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1 – 10 of over 5000
Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 June 2022

Toni Mättö, Marko Järvenpää, Pekka Peura, Merja Kangasjärvi and Harri Lehtinen

This case study aims to report a longitudinal analysis of the development and use of local “vernacular” accounting practice and a digital rolling-forecast system known as…

1189

Abstract

Purpose

This case study aims to report a longitudinal analysis of the development and use of local “vernacular” accounting practice and a digital rolling-forecast system known as TeamBudget in a public sector organization.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs the constructive research approach which utilizes participative observation in the development of TeamBudget over the 15 years since 2004. The empirical data utilized includes eight interviews and documentary data for the system created.

Findings

The study demonstrates how the actions of employees responsible for developing a locally relevant financial planning system, TeamBudget, facilitated the emergence of new accounting routines associated with the newly created system. A locally created accounting system thus became institutionalized into a wider organizational setting over time. The current study presents findings that explain the routinization of informal accounting activities and the subsequent institutionalization process.

Practical implications

Understanding the potential influence of local action on the organization-wide accounting system may foster the creation of accounting tools that could spread participation and commitment throughout a public sector organization, contributing towards enhancing the enabling effect of an organizational accounting system. When designing a local budgeting system, decoupling it from the organizational system may promote its institutionalization.

Originality/value

Antecedents of informal accounting routines have received little research attention. This study illustrates actions relating to local accounting practice were antecedents of accounting routines and subsequent institutional changes in broader organizational practices in a public sector organization. The study demonstrates how vernacular accounting practice can facilitate the institutionalization process.

Details

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, vol. 34 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1096-3367

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 June 2023

Fábio Matoseiro Dinis, Raquel Rodrigues and João Pedro da Silva Poças Martins

Despite the technological paradigm shift presented to the architecture, engineering, construction and operations sector (AECO), the full-fledged acceptance of the building…

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the technological paradigm shift presented to the architecture, engineering, construction and operations sector (AECO), the full-fledged acceptance of the building information modelling (BIM) methodology has been slower than initially anticipated. Indeed, this study aims to acknowledge the need for increasing supportive technologies enabling the use of BIM, attending to available human resources, their requirements and their tasks.

Design/methodology/approach

A complete case study is described, including the development process centred on design science research methodology followed by the usability assessment procedure validated by construction projects facility management operational staff.

Findings

Results show that participants could interact with BIM using openBIM processes and file formats naturally, as most participants reached an efficiency level close to that expected for users already familiar with the interface (i.e. high-efficiency values). These results are consistent with the reported perceived satisfaction and analysis of participants’ discourses through 62 semi-structured interviews.

Originality/value

The contributions of the present study are twofold: a proposal for a virtual reality openBIM framework is presented, particularly for the semantic enrichment of BIM models, and a methodology for evaluating the usability of this type of system in the AECO sector.

Details

Construction Innovation , vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 August 2021

Marko Lahti, Suvi Päivikki Nenonen and Erkki Sutinen

Future places for learning and working are digitally and physically integrated hybrid environments. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the co-creation process of the remote…

1237

Abstract

Purpose

Future places for learning and working are digitally and physically integrated hybrid environments. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the co-creation process of the remote presence-based digital and physical co-working and co-learning place. The context is cross-cultural when Finnish space approach is applied and further developed in Namibia.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative case study is conducted of the Future Tech Lab (FT Lab) in the University of Namibia’s main campus. The case study of the FT Lab is about 200m2 space with three different zones in the University of Namibia’s main campus. The physical solution encourages collaboration and technical solutions interlink the place overseas by using the remote presence. The data are gathered by using document analysis, observations, participatory workshops and interviews including structured questionnaire.

Findings

The action design research approach is a functional framework to co-create hybrid environments in two ways. It helps to design digital and physical solutions as integrated entity. Additionally, it provides a tool to analyse decision-making processes as well as design initiatives, also from the cultural perspective. Both Finnish and Namibian cultures are normative and feminine, which helped the realisation of the project based on mutual trust. However, the differences in power distance were affecting the process fluency and decision-making processes.

Research limitations/implications

The findings indicate that the co-design of the hybrid-learning environment sets requirements for the physical solution such as surface materials for premises and retrofitting of technology, which need to be considered by co-creation from the shared vision to realisation of the space. The co-creation involves many stakeholders, and cultural differences have a different impact on various stages of the co-creation process.

Originality/value

The cultural context in the case study provides an interesting comparison between the Finnish and Namibian approach. The remote presence and its requirements provide new knowledge and guidelines for co-creation of hybrid environments.

Details

Journal of Corporate Real Estate , vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-001X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 October 2020

Sabina Bogilović, Guido Bortoluzzi, Matej Černe, Khatereh Ghasemzadeh and Jana Žnidaršič

The purpose of this paper is to extend current discussion on the drivers of innovative work behavior (IWB) by exploring how individual perceived diversities (visible dissimilarity…

5688

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to extend current discussion on the drivers of innovative work behavior (IWB) by exploring how individual perceived diversities (visible dissimilarity and cognitive group diversity) and climates (team/clan and innovative/entrepreneurial) impact IWB.

Design/methodology/approach

Data had been collected from a cross-national study of working professionals (n = 584) from five different cultural contexts.

Findings

Findings of this study indicated that cognitive group diversity mediated the negative relationship between visible dissimilarity and IWB. Further, both innovative/entrepreneurial and team/clan climates moderated the relationship between visible dissimilarity and cognitive group diversity. Such a moderation effect reduced the negative effect that visible dissimilarity had on IWB.

Research limitations/implications

A cross-sectional single-source data set.

Practical implications

From a managerial perspective, climates (team/clan and innovative/entrepreneurial) are central for IWB in the diverse (visible and cognitive) working environment. Thus, organizations should pay attention to create a climate (team/clan or/and innovative/entrepreneurial) that reduces the negative impact of perceived diversity in the working environment while supporting IWB.

Originality/value

This study is the first of its kind that is based on social categorization theory, empirically examining how different types of diversity (visible dissimilarity and cognitive group diversity) simultaneously reduce individuals’ IWB. Furthermore, this paper provides insights that climates (team/clan and innovative/entrepreneurial) are crucial for IWB in the diverse working environment.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 21 August 2023

Joseph Odhiambo Onyango

This study aims to document students’ supply chain solutions developed through the internship hackathon program. The study profiled innovative solutions developed by university…

1310

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to document students’ supply chain solutions developed through the internship hackathon program. The study profiled innovative solutions developed by university students in Kenya to solve health supply chain logistics challenges during and beyond COVID-19. This is done by exploring students’ experience in developing sustainable logistics and supply chain management capacity-building programs in a low-middle-income country (LMIC).

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a qualitative approach to explore the experiences and perceptions of students and mentors who participated in a hackathon program. The study followed a cross-sectional descriptive survey design, collecting data from the participants through online questionnaires. The data were analyzed and presented using thematic analysis and narrative techniques.

Findings

Findings provide preliminary evidence for narrowing the gap between theory and practice through a hackathon internship blended with a mentorship program. Assessment of this program provides evidence for developing solutions toward ensuring the availability of essential medicine in LMICs during a pandemic such as COVID-19 by students. The profiled solutions demonstrate a broader perspective of innovative solutions of university students, mentors and potential opportunities for a triple helix approach to innovation for health supply chain system strengthening.

Research limitations/implications

This original study provides evidence for advancing contribution to developing innovative solutions through partnerships between investors, universities and industry practitioners interested in mentoring students in the health-care supply chain during COVID-19 in LMICs. Specifically, contingency factors that affect the implementation of innovative programs during and beyond global pandemics such as COVID-19 by students’ innovators are identified, and implications for policy action are discussed based on the praxis of sensemaking.

Practical implications

This study examines a novel approach that combines internship, mentorship and hackathon projects for logistics and supply chain students in LMICs. The approach aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice and to create innovative solutions for essential medicines during and after COVID-19. The study urges more resources for supporting such programs, as they benefit both academia and industry. The study also argues that hackathon internship programs can help the logistics and supply chain industry adapt to the post-pandemic era. The study offers insights for investors, universities and practitioners in the health-care industry.

Originality/value

This study shows how to develop innovative solutions for the health-care supply chain during COVID-19 in an LMIC through partnerships between investors, universities and industry practitioners who mentor students. The study identifies the contingency factors that influence the success of such programs during and beyond global pandemics such as COVID-19 and discusses the policy implications based on the sensemaking praxis of the student innovators.

Details

Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6747

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 6 June 2018

E. Pieter Jansen

Although management accounting tools and techniques are developed to solve practical problems in organizations, there is a lot of criticism of management accounting research for…

19902

Abstract

Purpose

Although management accounting tools and techniques are developed to solve practical problems in organizations, there is a lot of criticism of management accounting research for not having an impact on practice. In interventionist research, the “shaping” of an intervention to solve a practical problem is an important step. The purpose of this paper is to explore how the findings of management accounting research can be reviewed to make them practically applicable in shaping an intervention.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on the author’s experiences with an interventionist research project.

Findings

Systematic literature reviews, which are common in engineering and medicine, bring together the academic knowledge that can contribute to solutions for a specific practical problem, including a definition of the ways in which this knowledge can be applied. Inspired by the methodology for conducting such reviews, this paper proposes how interventionist management accounting researchers can use existing theoretical knowledge in shaping interventions that aim to solve a practical problem. After an intervention, the analysis of the intervention’s unforeseen effects can provide a basis for the refinement of the theory identified in the literature review.

Research limitations/implications

Such a literature review can be organized according to four approaches to taking theoretical knowledge into practice. Unforeseen effects of the intervention can guide the selection of additional theory that helps to interpret these effects and refine normative and academic theory.

Originality/value

In management accounting it is uncommon to review the literature with the aim of shaping a solution for a practical problem. This paper explores how literature reviews that focus on a specific practical problem can contribute to bridging the gap between theory and practice.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 31 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 February 2023

Tareq Babaqi and Béla Vizvári

The total capacity of ambulances in metropolitan cities is often less than the post-disaster demand, especially in the case of disasters such as earthquakes. However, because…

Abstract

Purpose

The total capacity of ambulances in metropolitan cities is often less than the post-disaster demand, especially in the case of disasters such as earthquakes. However, because earthquakes are a rare occurrence in these cities, it is unreasonable to maintain the ambulance capacity at a higher level than usual. Therefore, the effective use of ambulances is critical in saving human lives during such disasters. Thus, this paper aims to provide a method for determining how to transport the maximum number of disaster victims to hospitals on time.

Design/methodology/approach

The transportation-related disaster management problem is complex and dynamic. The practical solution needs decomposition and a fast algorithm for determining the next mission of a vehicle. The suggested method is a synthesis of mathematical modeling, scheduling theory, heuristic methods and the Voronoi diagram of geometry. This study presents new elements for the treatment, including new mathematical theorems and algorithms. In the proposed method, each hospital is responsible for a region determined by the Voronoi diagram. The region may change if a hospital becomes full. The ambulance vehicles work for hospitals. For every patient, there is an estimated deadline by which the person must reach the hospital to survive. The second part of the concept is the way of scheduling the vehicles. The objective is to transport the maximum number of patients on time. In terms of scheduling theory, this is a problem whose objective function is to minimize the sum of the unit penalties.

Findings

The Voronoi diagram can be effectively used for decomposing the complex problem. The mathematical model of transportation to one hospital is the P‖ΣUj problem of scheduling theory. This study provides a new mathematical theorem to describe the structure of an algorithm that provides the optimal solution. This study introduces the notion of the partial oracle. This algorithmic tool helps to elaborate heuristic methods, which provide approximations to the precise method. The realization of the partial oracle with constructive elements and elements proves the nonexistence of any solution. This paper contains case studies of three hospitals in Tehran. The results are close to the best possible results that can be achieved. However, obtaining the optimal solution requires a long CPU time, even in the nondynamic case, because the problem P‖ΣUj is NP-complete.

Research limitations/implications

This research suggests good approximation because of the complexity of the problem. Researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further. In addition, the problem in the dynamic environment needs more attention.

Practical implications

If a large-scale earthquake can be expected in a city, the city authorities should have a central control system of ambulances. This study presents a simple and efficient method for the post-disaster transport problem and decision-making. The security of the city can be improved by purchasing ambulances and using the proposed method to boost the effectiveness of post-disaster relief.

Social implications

The population will be safer and more secure if the recommended measures are realized. The measures are important for any city situated in a region where the outbreak of a major earthquake is possible at any moment.

Originality/value

This paper fulfills an identified need to study the operations related to the transport of seriously injured people using emergency vehicles in the post-disaster period in an efficient way.

Details

Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6747

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 August 2019

Risto Rajala, Saara A. Brax, Ari Virtanen and Anna Salonen

The purpose of this paper is to identify integrated solutions business as the first generation of servitized offerings and modular solution offerings as the second development…

4839

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify integrated solutions business as the first generation of servitized offerings and modular solution offerings as the second development phase in servitization of original equipment manufacturers. This study examines how the servitized manufacturer, Kone, moves from integrated solutions to modular solutions business and develops the requisite capabilities to design, produce and implement modular solution offerings.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports a longitudinal case study of a provider of integrated solutions installed in buildings. During the ten years studied, the manufacturer implemented a strategic initiative to modularize its integrated solutions offering.

Findings

The firm’s transition to modular solutions progressed through three major capability development phases: solutions based on ad hoc integration, smart solutions based on modular design and through-chain modularity. The modular structure aims at fostering the efficiency of the solution offering and the associated production system.

Research limitations/implications

Leveraging the benefits of modularity calls for an aligned combination of strategic, operational and technical capabilities contributing to the integration of resources in a modular production system for the solution providers’ competitive performance.

Practical implications

The study reports how a solution provider can develop the operational capabilities to integrate the core and peripheral components into the solution, and orchestrate the modular production system.

Originality/value

This study is a rare longitudinal analysis of how a manufacturer builds a modular offering, the solution platform and the required competitive capabilities to provide the solution.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 39 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 31 March 2021

Magdalena Wójcik

The subject of this paper is the idea of Brain–Computer Interface (BCI). The main goal is to assess the potential impact of BCI on the design, use and evaluation of information…

2627

Abstract

Purpose

The subject of this paper is the idea of Brain–Computer Interface (BCI). The main goal is to assess the potential impact of BCI on the design, use and evaluation of information retrieval systems operating in libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

The method of literature review was used to establish the state of research. The search according to accepted queries was carried out in the Scopus database and complementary in Google Scholar. To determine the state of research on BCI on the basis of library and information science, a specialist LISTA abstract database was also searched. The most current papers published in the years 2015–2019 in the English language or having at least an abstract in this language were taken into account.

Findings

The analysis showed that BCI issues are extremely popular in subject literature from various fields, mainly computer science, but practically does not occur in the context of using this technology in information retrieval systems.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the fact that BCI solutions are not yet implemented in libraries and are rarely the subject of scientific considerations in the field of library and information science, this article is mainly based on literature from other disciplines. The goal was to consider how much BCI solutions can affect library information retrieval systems. The considerations presented in this article are theoretical in nature due to the lack of empirical materials on which to base. The author's assumption was to initiate a discussion about BCI on the basis of library and information science, not to propose final solutions.

Practical implications

The results can be widely used in practice as a framework for the implementation of BCI in libraries.

Social implications

The article can help to facilitate the debate on the role of implementing new technologies in libraries.

Originality/value

The problem of BCI is very rarely addressed in the subject literature in the field of library and information science.

Details

Library Hi Tech, vol. 40 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-8831

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 December 2023

Selena Aureli, Eleonora Foschi and Angelo Paletta

This study investigates the implementation of a sustainable circular business model from an accounting perspective. Its goal is to understand if and how decision- makers use…

1514

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates the implementation of a sustainable circular business model from an accounting perspective. Its goal is to understand if and how decision- makers use management accounting systems, and what changes are needed if these systems are to support the transition toward a circular economy.

Design/methodology/approach

Dialogic accounting theory frames the case study of six companies that built a value network to develop and implement an innovative packaging solution consistent with circular economy principles. Content analysis was utilised to investigate the accounting tools used.

Findings

The findings indicate that circular solutions generate new organisational configurations based on value networks. Interestingly, managers’ decision-making process largely bypassed the accounting function; they relied on informal accounting and life cycle analysis, which stimulated a multi-stakeholder dialogue in a life cycle perspective.

Research limitations/implications

The research provides theoretical and practical insights into the capability of management accounting systems to support companies seeking circular solutions.

Practical implications

The authors offer implications for accounting practice, chief financial officers (CFOs) and accounting educators, suggesting that a dialogic approach may support value retention of resources, materials and products, as required by the circular economy.

Social implications

The research contributes to the debate about the role of accounting in sustainability, specifically the need for connecting for resource efficiency at the corporate level with the rationalisation of resource use within planetary boundaries.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the limited research into the role of management accounting in a company’s transition to circular business models. Dialogic accounting theory frames exploration of how accounting may evolve to help businesses become accountable to all stakeholders, including the environment.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 5000