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1 – 10 of 19Henk J. ter Bogt and Robert W. Scapens
Drawing on recent research, which recognises the situated nature of accounting practices, the purpose of this paper is to extend the Burns and Scapens (B&S) framework and to…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on recent research, which recognises the situated nature of accounting practices, the purpose of this paper is to extend the Burns and Scapens (B&S) framework and to illustrate its potential for studying the situated nature of management accounting practices. The extended framework distinguishes field-level institutions (which the authors term broader institutions) and institutions within the organisation (which the authors term local institutions). To extend the B&S framework the authors draw on recent debates in institutional theory, both new institutional sociology, where the focus is now on the institutional logics perspective, and old institutional economics, where there has been debate about the relationship between institutions and actions.
Design/methodology/approach
While the B&S framework focussed on institutions within the organisation, the extended framework explicitly recognises institutions which extend beyond the boundaries of the organisation. It also recognises the way in which rationality and deliberation are related to human agency, as well as the power of specific individuals and/or groups to impose new rules. To illustrate the usefulness of the extended framework the research note draws on a recent study of performance measurement in the Accounting and Finance Groups of the Universities of Groningen and Manchester.
Findings
It is argued that local institutions within the organisation combine with the broader institutions to shape the forms of situated rationality which are applied by individuals and groups within the organisation. Different groups within an organisation (e.g. engineers and accountants) can have different forms of situated rationality, and contradictions in these forms of rationality can be a source of institutional change or resistance to change within the organisation, and can explain why accounting changes can by implemented in different ways in different organisations and also in different parts of the same organisation.
Originality/value
The extended framework will be useful for studying: (1) how situated rationalities evolve within an organisation, more specifically how they are shaped by both local and broader institutions; and (2) how prevailing situated rationalities shape the responses to accounting change.
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Henk J. ter Bogt and G. Jan van Helden
This paper aims to discuss the question of how the possible gaps between academic and practical accounting research can be reduced and how academics could make a contribution to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to discuss the question of how the possible gaps between academic and practical accounting research can be reduced and how academics could make a contribution to solving the practical problems of organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
A reflection on Van de Ven and Johnson's ideas about “engaged scholarship” as a way for overcoming the gap between academic and practical knowledge creation, illustrated with examples coming from public sector accounting research.
Findings
Although academic consultant/researchers, who conduct research of direct relevance to practice, ideally must have research objectives in mind that go beyond the practical problems of the organization in order to address academically relevant goals, this is often not feasible. This is due to the fact that academically relevant research questions can often only be identified when a practice-oriented research project has already taken shape. The authors argue and illustrate that a pragmatic form of engaged scholarship in public sector accounting research implies that such research results in a variety of outputs. Some of the outputs will have direct relevance to the practitioners and others to the academics involved, whilst the outputs that are relevant to each of these two groups will only partly show connections and overlaps.
Practical implications
The preoccupation of academic researchers with publications in high-ranking journals, due to pressures from their universities and peer groups, threatens research projects with a potential relevance for practice, because their publication opportunities are uncertain in advance. The authors welcome researchers who want to take this type of risk, and the authors challenge university officials and journal editors to broaden their view on excellence in research beyond the scope of their traditional academic domains.
Originality/value
The paper offers a realistic way out of serving two seemingly different research goals, practice-relevance and academic rigour.
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Ann Martin-Sardesai and James Guthrie
The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of academic human capital (HC) towards a university’s research performance measurement system (PMS), in response to a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of academic human capital (HC) towards a university’s research performance measurement system (PMS), in response to a national research assessment exercise (RAE).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on a subset of the data from a large mixed method case study research project about the impact of ERA on an Australian public sector university.
Findings
The findings reveal that the research PMSs were designed, implemented and used as a tool to measure and manage the research performance of HC within the university. The case study university performed well in the RAE. However, this also led to several unintended consequences in the form of fear and anxiety, gaming and strategic initiatives, a focus on quantity and not the quality of research, and increased workload, which led to a loss in the stock of HC.
Practical implications
This empirical evidence can inform governments and policy makers of the unintended consequences of government research evaluations on academic HC. University managers could improve the design of HC management systems by not only measuring academic HC performance, but also providing training and resources to enhance, support and maintain the overall well-being of academics.
Originality/value
This study provides insights regarding the connection between a university’s PMS and academic HC and contributes to the academic literature on intellectual capital and PMSs.
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Berend van der Kolk, Henk J. ter Bogt and Paula M.G. van Veen-Dirks
The purpose of this paper is to examine how management control (MC) within governmental departments is used in times of austerity, and how insights from agency and stewardship…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how management control (MC) within governmental departments is used in times of austerity, and how insights from agency and stewardship theory can enhance the understanding of this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors distinguish two types of MC (constraining and facilitating) based on their different assumptions regarding human behavior (agent-like and steward-like). The authors empirically analyze changes in the use of these types of MC in four cases located in two municipalities. The collected data consists of 51 semi-structured interviews, desk research and multiple field observations.
Findings
The authors find that MC at the departmental level becomes more constraining in times of austerity. The authors suggest that an overemphasis on constraining MC has negative consequences. It can, for instance, evoke agent-like, opportunistic behavior while it disregards potential steward-like behavior. These negative consequences are less prevalent when there is a simultaneous increase in emphasis on the use of facilitating MC elements.
Originality/value
The authors acknowledge “human ambivalence,” i.e. an employee’s recurring choice between agent-like and steward-like behavior, and illustrate the dangers of overly relying on constraining types of MC. The authors also contemplate alternative strategic managerial responses to austerity in a public sector context.
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Paul J. Thambar, Aldónio Ferreira and Prabanga Thoradeniya
This study aims to examine the role of performance management systems (PMSs) in enabling logic blending to manage institutional complexity and tensions arising from coexisting…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the role of performance management systems (PMSs) in enabling logic blending to manage institutional complexity and tensions arising from coexisting institutional logics.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses a case study of an Australian non-government organisation (NGO) operating in an institutional field dominated by the state government, in which policy reform jolted the balance between institutional logics. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, archival documents and observations.
Findings
We find the policy reform required the NGO to transform from a wholly care focus to accommodate a more balanced approach with a focus on care coupled with efficiency, outcome delivery and performance measurement. The NGO responded by revising its purpose, strategy and operational model and by seeking to address the imperatives of two dominant and often competing care and managerial logics. We find this was achieved through logic blending, in which PMSs played a pivotal role, with the formalisation and collaboration processes mobilising different elements of PMSs, mobilising some elements differently or not mobilising some elements at all.
Originality/value
This study highlights the central role of PMSs in managing tensions between and the complexity arising from coexisting institutional logics through logic blending, a form of enduring compromise. This study extends the accounting logics and performance management literature by developing the understanding of what constitutes logic blending and how it is distinct from other forms of compromise.
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Rick Anderson and Henk Klaassen
The aim of this paper is to research the effectiveness of different forms of performance management and to trace the factors which influence these effectiveness. In order to…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to research the effectiveness of different forms of performance management and to trace the factors which influence these effectiveness. In order to better emphasize the context dimensions, it also aims to study two municipal processes in the Dutch public sector, i.e. treatment of building permits and the establishment of environmental policy papers.
Design/methodology/approach
The study analyses 57 Dutch municipalities on performance management.
Findings
The research shows that management should not intervene nor should it focus on the process itself, contrary to what is normally thought and done. This study also points out that the type of management on output is more important for the effectiveness than the context of the processes. The conclusion may be drawn that process control will lead to less effectiveness in almost all cases. Effective output management should be confined to a combination of input and output control. Although the general management has the tendency to engage in the way processes are conducted, it will need to resist this tendency as much as possible. In addition, intermediate control is ineffective. In the investigated processes more capacity was needed when the general management exercised intermediate control, regardless of the mode. This conclusion is at odds with the widely endorsed desirability and need for intermediate control (monitoring). Control ex ante, in contrast, increases effectiveness in every case. The impression arises that opting for less control (only ex ante and not on processes) makes the type of management more effective.
Originality/value
Output management will have to take the context into account, but also give decentralized managers sufficient degrees of freedom. In order to decentralize adequately, the correct type of management will need to be chosen. Although most authors endorse the importance of context and believe the possibility of output management to be almost completely dependent on this context, this study shows that the effectiveness of output management is virtually entirely dictated by the chosen type of management, no matter the context. The type of management allocating as much freedom to decentralized management as possible, offers the best basis for effective action. Paradoxically, general management could maximize its effectiveness by interfering as little as possible with the process at stake.
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