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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the simultaneous effect of management control system (MCS) designs (belief vs boundary) and cognitive orientations (individualism vs collectivism) on performance misreporting by combining accounting and psychology literature.

This paper is based on a laboratory experiment with 67 postgraduate students.

Results show that an individualist cognitive orientation increased performance misreporting. The results also showed that a boundary design of MCS intensified the relationship between individualist orientation and performance misreporting.

This paper shed some light about the role of non-pecuniary control system for reducing managerial performance misreporting. The findings support that the tendency of individuals to avoid misreporting depends not only on the MCS design but also on the match between it and individual’s cognitive orientations.

Managers in organizations should consider the predominant cognitive orientation of individuals when they design MCS. They should consider that control systems, which impose coercive constraints to individuals, may encourage feelings of psychological reactance and then increase performance misreporting.

This study is among the first to combine psychology and accounting literature to analyze how the design of MCS influences individuals’ motivation to misreport their performance. It provided evidence about the effect of non-monetary control systems on individual’s behavior in organizations.

Accounting research has traditionally been concerned with how accounting enables the organization of production. In contrast, raises the issue of how accounting is implicated in the production of the organization. Organizations are embedded in wider society, but a crucial element in their formation is that they become (and remain) differentiated from their environments. Uses the idea of boundary maintenance is used to understand how this differentiation is achieved. Boundaries are conceptualized in two ways, first, as thresholds and, second, as binding structures. Considers accounting, as information, as a system of accountability, as a moral order and as a legitimating institution in the context of the production and re‐production of the organization through the management of boundaries.

This paper presents a modification of the classical boundary integral equation method (BIEM) for two‐dimensional potential boundary‐value problem. The proposed modification consists in describing the boundary geometry by means of Hermite curves. As a result of this analytical modification of the boundary integral equation (BIE), a new parametric integral equation system (PIES) is obtained. The kernels of these equations include the geometry of the boundary. This new PIES is no longer defined on the boundary, as in the case of the BIE, but on the straight line for any given domain. The solution of the new PIES does not require boundary discretization as it can be reduced merely to an approximation of boundary functions. To solve this PIES a pseudospectral method has been proposed and the results obtained compared with exact solutions.

While the investment in construction projects has increased over the past few decades, low construction project productivity (CPP) appeared to be persistent, thereby reflecting an “investment-in-failure” paradox between the investment and CPP. Hence, this paper aims to develop a systematic and holistic CPP evaluation framework to explain the apparent paradox in the construction industry.

The paper first reviews the literature about the theories of system, production, principal–agent and project success evaluation to re-conceptualise the CPP and proposes a two-stage CPP evaluation framework. The framework is subsequently explored through a sequential qualitative mixed-methods design within the context of the Hong Kong construction industry by combining 32 semi-structured interviews with senior industry experts and exploratory case studies, with three real-life construction projects.

The paper identifies three system boundaries for CPP evaluation, that is, parameter, timeframe and stakeholder, and develops a two-stage CPP evaluation framework to indicate site efficiency and utilisation effectiveness, thereby accessing the productivity of both the construction and post-construction stages. The “investment-in-failure” paradox associated with current CPP evaluation approaches is primarily attributed to the narrowly defined CPP boundaries.

The qualitative exploration of the evaluation framework only focusses on the Hong Kong construction industry. Further case studies within other urban contexts could be used to improve the generalisability of the findings. Quantitative research is also necessary to advance theoretical development of the two-stage CPP evaluation.

The systemic CPP conceptualisation and the two-stage CPP evaluation framework support the systems thinking of industry stakeholders and enable them to formulate holistic strategies for long-term CPP enhancement.

The research demonstrates the needs to expand the system boundaries of CPP to reflect its systemic value and to shift the paradigm of CPP evaluation from being output-orientated and quantity-focussed to being outcome-orientated and value-focussed.

The purpose of this study is to examine and interpret the characteristics of social responsibility in general, and business responsibility in particular, that were evident during a period in European history that was plagued by widespread social problems and change. Based on that interpretation, the authors explore the lessons those characteristics may have for social responsibility in a contemporary world that is facing similar conditions.

The paper presents a qualitative analysis of the proceedings of the Bienfaisance Congress held in Frankfurt in 1857, where societal leaders from different nations met to answer the question, who has responsibility for whom, and for what? The authors use grounded theory, as it is operationalized in what is known as the “Gioia template,” to conduct a structured analysis of this particular text, and to in turn produce a theoretical interpretation of how that question was answered.

The interpretation from this study is that congress participants articulated certain established dimensions of responsibility (individual, organizational, national), as well as one new dimension (international), and did so by differentiating boundaries of responsibility; in turn, the authors suggest that these dimensions and boundaries work together to form a nested system of responsibilities.

There is limited empirical evidence available that documents the variety of responsibility-based initiatives that were being conducted during the 19th century. An analysis of the congress proceedings allows us to gain a better understanding of how the 19th-century world, particularly the upper echelons of European society, approached the question of under what conditions actors in different domains have responsibility for another. While the implications are limited by the analysis of the proceedings of one congress that was attended by elites, they do provide a snapshot of how Europe sought to articulate a system of bounded responsibilities during a time of widespread social problems and change.

Although the nested system of responsibilities framework that emerged from the grounded theory analysis is not applicable to all situations, it should sensitize policymakers and business leaders to the need to address social problems in a systemic way.

The authors both present a systems-based framework for understanding how responsibility is differentiated among actors (individual, organizational, state and international) and demonstrate how a theoretical interpretation of historical documents can be accomplished through the use of grounded theory, as operationalized through the Gioia template.

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the concept of organizational closure as developed by Stafford Beer in his viable systems model, defined as System 5.

The author refers to his experiences of multi‐stakeholder platforms and confronts them with the original texts of Stafford Beer. He takes the stance of a reflective practitioner.

The identity function, defined as organizational closure, only can be embodied at the boundary of a system, defined by an observer. Identities are not essential characteristics but changing attributions by different observers. Multiple identities are the norm.

The author develops the required characteristics of representatives participating in the organizational closure or System 5 activities.

The author gives an alternative way of thinking about identity different from the mainstream essentialist way of defining identity. He explores the consequences of this way of thinking for governance and governing bodies. He clarifies in this way the fundamental tension between participative and representative democracy.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the local feature of driven granular gases in event-driven molecular dynamic simulation, in order to achieve spatial profiles of local velocity distribution and granular temperature, and the local state with various coefficients of restitution.

Event-driven molecular dynamic simulation is performed to study a vibro-fluidized granular gas system. Triangular-wave vibration is adopted in the simulation. The authors focus on the steady state of a driven granular gas.

The simulation finds the local velocity distribution is asymmetric along vibration direction in this driven granular gas system, which agrees with the experimental results obtained in micro-gravity. A nonlinear spatial profile of the skewness of local velocity distribution in vibration direction is found in the simulation. Furthermore, it is found that the value of skewness increases with the system dissipation. It is also found that the two temperature components T+ and T− differ from each other. This shows breakdown of energy equipartition. The ratio between them drops exponentially along y direction in various coefficients of restitution. All results confirm that the bulk boundary effect relates to the dissipation properties of granular gases.

This is the first MD simulation that investigates the bulk boundary effect to the local velocity distribution. The spatial profiles of the skewness of local velocity distribution are also investigated when changing the coefficient of restitution to study the influence of the system dissipative nature.

Multiteam systems (MTSs) have been employed across numerous organizations and occupations (e.g., healthcare, emergency disaster response, business, and military) to achieve complex goals over time. As MTSs are inherently different than team level and organizational level theories, this chapter highlights the defining features of these dynamic systems through a temporal lens. Thus, the main purpose of our chapter is to address the challenges and issues concerning MTSs over time in order to provide a future agenda to guide researchers and practitioners.

To explore temporality throughout this chapter, we leverage two key MTSs frameworks along with contributions from the literature to produce a review, which demonstrates the extent of MTS theoretical and practical findings. After reviewing the definitional components of MTSs, we highlight various compositional, linkage, and developmental attributes that operate within a system. We then expand upon these attributes to consider the structural features of the system that enhance boundaries between component teams (i.e., differentiation) and may disrupt the system over time (i.e., dynamism).

After reviewing and integrating current MTS literature, we provide a new conceptual framework for MTSs and their temporal complexities. We offer several methodologies that managers and researchers can employ to assess these complex systems and suggest practical recommendations and areas for future research as we continue to study MTSs.

Our original conceptual framework considers MTSs through a dynamic lens developing over time and suggests the need for future research to build upon this perspective.

This paper aims to propose an extended version of systems development life cycle (SDLC) based on critical systems thinking for information system (IS) adoption in an organizational context from a management perspective.

The model integrates traditional SDLC with the ongoing process of “phase‐stakeholders‐identification” or “pha‐stak‐ification”. The emerging systemic stakeholder networks is proposed to be applied with network mechanisms to influence stakeholders' attitudes towards IS adoption. The authors, considering IS adoption as a multi‐phase innovation project, argue that boundary considerations using a multiple stakeholder perspective (boundary critique) provides an alternative focus for IS adoption.

The study suggests that the proposed model has the capacity to serve as a roadmap for a smooth IS adoption by facilitating organizational learning and change.

The study has not been tested empirically.

Successful IS implementation improves organizational efficiency and creates competitive advantage. Established information technology adoption models like technology acceptance model and theory of reasoned action consider technology adoption from the users' viewpoint without taking a holistic perspective into account. This article takes a systems perspective to technology development and the systems development life cycle.

Examines the types and characteristics of the new forms of the brand management system in marketing organizations as identified in previous research and previous existing research on performance appraisal systems. Draws linkages between the two systems to provide a framework for maximizing individual product manager’s performance, thereby maximizing overall organizational performance. Sets out a number of managerial implications and suggests areas for future research.