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1 – 10 of over 26000Maria C. Conesa Carril, Nieves Gómez Aguilar and Manuel Larrán Jorge
The analysis intends to clarify whether higher education institutions place as much value on internal transparency as on external transparency. This study aims to analyze the…
Abstract
Purpose
The analysis intends to clarify whether higher education institutions place as much value on internal transparency as on external transparency. This study aims to analyze the university budgeting process as a reflection of internal transparency. It also aims to identify the weaknesses of the budgeting process regarding transparency in order to improve decision-making.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study that applies mixed methods – documentary analysis, observations and interviews – has been conducted. To study internal transparency, the model of three levels of transparency of Biondi and Lapsley (2014) has been applied to the budgeting process of a university. Then, the results have been compared to the external transparency of this institution.
Findings
While external transparency is achieved, internal transparency in the budgeting process is far from optimal in the case of study. An improvement in transparency of the budget process can promote the engagement of stakeholders in the process and achieve better governance.
Research limitations/implications
The general inductive approach is not as strong as other approaches in the area of theory or model development. However, it does provide a simple approach for deriving findings linked to this research’s questions.
Practical implications
Trust issues and external accountability appear to be more relevant than internal transparency for universities. However, improving the three levels of transparency along the budgeting process could motivate collegiate members to reinforce accountability, as it requires them to effectively communicate their actions and decisions to their represented.
Originality/value
This paper seeks to situate transparency as an attribute of university governance, contributing to the scarce literature on transparency, internal and external, in the university. The study compares the approach of this university to external transparency – which relates to accountability – with internal transparency – a concept that links to corporate governance. This study uses the novel lens of Biondi and Lapsley model (2014) to study internal transparency, focussing on university budgeting as a key management tool.
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Nripendra Kumar and Kunal K. Ganguly
The purpose of this paper is to understand the process through which external diffusion of business-to-business (B2B) e-procurement impacts firm performance. The research model…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the process through which external diffusion of business-to-business (B2B) e-procurement impacts firm performance. The research model has been developed to empirically examine the role of information transparency and supply chain coordination in improving the firm financial performance by external diffusion of e-procurement.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey is conducted in India with a target population of purchasing professionals working on the B2B e-procurement platform. The measurement model was first tested by using confirmatory factor analysis for reliability and validity, then structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses of the research model using AMOS 22. The phantom model approach has been used for testing multiple mediators.
Findings
The result of the study highlights the importance of information transparency and supply chain coordination in enhancing the firm financial performance by external diffusion of e-procurement. The results establish the role of information transparency in enhancing firm performance by improving supply chain coordination. The results also indicate that supply chain coordination mediates the relationship between external diffusion of e-procurement and firm financial performance.
Originality/value
This is the first study that has focused on the external diffusion of e-procurement and its impact on firm performance. Also, this study attempted to understand the process through which external diffusion of e-procurement impacts the firm financial performance.
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Oana Brindusa Albu and Leopold Ringel
The chapter uses a comparative case study design to address the mutations and trajectories of transparency in two organizations. We chose organizations that are similar in that…
Abstract
The chapter uses a comparative case study design to address the mutations and trajectories of transparency in two organizations. We chose organizations that are similar in that they favor extensive forms of self-disclosure, but also different in terms of which sector they inhabit, audiences, and organization type: the Pirate Party of Germany and the lobby organization Epsilon. The findings, in close dialog with different threads in the transparency literature, unveil three crucial dimensions in which transparency regimes are likely to trigger unintended consequences: first, organizations have to cope with the tension between the disclosure of internal information on the one hand, and the need to appear consistent in public on the other. Second, transparency strategies can, however, turn into surveillance and trigger new forms of data ordering, sorting, and aggregating practices. Third, disclosure practices create and undermine complex hierarchies and power relations for organizational members. The comparison of the cases demonstrates that it is crucial to observe the practical implications and multiple trajectories of transparency practices.
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Mirjam Galetzka, Dave Gelders, Jan Pieter Verckens and Erwin Seydel
In an attempt to gain insight into the effects of transparent communication on critical performances, this paper aims to explore performance measures and communication of a…
Abstract
Purpose
In an attempt to gain insight into the effects of transparent communication on critical performances, this paper aims to explore performance measures and communication of a large‐scale service organization, i.e. the Dutch Railways (Nederlandse Spoorwegen, (NS)).
Design/methodology/approach
Semi‐structured interviews with employees of NS and external stakeholders were analyzed to study which performances are measured by NS, why they are measured, and how they are communicated to the employees and stakeholders.
Findings
An ambiguous view on transparency was observed. Although transparency is advocated by most employees and stakeholders, this study revealed the complexity of performance communication of a service organization. In this case, NS used to fully disclose performances but emphasized positive performances. This transparent communication strategy seemed to backfire and yielded a counterbalanced societal response from customer organizations which resulted in a strained relationship.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are based on qualitative data of a limited number of interviews. Several types of actors were interviewed but not passengers of NS themselves.
Practical implications
From a communicative point of view, it might be wise to publish negative aspects as well as the positive ones to promote trust and corporate credibility. Building trust involves investing in positive experiences for customers and promotion of realistic expectations. To enhance trust, organizations must not only inform stakeholders and citizens about their performances but also invest in direct communication with their stakeholders.
Originality/value
This study explores performance communication of a service organization, and the ambivalent role of transparency of (internal and external) performance communication.
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Gargi Bhaduri and Lauren Copeland
To help brands persuasively communicate their environmentally responsible initiatives, this study aims to involve two experiments, examining the impact of brand schema…
Abstract
Purpose
To help brands persuasively communicate their environmentally responsible initiatives, this study aims to involve two experiments, examining the impact of brand schema, information transparency and skepticism toward climate change for brands both familiar and unfamiliar to US consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
Two online experiments were designed recruiting a total of 510 participants. The design incorporates both message and treatment variance to increase internal and external validity of the study. Data collected were analyzed using PROCESS, a regression-based conditional path analysis technique.
Findings
The results indicated that for both familiar and unfamiliar brands, increased congruity of consumers' schemas to information presented in brands' pro-environmental messages led consumers to evaluate the messages as more persuasive, have more positive opinions about brands' environmentally responsible initiatives as well as behavioral intentions toward the brand. Also, presence of high information transparency on environmental responsibility-related messages influenced consumers' schemas positively, and in turn, their evaluations were more favorable. However, consumers’ climate change skepticism seemed to influence unfamiliar, not familiar brands.
Originality/value
The study provides both theoretical and managerial implications. The findings are important for established apparel brands that suffer from negative reputations, but are willing to revitalize their images, and for new ventures who want to establish their image as environmentally responsible.
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Stefan Gold and Pasi Heikkurinen
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the research question of how stakeholder claims for transparency work as a means to support responsibility in the international supply…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the research question of how stakeholder claims for transparency work as a means to support responsibility in the international supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
This theoretical study analyses the relationship between stakeholder claims for corporate transparency and responsible business in the global context, and develops a conceptual model for further theoretical and empirical work.
Findings
The study finds that the call for corporate transparency is insufficient as a means to increase responsibility within international supply chains. The erroneous belief that stakeholder claims for transparency will lead to responsible behaviour is identified as the “transparency fallacy”. The fallacy emerges from the denial of opacity in organisations and the blindness to the conditions of international supply chains (including complexity, distance, and resistance) that work against attempts to increase transparency.
Research limitations/implications
Acknowledging the limits of the transparency mechanism in both management theory and practice is necessary in order to advance responsible business in the international arena. Being conceptual in nature, the generic limitations of the type of research apply.
Practical implications
While acknowledging opacity, corporate managers and stakeholders should focus on changing the supply chain conditions to support responsible behaviour. This includes reducing complexity, distance, and resistance in the supply network.
Originality/value
This study contests the commonly assumed link between corporate transparency and responsibility, and sheds light on the limits and unintended consequences of stakeholder attempts to impose transparency on business organisations.
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Irvine Lapsley and Ana-María Ríos
– The purpose of this paper is an investigation of internal transparency in government budgeting.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is an investigation of internal transparency in government budgeting.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study which uses mixed methods – documentary analysis, some observation and elite interviews.
Findings
Politicians do not want transparency. Despite the way in which the idea of transparency in government is beyond open challenge, this study reveals the manner in which politicians can inhibit and limit transparency through political will and action.
Research limitations/implications
These findings raise serious challenges for policymakers who design government budgeting systems. They should raise concerns among other interested parties, including the media, the electorate and oversight bodies.
Practical implications
Are government budgets rigorously scrutinised? This evidence suggests not. This has major implications for accountants in government and for those who seek to use this information.
Social implications
This research needs to be extended beyond the case of a government body – the Scottish Parliament – which was designed for and committed to transparency in its activities. For those public service organisations which have no such commitment, is public accountability achievable?
Originality/value
This study uses a novel lens of three levels of transparency as devised by Biondi and Lapsley (2014). It focuses on an emergent field of internal transparency in government budgeting.
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Erna H.J.M. Ruijer and Richard F. Huff
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of organizational culture on open government reforms by developing a theoretical framework bridging the theory and practice gap.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of organizational culture on open government reforms by developing a theoretical framework bridging the theory and practice gap.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory qualitative study consisting of a document analysis and a case study was conducted.
Findings
An open organizational culture is a precursor to effective open government. A network strategy as a facilitator for developing an open culture was used in one US federal agency, breaking across boundaries within the organization, creating greater symmetrical horizontal and vertical openness.
Originality/value
Much of the focus in both theory and practice has been on the use of technology as a vehicle to increase government openness. This study argues that a movement toward openness is beyond the technical. Organizational culture is a key to openness and may need to be changed. A networks strategy may be one way to facilitate a transformation to a more open culture.
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Teerooven Soobaroyen and Aamina Sheik‐Ellahi
This study aims to explore the influence of corporate governance (CG) on non‐board business unit (BU) managers in relation to its perceived effects on managerial/organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the influence of corporate governance (CG) on non‐board business unit (BU) managers in relation to its perceived effects on managerial/organizational outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Following the recent implementation of the CG code in a conglomerate, a number of BU managers were interviewed on the meaning and implications of CG at their level with a subsequent focus on two principles advocated in CG: accountability and transparency.
Findings
BU managers perceived the CG adoption will have a positive impact on their performance via its effect on enhancing the credibility of the unit and the organization. Managers also developed a wider notion of accountability, akin to a ‘socializing form’ accountability, which improves the level of dialogue, trust and communication within the organization, thereby leading to better organizational outcomes. However, in view of the opaque business context prevailing in the country of study, these positive consequences are dampened by the managers' ambivalence to the need for higher internal transparency.
Research limitations/implications
The research adopts a case study approach in a developing economy. The scope for generalization is thus limited but the findings indicate deeper meanings and understandings of CG from non‐board actors, which could be observed in other contexts.
Originality/value
CG studies traditionally focus on the board members. There has been little exploration as to the effects of CG within the organization and how this is perceived or turned into action non‐board actors, e.g. BU managers.
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Laurence Ferry and Thomas Ahrens
Within the context of recent post-localism developments in the English local government, this paper aims to show, first, how management controls have become more enabling in…
Abstract
Purpose
Within the context of recent post-localism developments in the English local government, this paper aims to show, first, how management controls have become more enabling in response to changes in rules of public sector corporate governance and, secondly, how changes in management control systems gave rise to new corporate governance practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Theoretically, the paper mobilises the concept of enabling control to reflect on contemporary changes in public sector corporate governance. It draws on the International Federation of Accountants’ (IFAC) and Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s (CIPFA) new public sector governance and management control system model and data gathered from a longitudinal qualitative field study of a local authority in North East England. The field study used interviews, observation and documentation review.
Findings
This paper suggests specific ways in which the decentralisation of policymaking and performance measurement in a local authority (present case) gave rise to enabling corporate governance and how corporate governance and management control practices went some way to aid in the pursuit of the public interest. In particular, it shows that the management control system can be designed at the operational level to be enabling. The significance of global transparency for supporting corporate governance practices around public interest is observed. This paper reaffirms that accountability is but one element of public sector corporate governance. Rather, public sector corporate governance also pursues integrity, openness, defining outcomes, determining interventions, leadership and capacity and risk and performance management.
Practical implications
Insights into uses of such enabling practices in public sector corporate governance are relevant for many countries in which public sector funding has been cut, especially since the 2007/2008 global financial crisis.
Originality/value
This paper introduces the concept of enabling control into the public sector corporate governance and control debate by fleshing out the categories of public sector corporate governance and management control suggested recently by IFAC and CIPFA drawing on observed practices of a local government entity.
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