Rhetoric and the fate of budgeting.

This study focuses on the roles of rhetoric and of the various actors in institutionalisation and deinstitutionalisation attempts. Our paper jointly investigates the process whereby budgeting became institutionalised between 1930 and 1960 and the attempts of the CAM-I to deinstitutionalise it from 1990. Paradoxically, the same two arguments have been used to support the institutionalisation of and the attempts to deinstitutionalise budgets. Firstly, in the 1930’s the turbulence of the environment is used a rhetorical argument to support the implementation of budgeting. Since 1990, the turbulence of the environment has generated a feeling that budgeting should be abandoned. Secondly in the 1930’s and 1950’s budgets contributed to the emancipation of managers, while since 1990 they have been deemed as rigid frameworks preventing managers from acting freely. These contradictions reveal that we can not explain such changes by the rhetorical schemes alone. The network of actors in which these schemes are embedded has a large part in the influence of rhetoric in the change from one institutional order to another. It is particularly the actors to whom these rhetorical schemes are addressed which give them their meanings. Finally, the similarities between the rhetoric used can be explained if we analyse it as the means to transcend the fluctuating contradictions of institutional logics.Budget; managerial concepts; deinstitutionalisation; institutionalisation;

Reactions to reading “Remaining consistent with method? An analysis of grounded theory research in accounting”: A comment on Gurd

Purpose: The present paper is a comment on Gurd's paper published in QRAM on the use of grounded theory in interpretive accounting research. Methodology: Like Gurd, we conducted a bibliographic study on prior pieces of research claiming the use of grounded theory. Findings: We found a large diversity of ways of doing grounded theory. There are as many ways as articles. Consistent with the spirit of grounded theory, the field suggested the research questions, methods and verifiability criteria. From the same sample as Gurd, we arrived at different conclusions. Research limitations: In our research, we did not verify the consistency of claims with grounded theory. We took for granted that they had understood and made operational the suggestions of the founders of the method. Practical implications: The four canons of grounded theory can be considered as reference marks rather than as the rules of the method. Accordingly, the researcher is free to develop his own techniques and procedures. Originality/Value of the paper: This paper stimulates debates on grounded theory based research. On the other hand, it conveys the richness and the variety of interpretive research. Two similar studies, using similar samples and methods arrive at different (divergent) conclusions.grounded theory, interpretive research

Designing a consistent accounting research - evidence from linkages between accounting and religion

This paper has a methodological purpose, as we are aiming to show practices of accounting research designing. In that heuristic, we are basing our argument on Burrell's and Morgan's (1979), Feyerabend's (1975), Quattrone's (2000, 2004b) and Lowe's (2004a, b) epistemo-methodological writings and consider accounting research a comprehensive coherent whole in which methodology choices must be consistent with ontological assumptions revealed in research questions and influencing epistemological stances. We evidence our claim through the bottom-up in-depth study of a research stream characterised by a form of homogeneity and revealing various designs though. We found it in works on linkages between accounting and religion, all publications on the subject focusing on the Church of England or the Victorian Synod Church of Australia, and arriving at opposed conclusions. Indeed, two bodies of literature emerge, one concluding on semantic dichotomies between accounting and religion, and another viewing accounting as a religious practice. Thence, we argue the difference lies in the intertwinement of research question formulation with ontological assumptions, epistemological stances and methodology choices.accounting research, research design, ontology, epistemology, methodology

Management control system in public administration: beyond rational myths

The implementation of management control devices in the public sector is a very difficult challenge, especially if these devices come from private sector. Through two case studies, this paper analyses how two public organizations have implemented management control systems. We point out that both public organizations studied have developed a complex set of practices around their management control systems. Despite some apparent failures, the implemented systems are not merely myths about the running of public organizations, but instead produced some unanticipated effects.

The role of Social Reformers in the Adoption of new Management Practices: The case of Budgetary Control in France, 1930-1959

Historically, the development of budgetary control in French businesses took place within the ideological context of the debate on organisation of the economy following the economic and political crises of the 1930s and 1940s. Budgetary control, a management practice theorised as early as the 1920s in America, was seen by many actors as one of the practices that could provide a solution to the economic and social problems facing them. In other words, its increasingly widespread adoption was not only due to the search for ever-greater efficiency, but also to a clear ideological attraction. Better business management was not the only goal: more broadly, there was a desire to change society as a whole. This article is part of the research tradition of studying accounting in its social context. The history of accounting is examined in the light of the general political and economic history of the 20th century, associating accounting practices and the capitalists institutions of a given period and country. We stress an as yet largely unexplored aspect: the role played by the critique of capitalism and the social reformers’ proposals in changing business management methods.Budgetary control; capitalism; history; adoption of management innovations; social reformers

Management control system in public administration: beyond rational myths.

The implementation of management control devices in the public sector is a very difficult challenge, especially if these devices come from private sector. Through two case studies, this paper analyses how two public organizations have implemented management control systems. We point out that both public organizations studied have developed a complex set of practices around their management control systems. Despite some apparent failures, the implemented systems are not merely myths about the running of public organizations, but instead produced some unanticipated effects.contrôle de gestion; secteur public; Management public; pilotage de la performance;

Reactions to reading “Remaining consistent with method? An analysis of grounded theory research in accounting”: A comment on Gurd.

Purpose: The present paper is a comment on Gurd’s paper published in QRAM on the use of grounded theory in interpretive accounting research. Methodology: Like Gurd, we conducted a bibliographic study on prior pieces of research claiming the use of grounded theory. Findings: We found a large diversity of ways of doing grounded theory. There are as many ways as articles. Consistent with the spirit of grounded theory, the field suggested the research questions, methods and verifiability criteria. From the same sample as Gurd, we arrived at different conclusions. Research limitations: In our research, we did not verify the consistency of claims with grounded theory. We took for granted that they had understood and made operational the suggestions of the founders of the method. Practical implications: The four canons of grounded theory can be considered as reference marks rather than as the rules of the method. Accordingly, the researcher is free to develop his own techniques and procedures. Originality/Value of the paper: This paper stimulates debates on grounded theory based research. On the other hand, it conveys the richness and the variety of interpretive research. Two similar studies, using similar samples and methods arrive at different (divergent) conclusions.interpretive research; grounded theory;

Fabricating management practices : "Responsible Care" and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Purpose this study focuses on the policy of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) launched in the chemical industry in the 1980s and known as “Responsible Care”. The debate surrounding this issue prompts us to question the ever-changing nature of this policy and the way to measure the performance achieved. Methodology Our findings are drawn from analysis of a double set of data including a longitudinal survey and a current case study. Blending these two data sets allows a better understanding of the ongoing building process of “Responsible Care” and, more broadly, of corporate social responsibility. Findings this paper asserts that, contrary to the common wisdom developed in research, companies do not simply react to stakeholder pressure. Companies autonomously develop ways to protect their environment and so contribute to changing Society's expectations. Thus, performance cannot be read without a dynamic perspective in mind. Research limitations/implications Our findings lead us to reconsider the assessment of companies' sustainable performances by taking into account the fabricating process of sustainable activities. The main limitation of this research stems from the single unit of analysis considered. Broader studies will be necessary to enrich our understanding of corporate policies. Originality/value of the paper Our paper stands apart from the traditional view of organizations as cynical actors and attempts to provide a more complex picture of the behaviours observed.Performance management; Performance measurement; “Responsible Care”; Corporate Social Responsibility;

A quoi servent les indicateurs de la RSE ? Limites et modalités d'usage

Quoi de plus pratique pour contrôler le caractère socialement responsable des actions d'une entreprise que d'évaluer sa performance au travers d'une batterie d'indicateurs ? Une fois comparés à des normes, les indicateurs permettront en effet d'objectiver le jugement porté sur une entreprise et de dire si celle-ci est socialement responsable ou non. Ce procédé instrumental est d'autant plus légitime qu'il est utilisé par ces mêmes entreprises pour mesurer et piloter ce qui constitue leur raison d'être : la création de valeur actionnariale. Pourquoi ne pas le mettre en œuvre dans le cadre de la Responsabilité Sociale de l'Entreprise (RSE), c'est-à-dire pour s'assurer qu'au-delà du simple profit à court terme, l'entreprise produit du profit à long terme mais surtout qu'elle tient compte de sa performance sociale, écologique et sociétale ? Il s'agit alors d'utiliser contre les entreprises irrespectueuses, et qui produisent des externalités négatives, les mêmes armes gestionnaires que celles qu'elles utilisent pour accroître leurs bénéfices. L'idée est séduisante mais sans doute naïve. Elle renvoie à la montée du managérialisme dans nos sociétés dont les tenants voudraient « manager » l'Etat, les Hôpitaux...comme des entreprises en leur appliquant les mêmes méthodes. Curieusement, les activistes de la RSE semblent vouloir parfois leur emboiter le pas. Pourtant la mesure de la performance financière, commerciale et industrielle (la performance « traditionnelle ») est depuis longtemps problématique. La multiplication, ces dernières années, d'indicateurs non-financiers pour mesurer et piloter la performance traditionnelle a encore accru les difficultés

Anthony G. Hopwood, Le contrôle comme phénomène organisationnel et social

La vie et l'oeuvre d'Anthony Hopwood depuis sa thèse jusqu'à sa nomination à Oxfor