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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of performance measurement systems (PMS) within the context of digital servitization (DS), especially in collaborations involving multiple actors. The paper adopts a bottom-up ecosystem perspective to gain insights into how companies can effectively manage the complexities of digital transformation in the servitization domain.

This research draws upon a longitudinal case study within the wine and spirit supply chain. It focuses on a logistics company, “GR”, which has promoted a DS strategy to offer advanced services and enhance the competitiveness of the entire ecosystem.

The study offers valuable insights into the evolution of PMS roles throughout the DS journey, promoting cooperation, coordination, collaboration and control among ecosystem actors, thereby facilitating the development of a DS strategy.

The study is focused on a logistics company with unique capabilities and networks. Future research should include a broader range of contexts. Furthermore, our analysis focuses on the initial stages of ecosystem emergence, particularly the initiation and momentum phases. Further research should explore how DS impacts organizations in the following ecosystem phases.

This research offers valuable insights for managers, particularly in the development of DS strategy. It underscores the significance of PMS as key facilitators in crafting DS strategy and in the broader ecosystem evolution. The findings demonstrate that PMS is instrumental across different phases of the servitization process, improving aspects such as performance monitoring, resource allocation, collaboration and communication. Moreover, this study emphasizes the importance for small and medium-sized enterprises manufacturers and logistics firms to build and nurture collaborative relationships with various supply chain stakeholders to successfully implement a servitization strategy. In the wine industry, embracing a multiactor perspective is crucial. The delivery of advanced services necessitates a wide spectrum of knowledge and skills on one hand, and adaptability and flexibility in developing relationships on the other.

The study contributes to the literature on management accounting by exploring the role of PMS in DS. It reveals that PMS acts as a fundamental enabler, promoting seamless coordination and collaboration among various actors involved in DS. This sheds light on the transformative potential of PMS in creating a collaborative environment, where multiple organizations work together to offer value-added services.

New service businesses carry opportunities for industrial companies. The different cost management and management control implications of those service businesses deserve attention, which is a widely under-researched area in management accounting and control literature. Digital twins could hold potential in unveiling and supporting those new service business opportunities, as a unique approach of this paper. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the possibility and potential for creating a digital twin of a service, especially to unveil the management accounting and control implications of the digital twin in developing new service businesses.

This paper investigates the potential of a digital twin in unveiling cost and control implications of new service businesses by examining the characteristics of a digital twin in the service business development context. The paper use an in-depth interventionist case study, where the designed animations illustrate the possibilities of a digital twin of a service. The animations showing the service process characteristics were first used as a communication tool and eventually those animations were actively used in customer cases for different purposes. This motivated the idea for examining the implications of such animations representing a digital twin of a service.

The paper provides empirical insights regarding the potential for developing and using a digital twin of a service for different cost management and management control purposes. The digital twin of a service may include all main details of a new service offering, simulating the functionality of a service, hence making the performance and the implications of the new service concept clear for all the stakeholders. The digital twin of the service enables defining the processes, setting targets and helps communication about the value generation. Thus, they represent a significant toolkit for the management accounting and control function of the manufacturers.

This paper is among the first attempts to understand the digital twin of the service. The paper is unique in providing financial and control implications of digital twins also in the context of service business development. The in-depth interventionist approach enabled an exceptional exploration process on the subject. The article paves the way toward further research on managing the digital twins of services in the future.

This paper aims to explore how a shared service centre (SSC) is mobilised in a power-dominant context of a Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE). Specifically, it examines the mobilisation of SSC within this multi-divisional SOE, the role and dynamics of actors involved and the influence of changes in the integrated information system (IIS) during the mobilisation process.

The study follows a qualitative case study methodology. The authors draw on actor-network theory to examine the network and translation processes constructed in mobilising SSC in the chosen SOE. The data sources of this study were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations and documentary reviews.

The mobilisation of SSC is not a linear process but rather a “spiral” interplay through continuous interactions and compromises between human and non-human actors. Power gave the core actor as an orchestrator legitimacy and formality to reduce resistance and obstruction in translation for the mobilisation of SSC. The changes in IIS appear to facilitate the interaction between the heterogeneous actors.

This case study contributes towards understanding the mobilisation of SSC in a power-dominant context by highlighting the impact of changes in IIS and the details of the mobilisation of SSC in terms of the role played by both the individual actors and the technology.

This study provides a broader understanding of the interactions of the heterogeneous actors for mobilising SSC in a power-dominant context. More importantly, the study inspires future research into examining how SSC practices unfold and how the changes in IIS influence the mobilisation of SSC.

For many years, universities have been confronted with the rise of a managerial logic, in line with the new public management movement. They have been encouraged to implement new accounting tools such as cost calculations. Literature shows mixed results regarding the institutionalization of such tools, and the logic they try to support. In most studies, the agency of actors is examined to explain the institutionalization of accounting tools and only few studies consider the specific characteristics of these accounting tools to understand this process. To enrich the literature on institutionalization, this article examines how the affordances of costing tools affect the institutionalization of these tools and the institutionalization of new logics in pluralistic organizations such as universities.

The data were collected at a French university which is considered as an example of successful institutionalization of the tool and is cited as a model to follow. The data include a four-month participant observation and 18 interviews. Access to internal and external documents was also available. The analysis of the data is based on a framework proposed by Jarzabkowski and Kaplan (2015), which draws on the concept of affordance of tools, to investigate how the possibilities and constraints of costing tools shape the selection, application and outcomes of cost calculations.

The results show that the affordances of cost calculations facilitate the institutionalization of a new logic and its coexistence with previous logics. Technical affordances are mobilized by actors aiming to bring in a new logic without directly confronting the old ones. Role affordances also play a major role in the institutionalization by facilitating the adhesion of the actors through multiple applications of the tool. Finally, value-based affordances reinforce the institutionalization of a managerial logic by emphasizing the values shared with the other logics and thus facilitating the coexistence of the three logics at stake in the university.

This research provides three main contributions. First, it contributes to the literature on the institutionalization of accounting tools. It shows the relevance of the concept of affordance (Leonardi and Vaast, 2017) to unpack the characteristics of accounting tools (including the constraints and the possibilities they offer) and to achieve a better understanding of the institutionalization of accounting tools. Second, this paper contributes to the literature dealing with the role of accounting tools in the institutionalization of logics. The results suggest that the institutionalization of tools and the institutionalization of logics are two different phenomena that move at different speeds. However, these phenomena interact: the institutionalization of accounting tools can facilitate the coexistence of different logics in pluralistic organizations. Third, this paper contributes to the literature on affordances. The data reveal several types of affordances for accounting tools: technical affordances that refer to the technical possibilities to shape and tweak the tool; role affordances that refer to the various roles and purposes that the tool can fulfill and value-based affordances that refer to the plasticity of the values and beliefs that the tool can convey. The study shows that each type of affordance is prevalent at a different time of the process of institutionalization and that the combination of these affordances contributes to the institutionalization of the tool and of new logics.

Advanced servitization is the process that involves the combination of different services that facilitate both the use of a product and customer operations. Although servitization has emerged as a frequent strategy for manufacturers to differentiate themselves from the competition, its implementation can pose major challenges and may not always result in superior firm performance. Consequently, successful advanced servitization may require specific organizational capabilities to unleash performance-enhancing effects. To date, little is known about how to effectively configure advanced servitization to achieve such performance gains.

Adopting a fit theory perspective and using a configurational approach, we examine the interplay between servitization, organizational capabilities, contextual factors and financial performance. Specifically, we focus on advanced servitization and assess its necessity and sufficiency for achieving high financial performance. In addition, we study how the alignment of servitization approaches with organizational capabilities and contextual factors affects financial performance. We analyze data from 151 manufacturers in an emerging economy using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA).

Our findings indicate that advanced servitization is sufficient, but not necessary for high financial performance. In addition, the findings indicate that the alignment of servitization approaches with specific service-related capabilities unfolds complementarity effects that contribute to achieving high financial performance for manufacturers with different firm size and competitive intensity. The findings indicate three configurations that may serve as templates for managers to orchestrate resource allocation and successfully deploy advanced servitization.

Our study advances the servitization literature by further illuminating advanced servitization as a more complex servitization process. We show how high-performing manufacturers align servitization and organizational capabilities across different contexts, and thus provide design choices for managers in configuring servitization.

This paper aims to investigate how firms such as Xerox, which have transitioned to a digital servitization business model, bridge relational asymmetry. It continues the theme of sustainability from the traditional three pillars—environmental, economic and social sustainability—to relational in terms of the quality of the relationship between the service provider and the customers.

Using an exploratory method, qualitative data from the case of Xerox, a pioneering company that embraces servitization business models, has been gathered. The combination of exploratory archival and literature searches allows for a more in-depth understanding of servitization and how it bridges (or does not bridge) the relational asymmetry.

The results reveal that a relational dimension is inherent in the servitization business model, whereas in order to achieve sustainability, it must leverage transparency, which may be either an enabler or an impairing factor. A borderline for a transparent relationship that distinguishes these two parameters is established.

The study's single-case firm was limited to Xerox as an industry forerunner and could only represent mature and multinational enterprises.

With the purpose of providing high-quality service, this exploratory paper gives managers rational insight into whether and when it is sustainable to fill the relational asymmetry between them as service providers and their customers.

From the relational asymmetry perspective, the authors shed light on the aspect of transparency, which is a pivotal cause of any asymmetric relationship. Through the case of Xerox, the study further sheds light on the dual effect of transparency, which could either be an “enabling” or an “impairing” factor. Putting it together, the use of interaction as a basis for co-creation is at the crux of the emerging reality.

This paper examines servitization from a new perspective, proposing that the relational asymmetry bridged by servitization will determine the future of organizations that differentiate themselves through quality relationships.

As some data to evaluate the efficiency of bank branches is qualitative or uncertain, only grey numbers should be used to calculate the efficiency interval. The combination of multi-stage models and grey data can lead to a more accurate and realistic evaluation to assess the performance of bank branches. This study aims to compute the efficiency of each branch of the bank as a grey number and to group all branches into four grey efficiency areas.

The key performance indicators are identified based on the balanced scorecard and previous research studies. They are included in the two-stage grey data envelopment analysis (DEA) model. The model is run using the GAMS program. The grey efficiencies are calculated and bank branches have been grouped based on efficiency kernel number and efficiency greyness degree.

As policies and management approaches for branches with less uncertainty in efficiency are different from branches with more uncertainty, considering the uncertainty of efficiency values of branches may be helpful for the policy-making of managers. The grey efficiency of branches of one bank is examined in this study using the two-stage grey DEA throughout one year. The branches are grouped based on kernel and greyness value of efficiency, and the findings show that considering the uncertainty of data makes the results more consistent with the real situation.

The performance of bank branches is modeled as a two-stage grey DEA, in which the efficiency value of each branch is obtained as a grey number. The main originality of this paper is to group the bank branches based on two grey indexes named “kernel number” and “greyness degree” of grey efficiency value.

This study aims to examine the prevalence of transfer pricing and earnings management activities, and how they are impacted by corporate governance mechanisms.

Using the political cost theory, the study provides insights into how opportunistic managerial behaviours which have a strong link to profit shifting and tax evasion are driven by corporate governance using data from 16 listed firms for the period 2008–2020.

The results reveal that the transaction-based transfer pricing model is better than the index-based model and the accrual-based earnings management model suits the political cost theory more than the real earnings management metric. Board size and female CEO increase transfer pricing aggressiveness but board independence, CEO tenure, CEO nationality and female Board Chairwomanship reduce transfer pricing aggressiveness. The findings also reveal the role of multinational enterprise status, private ownership, industry type, firm size, financial leverage, asset tangibility and firm age. For accrual-based earnings management, board independence, CEO tenure, and female Board Chairwomanship significantly decrease earnings management. Other factors include private ownership, firm size, and firm age.

The findings of the study are relevant for shaping industry-level policies on earning management, transfer pricing and related-party transactions. Since these opportunistic managerial behaviours are the foremost drivers of tax avoidance and profit shifting, the findings of this study provide relevant insights for practitioners, tax and other regulatory authorities, policymakers and the academic community alike.

This is among the premier studies on the transfer pricing and earnings management nexus with corporate governance factors using the political cost theory, especially in the developing country context. It also reveals the significant impact of gender and suggests the need for gender diversity in corporate management.

The purpose of this paper is to examine prominent issues and contributions from extant research and explore the literature on the services provided by Knowledge-Intensive Public Organizations (KIPOs) and its pursuit to achieve the United Nations (UN) 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (hereafter referred to as the UN 2030 SDGs agenda) amidst the challenges represented by COVID-19 pandemic. It emphasizes the crucial role of accounting in dealing with techniques and social and moral practices concerned with the sustainable utilization of resources. This paper also provides an overview of the other papers presented in this JPBAFM Special Issue and draws from their findings to scope out future impactful research opportunities in this area.

The design consists of a review and examination of the prior relevant literature and the other papers published in this JPBAFM Special Issue.

The paper identifies and summarizes three key research themes in the extant literature: the growth in the types of KIPO; the rise in the research approaches to study the provision of public services by KIPO in pursuit of the UN 2030 SDG agenda and the consequent call for developments in the accounting field; and unintended consequences during COVID-19 pandemic. It draws upon work within these research themes to set out four broad areas for future impactful research.

The value of this paper rests with collating and synthesizing several important research themes on the nature and unintended consequences of the UN 2030 SDG agenda, and the challenges represented by COVID-19 pandemic in the governance, management and accounting for KIPO and in prompting future extensions of this work through setting out areas for further innovative research within the field.

The research examined in this paper and the future research avenues proposed are highly relevant to the health sector, the judiciary, museums, research centers and the UN. The focus on accounting and accountability towards a broader spectrum of stakeholders calls for new avenues of study in the accounting field. They also offer important insights into matters of management, accounting, accountability, sustainability accounting and control more generally.

The research examined in this paper and the future research avenues proposed are highly relevant to the health sector, the judiciary, museums, universities, research centers and the UN. They also offer important insights into matters of management, accounting, accountability, sustainability accounting and control more generally.

This paper adds to vibrant existing streams of research in the area of KIPO by bringing together authors from different areas of accounting research for this JPBAFM Special Issue. In scoping out an agenda for impactful research approaches used to study the provision of public services by KIPO, this paper also draws attention to underexplored issues pertaining to extents such as the “lived experience” of personnel in the KIPO and envisioning what a future system of governance, management and accounting of SDG might look like.

This essay focuses on an argument that challenges the notion of market reform as a desirable idea. It examines how market requirements, accounting practices, political intervention and organizational conditions interact and create conflicts in the implementation of market reform. In our case study, we aim to elucidate the detrimental effects of expanding pricing mechanisms into areas typically untouched.

The essay adopts a critical perspective toward the marketization in the public sector organizations based on the authors' previous studies and observations of the reforms in Swedish schools over the last 30 years. The case is conceptualized within Callon’s framework of the sociology of worth.

The paper provides an example of market dynamics introduced without the presence of pricing and qualification mechanisms, resulting in a trial-and-error situation. In this context, we document and problematize a trend toward marketization that has had negative consequences for Swedish schools. In doing so, the paper shows how market requirements, accounting practices, political interventions and organizational conditions interact and create conflicts during the implementation of market reforms. The case shows the emergence of a new economic entity and its underlying rationale, the quantification/pricing mechanism, with a special emphasis on the role of accounting and the repercussions on subjectivities as values shift.

This paper follows up on the New Public Financial Management (NPFM) global warning debate on the emergence of pricing/charging mechanisms in public services. It provides a critical overview of the diffusion and relevance of accounting evaluation processes to sustain continuous reforms, despite claimed criticisms, limitations and (un)intended consequences. The paper also provides some reflections on new avenues for further research and some possible ways out for accounting studies.