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Reports reports the findings of a survey of science park managers and directors in the last quarter of 1994. The development of science parks in Britain has been heavily reliant on investment from public sector sources. A notable reluctance on the part of private sector investors has been a consistent feature. Science parks have, though, seen near continuous growth in their number, in total tenancies and in their rental and capital values; and have sustained relatively high average occupancy levels throughout their brief history. The findings of the survey, thus, draw attention to the various determinants of these apparent successes and highlight the manner in which these determinants may instil disquiet in private sector investors as to the prospects of science parks as investment opportunities. Finds that public sector patronage and philanthropic motives remain high on the agenda of science parks but growing recognizance of the need to secure commercial viability may expedite the improvement of their potential investment profile.

Illustrates, through review, the apparent success of science parks, which, despite increased occupancy and investment levels, remain dependent on public‐sector support. Highlights characteristics, which both contribute to such success and distinguish this form of development from other forms of property development (notably similar forms such as business parks). Proposes various determinants for the potential success of hi‐tech industrial property developments, and suggests that certain types of development (i.e. unfavourable geographical location) have been overwhelmingly motivated by a will to participate in urban economic regeneration contrary to prevailing market forces. Concludes by questioning the lasting benefits and potential for continued success of such development.

There is growing evidence that Strategic Management Accounting (SMA) activities are being pursued in an interdisciplinary manner. One such discipline where management accounting could contribute is in Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM). The integration of business strategy and Human Resource Management minimises the risk of neglecting human resources as a vital source of organisational competitive advantage. It also provides a broader range of solutions for solving complex organisational problems and ensures that human resources are given consideration when setting company goals. This empirical study examines the current role of management accounting in relation to the SHRM process using data from surveys of Finance Directors and Human Resource Directors from both Canada and the UK. The results reveal that Canadian Finance professionals are more involved in providing information for developing, evaluating and controlling Human Resource (HR) strategy than UK Finance professionals. Both HR and Finance respondents considered that there was a need for a closer partnership between HR and Finance professionals.

The objective of this research project was to ascertain the role of management accountants in relation to strategic human resource management (SHRM) and the information provided for SHRM. To achieve this objective four case studies (two UK and two Canadian organisations) were conducted using a grounded theory approach. The two most important HR strategies in these cases were training and leadership development, which were linked to the overall goals of each organisation. Management accountants played a key role in providing information for the SHRM planning process in all four cases. The role of management accountants during the strategic planning process was very much as integral team members with a facilitating role. In all four cases management accountants provided HR managers with information for decision making.

Computer based accounting information systems (AIS) have been a major force behind the current wave of corporate downsizing and reengineering (Deloitte & Touche LLP, 1996). While greater economy and competitiveness is typically associated with these changes, conventional AIS literature usually eschews a counter‐hypothesis: that this new technology may also degrade both the quality and quantity of work, and therefore people’s working lives. The advent of Accounting, Management, and Information Technologies in 1991, with an espoused aim of “critically analyzing the relationships among our information systems designs, the qualities of our social and economic life, and our practices of management and control” (Boland and O’Leary, 1991, p. 2) presents a major opportunity to redress this deficiency. This paper reviews the journal’s inaugural issue and ancillary literature to assess its likely contribution. This literature is found to lack a sufficient appreciation of the social and historical context of AIS developments and thus compromises the new journal’s ability to achieve its espoused aims. The paper calls for a better understanding of the upheavals currently under way in the accounting workplace and ways in which AIS technology (and ethnographers) may compound these instabilities. A different kind of ethnographic research is called for: one capable of recognizing the dysfunctionalities of AIS‐induced downsizing and restructuring, and more politically and socially self‐aware of AIS agency in social and technological change.

This paper argues that a performance measurement system (PMS) is a prerequisite to the introduction of business process re‐engineering (BPR) based on the role it plays in the phases of introducing change. This hypothesis was tested by examining the relationship between the congruence of PMS and the concepts of empowerment, integration and strategic alignment. Data were collected from 301 respondents in 19 manufacturing and 30 financial companies in Bahrain. Analysis indicated that PMS and strategic alignment are strongly related, empowerment is moderately related and integration showed a weak relationship.

This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.