Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-09-2022-0133

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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