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Article
Publication date: 13 June 2023

Justyna Bekier and Cristiana Parisi

This study examines how circular economy (CE) performance indicators are constructed in an urban context characterised by a multitude of conflicting interests and visions of urban…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines how circular economy (CE) performance indicators are constructed in an urban context characterised by a multitude of conflicting interests and visions of urban development. It explores the process of constructing a shared consensus about the performance indicators in conditions of low contractibility, where intervention objectives and outcomes are not easily quantifiable because the object is ambiguous and cannot be fully specified in advance.

Design/methodology/approach

The construction of performance indicators at the urban level is examined through the lens of an action net. Using group interviews, observations and documentary analysis, this study investigates the case of a CE initiative in the city of Milan.

Findings

The study demonstrates that in cases of low contractibility, the development of CE solutions requires actions that span across organisational boundaries, organised in an action net. As the action net unfolds, it is closely knotted with the construction of performance indicators, indicating a co-constitutive relationship between the two processes.

Originality/value

This interdisciplinary study contributes to the public sector accounting literature by exploring the complexity of performance indicator construction at the urban level. It further recognises performance measurement in cities as a dynamic and flexible process, in which the interconnected actions and involvement of multiple actants shape the composition of the indicators.

Details

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

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 July 2021

Cristiana Parisi and Justyna Bekier

This paper aims to explore the role of performance measurement systems as technologies of government for the assessment and management of the effects of COVID-19 in the context of…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the role of performance measurement systems as technologies of government for the assessment and management of the effects of COVID-19 in the context of six cities involved in a large European project.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the field study of a large European project, this paper relies on a comparative case study research approach (Yin, 2003). This research design allows insights into the role of central and local key performance indicators (KPIs) in managing the ongoing pandemic.

Findings

This paper explores the role of accounting in the assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its findings illustrate how the “adjudicating” and “territorialising” roles (Miller and Power, 2013) of local and central accounting technologies rendered the COVID-19 pandemic calculable.

Originality/value

This paper connects central and local performance management systems in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It relies on a governmentality approach to discuss how different programmes and the relative KPIs were impacted by the ongoing global crisis.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 35 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2024

Yasmine Chahed, Robert Charnock, Sabina Du Rietz Dahlström, Niels Joseph Lennon, Tommaso Palermo, Cristiana Parisi, Dane Pflueger, Andreas Sundström, Dorothy Toh and Lichen Yu

The purpose of this essay is to explore the opportunities and challenges that early-career researchers (ECRs) face when they seek to contribute to academic knowledge production…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this essay is to explore the opportunities and challenges that early-career researchers (ECRs) face when they seek to contribute to academic knowledge production through research activities “other than” those directly focused on making progress with their own, to-be-published, research papers in a context associated with the “publish or perish” (PoP) mentality.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing broadly on the notion of technologies of humility (Jasanoff, 2003), this reflective essay develops upon the experiences of the authors in organizing and participating in a series of nine workshops undertaken between June 2013 and April 2021, as well as the arduous process of writing this paper itself. Retrospective accounts, workshop materials, email exchanges and surveys of workshop participants provide the key data sources for the analysis presented in the paper.

Findings

The paper shows how the organization of the workshops is intertwined with the building of a small community of ECRs and exploration of how to address the perceived limitations of a “gap-spotting” approach to developing research ideas and questions. The analysis foregrounds how the workshops provide a seemingly valuable research experience that is not without contradictions. Workshop participation reveals tensions between engagement in activities “other than” working on papers for publication and institutionalized pressures to produce publication outputs, between the (weak) perceived status of ECRs in the field and the aspiration to make a scholarly contribution, and between the desire to develop a personally satisfying intellectual journey and the pressure to respond to requirements that allow access to a wider community of scholars.

Originality/value

Our analysis contributes to debates about the ways in which seemingly valuable outputs are produced in academia despite a pervasive “publish or perish” mentality. The analysis also shows how reflexive writing can help to better understand the opportunities and challenges of pursuing activities that might be considered “unproductive” because they are not directly related to to-be-published papers.

Details

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

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 December 2023

Justyna Bekier and Cristiana Parisi

Existing performance assessment frameworks, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), struggle to incorporate diverse voices and representations of heterogeneous contexts…

Abstract

Purpose

Existing performance assessment frameworks, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), struggle to incorporate diverse voices and representations of heterogeneous contexts. Cities, in particular, present a challenging context for sustainability performance assessment as they pursue new forms of governance based on the multiplicity of actors and inter-organisational collaboration. This study explores how sustainability performance accounts are created at the urban level within collaborative forms of governance and amidst the plethora of available devices for performance assessment.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a case study approach. Qualitative methods are mobilised to study a large European project focused on the urban transition to a circular economy in six participating cities. The construction of sustainability performance accounts is studied via the Actor-Network Theory lens.

Findings

The study highlights that when it comes to sustainability assessment in city initiatives, existing performance assessment devices are adapted and modified to fit local needs and other sources of performance information are spontaneously mobilised to address the different dimensions of sustainability.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the public sector accounting literature by explaining the process of modifying existing devices for performance assessment to allow for the co-creation of accounts and by illuminating the spontaneous way in which performance information is generated and combined.

Details

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

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 December 2013

Cristiana Parisi

The purpose of this study is to illustrate the use of the ad hoc methodology of causal mapping to support the process of quantifying the financial returns related to…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to illustrate the use of the ad hoc methodology of causal mapping to support the process of quantifying the financial returns related to sustainability investments. The present study uses two methods to build causal maps, that is aggregate and congregate mapping, in order to capture managerial cognition and derive a model that reflects companies’ competitive advantages. The resulting causal map is a prerequisite and serves as a building block for the design of the organisation’s performance management systems for sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

This study relies on qualitative, deductive research undertaken at the leading international pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. This chapter presents the results of a longitudinal study developed through an action research approach conducted at the Company over a four-year period.

Findings

This study illustrates how the described approach for developing causal maps can facilitate the elicitation of managerial tacit knowledge and the consequent identification of indicators to quantify the investments in sustainability.

Practical implications

This chapter proves the relevance of causal mapping as a comprehensive, articulated basis for developing and improving organisations’ strategic performance measurement systems (SPMSs).

Originality/value

This study’s main contribution is the triangulation of multiple qualitative methods to enhance the reliability of causal maps. This innovative approach supports the use of causal mapping to extract managerial tacit knowledge in order to identify indicators for the evaluation of investments in sustainability.

Article
Publication date: 30 May 2008

Cristiana Parisi and Kai N. Hockerts

The purpose of this one‐company case study is to investigate the possible use of causal maps in the performance management and measurement of corporate social responsibility (CSR

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this one‐company case study is to investigate the possible use of causal maps in the performance management and measurement of corporate social responsibility (CSR) related intangibles.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to test the suitability of the chosen model, a combined research approach was selected. The combination of inductive and deductive approaches resulted in the most advantageous in order to test the research hypotheses. The pharmaceutical industry was targeted as a noteworthy case study for CSR investment. Novo Nordisk, a leading firm within the pharmaceutical industry, was chosen due to its outstanding corporate social performance (Dow Jones sustainability index STOXX and the Ethibel Sustainability Index).

Findings

The use of causal maps at Novo Nordisk is expected to improve the selection of indicators for the company's performance measurement system, so that a financial evaluation of the returns of investments aimed at increasing the value of CRS related intangibles can be made.

Practical implications

The use of causal maps aims to systematically internalise the positive financial effect of investment into CSR related intangibles. In this way the quality of existing performance measurement systems of companies are expected to improve.

Originality/value

This research contributes to CSR and performance measurement literature by analysing the use of causal maps in order to define indicators for CSR related intangibles, to be included in the company's multidimensional performance measurement models.

Details

Measuring Business Excellence, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1368-3047

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 May 2008

Giovanni Schiuma and Antonio Lerro

The purpose of this research is to show how the variety of ways of performing through knowledge and intangible resources exploitation raises the question of how these kind of

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to show how the variety of ways of performing through knowledge and intangible resources exploitation raises the question of how these kind of resources can be coherently and successfully declined into companies' processes and operations, what are the “right”, or appropriate approaches to manage intellectual capital (IC), and how these approaches can disentangle the mechanisms by which those resources contribute to improve companies' organizational performance. In this introduction to the special issue some conceptual interpretations are developed to investigate IC‐based approaches, methods, tools and factors of companies' performance improvement.

Design/methodology/approach

The approaches, evidences and insights discussed in this introduction are largely based on the discussion of the topics of the conference “International Forum on Knowledge Assets Dynamics” organized in June 2007 in Matera, Italy. At this conference, leading experts discussed the importance of IC for organizational performance improvement, the IC key‐value drivers of the performance management and measurement, and theoretical concepts of, and practical approaches towards, a high‐performing IC management.

Findings

The outcomes of this introduction and of all the contributions to the special issue reflect the current discussion about better operationalization of IC management constructs. This discussion is largely focused on the importance of space for IC management activities, on the main knowledge assets that drive companies' processes improvement, the diversity of the relative relevance of each knowledge asset and the necessity for strategic and managerial decision‐makers to learn to apply general approaches, methodologies and instruments in specific companies. In this context, managing IC was mostly dealt with as a means to reach performance targets.

Originality/value

This introduction as well as all the contributions to the special issue deal with different aspects, which are important in the discussion of needs for a better understanding of the relationships between IC management and companies' performance improvement as well as the approaches, tools, methods and techniques to better disentangle the mechanisms by which knowledge assets, separately or interdependently, contribute to improve companies' organizational performance.

Details

Measuring Business Excellence, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1368-3047

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 10 December 2013

Abstract

Details

Accounting and Control for Sustainability
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-766-6

Abstract

Details

Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1469-1930

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 9 December 2021

Giulia Leoni, Alessandro Lai, Riccardo Stacchezzini, Ileana Steccolini, Stephen Brammer, Martina Linnenluecke and Istemi Demirag

This paper introduces the second part of a AAAJ special issue on accounting, accountability and management during the COVID-19 emergency. The authors analyse the themes that…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper introduces the second part of a AAAJ special issue on accounting, accountability and management during the COVID-19 emergency. The authors analyse the themes that emerge from the second part of the special issue, which allows us to identify the diverse accounting and accountability practices across different geographical and organisational contexts. The authors also provide an overall picture of the contributions of the special issue, with insights into avenues of future research.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on the first part of the AAAJ special issue, the paper draws together and identifies additional emerging themes related to research into the COVID-19 pandemic and how it impacts accounting, accountability and management practices. The authors reflect on the contributions of the special issue to the interdisciplinary accounting research project.

Findings

The authors identify two macro-themes and outline their contributions to the accounting literature. The first deals with the changes and dangers of accounting and accountability practices during the pandemic. The second considers accountability practices in a broader sense, including reporting, disclosure and rhetorical practices in the management of COVID-19.

Practical implications

The paper shows the pervasive role of accounting and accountability in the unprecedented and indiscriminate health crisis of COVID-19. It highlights the important role of special issues in producing timely research that responds to unfolding events.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to current debates on the roles of accounting and accountability during COVID-19 by drawing together the themes of the special issue and identifying future interdisciplinary accounting research on the pandemic's aftermath.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 35 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

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