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Dysfunctional behaviour in university accounting schools: a tale of management control

Basil Tucker (UniSA Business, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia)
Lee D. Parker (Adam Smith School of Business, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK)
Glennda E.M. Scully (Faculty of Business and Law, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia)

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change

ISSN: 1832-5912

Article publication date: 25 January 2023

Issue publication date: 5 January 2024

3926

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this inductive, exploratory study is to provide foundational insights into the role of management control in dealing with dysfunctional behaviour within accounting schools in changing environment of Australian universities.

Design/methodology/approach

Evidence is drawn from semi-structured interviews with 28 current or previous heads of school, research deans, deans of teaching and learning, school managers and human resource managers from 16 Australian universities and interpreted from the theoretical perspective of rational choice theory.

Findings

The findings suggest the incidence of a range of dysfunctional behaviours occurring in accounting schools. Even when such behaviours are limited in frequency, their consequences are nevertheless found to have far-ranging and potentially destructive change impacts for both individuals and the university. Formal management control systems designed to address such behaviours are perceived to be largely ineffective in identifying, managing, eliminating or even mitigating the consequences of such dysfunctionality. Instead, it is informal control processes that are preferred in dealing with dysfunctionality.

Originality/value

This study enhances our understanding of the role of management control in dealing with dysfunctional behaviour within university accounting schools, and points not only to the difference between the design and use of management controls but also to the implications of this disconnect between the underlying intent of control design and their actual use in the context of environments that are subject to significant change.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ) in providing partial financial support for this research. This paper has also benefited from constructive comments from those who attended research seminars at Curtin University, RMIT and UniSA Business, University of South Australia as well as CPA (Australia). In addition, the authors thank all academics and university managers participating in this study. The authors are also indebted to Sue Wright, John Dumay, James Guthrie and Zahirul Hoque for their valuable comments and suggestions on previous versions of the paper.

Citation

Tucker, B., Parker, L.D. and Scully, G.E.M. (2024), "Dysfunctional behaviour in university accounting schools: a tale of management control", Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 21-57. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-10-2022-0166

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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