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The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the role of power relations in initiating and blocking accounting change that involves increased “responsibilisation” and “incentivisation”, and to understand how institutional entrepreneurship is steered by power strategies.

An in-depth case study was carried out between 2010 and 2015 in a cardiothoracic surgery service (CSS) where a responsibility centre was introduced.

Introducing a responsibility centre within a CSS led to a change process, despite pressures for stability. The institutionalisation of change was conditioned by entrepreneurship that flowed through three circuits of power. Strategies were adapted according to changes in exogenous environmental contingencies and alterations in the actors’ relationships.

The contributions of the paper are several: first, it demonstrates that the existing literature discussing the implementation of responsibility centres cannot be isolated from power issues; second, it expands understanding of the power dynamics and processes of institutional entrepreneurship when implementing accounting change; third, it shows how change introduced by exogenous political economic events structured organisational circuits of power and blocked the introduction of the change initiative.

This chapter is intended to address efforts to improve management control systems and processes, including budgeting, accounting and reporting, within the context of a responsibility framework in government. The theory of management control is explored and then management control reform in the U.S. federal government is assessed in terms of progress towards meeting the objectives of the theoretical model. Then, the U.S. experience is compared with the efforts to reform management control in Italian local governments.

The purpose of this study is to examine the design, development and implementation of responsibility centre management at a mid-sized Canadian university, within the context of decentralized decision-making. More specifically our study focused on the design, development and implementation of a revenue and cost allocation process known as transparent activity–based budgeting system (TABBS).

The authors conducted this study using a qualitative case study methodology, rooted in grounded theory, as the primary approach to collect and analyse data, and report the findings. Primary data were collected from ten participants using semi-structured interviews.

The main takeaways from our research are that (1) such systems take time to design, develop and implement, (2) consultation, communication and information sharing and model adjustment and refinement are important enabling mechanisms, (3) internal and external events posed significant challenges, (4) although such systems are often designed keeping in mind several intended outcomes, there exists the possibility of experiencing some unintended consequences and (5) the juxtaposition of the above has the potential to negatively or positively impact organizational performance.

The research demonstrates that the design, development and implementation of a complex resource allocation model is an important element of a responsibility-centred approach to planning and decision-making. It highlights the importance and contribution of enabling mechanisms as well as the challenges that large, complex organizations may confront when introducing change.

As business becomes increasingly global, it is important for managers to appreciate that practices that work well in one country may not work as well in other countries. This article compares cost center practices under Grenzplankostenrechnung (GPK), a common approach to cost accounting in Germany, and typical cost center practices in the United States. Differences between Germany and the United States on Hofstede’s uncertainty avoidance dimension and in workforce and management education provide possible explanations for differences in the responsibility assigned to cost center managers between Germany and the United States. Differences in cost center practices concerning classification of costs, measures to use when considering changes in costs, and the size and scope of the cost center between Germany and the United States all support these differences in cost center manager responsibility.

Value for money, cost effectiveness, enterprise and quality assurance are rapidly becoming the new catchwords in higher education management. Corporate forms of management are considered as polytechnics and universities struggle to find organisational structures to cope with the world of competition. Fundamental issues of management and not just profit centres/cost centres are discussed.

This study investigates how heterogeneity of product mix and production technology affects the use of responsibility accounting practices, the “unbundling” of products for cost management purposes, and the practice of increasing the number of expense accounts to create homogeneous cost pools. To test these relation‐ships, data were gathered from 31 Texas electric utilities. Analyses find that the more heterogeneous the products offered and the more diverse the production technologies employed, the greater the degree of product unbundling (subdividing products for the purposes of collecting and reporting costs), the more cost centers, and the greater the number of expense accounts.

The management of the mix of retailers in a shopping centre is generally regarded as vital to the success of the centre. This article suggests that retailers themselves have the responsibility to manage the mix. It suggests a number of ways in which the symbiotic relationships between a shopping centre and the retailers within it can be made a success. It also examines the impact on the management of retailer mix of the 1988 Landlord and Tenant Act amendments.

Considers the nature of quality assurance and its implementation within a multidisciplinary private practice of contruction industry design consultants. Reviews the integration of the practice’s information services department into the quality assurance system. Stresses the continuing benefits conferred throughout the organization, including an attitude of total involvement and mutual responsibility across the practice. Concludes that the legacy of introducing quality assurance is a sound management system.

The purpose of this paper is to compare various features of modular repair inventory flow in large maintenance organizations such as the Indian army with those of basic multi‐echelon repair inventory model METRIC.

Two models are selected and validated with user trials for a period of six months. A few performance measures for multi‐echelon repair inventory systems (MERIS) have also been identified using questionnaires. These two models are compared with the base model using developed performance measures and finally the most preferred model is identified which may replace the existing model. Finally, some recommendations are made for future researchers working in the area of multi‐echelon repair inventory systems.

The action research (AR)‐based approach has been used to solve a problem which is interactive and aims at developing a holistic understanding. A crisp codification scheme has also been suggested for a multi‐echelon repair inventory environment.

The paper demonstrates identification of inadequacies in the existing model of certain organizations and develops a number of alternate models with the prime objective of reducing the total number of echelons, using an AR‐based approach.