Management accounting system design in manufacturing departments: an empirical investigation using a multiple contingencies approach

This paper proposes a multiple contingencies model that examines the combined effect of departmental interdependencies and organization structures on management accounting system (MAS) design. The model was tested by means of empirical data collected from a questionnaire addressed to 160 production managers. The response rate was 82.5%. The findings provide some support for the notion that organizations adapt their MAS design to the control requirements of the situation. Furthermore, the study offers some empirical support for the existence of suboptimal equifinality. That is, in situations which lack of a single dominant imperative, several alternative, and functionally equivalent management control system (MCS) designs, may arise. 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

The Impact of departmental interdependencies and management accounting system use on subunit performance

Abstract This study examines the effect of departmental interdependencies and the use of management accounting information for decision-making on subunit performance. It is proposed that higher levels of departmental interdependence are associated with (i) the use of greater amounts of MAS information during task execution and (ii) a greater frequency of MAS information use, which, in turn, are associated with higher subunit performance. The empirical analysis based on data collected from 132 production managers through a survey provides some support for the proposition of an indirect effect of interdependence on subunit performance, acting through a use of greater amounts of MAS information for decision-making, but not for the proposition of an indirect effect acting through a more frequent use of MAS information. Furthermore, additional analyses indicate that the impact of the use of greater amounts of MAS information on subunit performance is substantially more positive for departments experiencing higher levels of interdependence compared with those experiencing lower levels.

Contesting commensuration : Public response tactics to performance evaluation of academia

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how actors subjected to public performance evaluations may “contest commensuration,” i.e. may seek to influence how such ratings and rankings will be construed among important stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative study of press releases, and interviews with department heads, is used as a basis for the analysis. Findings: The empirically derived taxonomy of public responses to a state-initiated performance evaluation of educational programs shows that actors may mobilize an array of commensuration management tactics so as to maintain or improve one’s relative positional status. Such tactics may have at least three different foci, namely, on the comparison object (i.e. on the new grouping of actors), the comparison dimension (i.e. the standardized format for comparison) and the comparison rate (i.e. the rate received), respectively. The authors also find that not only are threats to positional status likely to spur commensuration management tactics, but also the opportunity to exploit a good rate. Originality/value: The paper augments recent research that has problematized the so-called “reactive conformance thesis” by focusing on how evaluated organizations may directly try to influence external stakeholders through public responses. The study is also one of the first that analytically disentangles how they may skillfully exploit different forms of “plasticity” that are inherent in any type of commensuration.Funding Agency:Örebro University</p

Exploiting institutional contradictions: The role of management accounting in continuous improvement implementation

Purpose – Based on an institutional perspective, this study explores the role of management accounting (MA) in promoting or impeding changes in the employees' conceptions of shopfloor worker responsibility in a company trying to implement a continuous improvement (CI) working practice. Design/methodology/approach – An ethnographically inspired research method is needed where weekly CI meetings in two workgroups were observed over a period of eight months and in-depth interviews with managers and operators were conducted regularly. Findings – The study reveals that active and skilful exploiters of inconsistencies within social arrangements may use MA as one important way of transforming a traditional vertical view of worker responsibility into a more horizontally-oriented view by: creating collective reflection and reasoned analysis of the limits of the present order, and visualising and justifying an alternative model(s) of social behaviour. However, the study also shows that MA may contribute to the reinforcement of a vertical view by the use of group-level measures strictly as a one-way performance monitoring device. Originality/value – The study highlights that “contradictions” between social orders may not only nurture institutional stability, but may also be a necessary (although not sufficient) condition for institutional change.Continuous improvement, Management accounting, Organizational change, Organizational theory

The appropriateness of statistical methods for testing contingency hypotheses in management accounting research

In recent years, the contingency-based management accounting literature has been criticized for being fragmentary and contradictory as a result of methodological limitations. This study adds to this picture by showing that the theoretical meaning of some commonly used statistical techniques is unclear, i.e. the functional forms are not precise enough to be able to discriminate between several sometimes even conflicting theories of contingency fit. The study also shows that the techniques differ significantly in terms of how interaction effects between context and management accounting are modeled. This implies that some methods are only appropriate when theory predicts interaction effects in general while others are only appropriate in cases where theory specifies a more precise functional form of interaction such as symmetrical or crossover interactions. Based on these observations, several recommendations for future research are proposed.

Organizational identity and management accounting change

Purpose – This paper aims to examine how and why management accounting practices are linked to an organization's identity and identity discrepancies. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative field study of a one-year change project in a large manufacturing company is used as the basis for the analysis. Findings – The empirical study reveals how discrepancies between organizational members' perceived identity and their construed external (and desired future) image both influence and are influenced by emergent accounting practices. Empirical evidence suggests such a reciprocal relationship between accounting and identity, since accounting practices are an important means of (de)legitimizing an organization's current self-perception. Research limitations/implications – The uncovered reciprocal relationship between management accounting practices and organizational identity (discrepancies) have implications for a broader literature, including the works on how different forms of control interact as a “control package” and the discourse on potential sources of organizational identity change. Originality/value – Although it has previously been suggested that management accounting may be an important means for, as well as an outcome of, processes of identity (re)constructions in organizations, this study suggests a more complex interplay than has previously been noted in the literature. Specifically, it was found that organizational identity may for a considerable time work as a highly influential and largely unquestioned categorical imperative, signifying the boundaries of appropriate organizational action. At times, however, accounting practices may spark (re)constructions of identity discrepancies through: providing identity-inconsistent evidence; and using (new) measures in a “feed-forward” manner to explore possible ways to close such perceived discrepancies.Corporate identity, Corporate image, Management accounting