| 1. |
- Alexandersson, Anna, et al.
(author)
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Digitalization of Bookkeeping in Small Organizations : The Case of Sweden
- 2023
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In: Handbook of Big Data and Analytics in Accounting and Auditing. - Singapore : Springer. - 9789811944604 - 9789811944598 - 9789811944628 ; , s. 133-162
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Bookkeeping and accounting is a prevalent feature of small organizations, which has changed face quite substantially with the advent of personal computers and, later, the Internet. The emergence of digitalized accounting procedures has taken place in a nexus of different types of actors (e.g., software developers, accountancy firms and the businesses themselves), regulatory frameworks (e.g., bookkeeping laws and accounting standards) and technical frameworks (e.g., standards for software interactions with banks and tax authorities). Altogether, this has made the paths taken in this process to be largely national. In general, this process of digitalization is largely undocumented and untheorized in research despite its profound impact on practice. Against this backdrop, this chapter has a descriptive and forward-looking approach, documenting the case of how Swedish bookkeeping practices of small organizations became digitalized, which can work as a reference case for comparisons with other national contexts.
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| 2. |
- Jonnergård, Karin, et al.
(author)
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Development Codes of Cunduct: : Regulatory conversations as means for Detecting Institutional Change
- 2007
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In: Law & Policy. - : Blackwell. - 0265-8240 .- 1467-9930. ; 29:4, s. 460-492
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The introduction of a new corporate governance code in Sweden, modeled after prevailing Anglo-Saxon norms of corporate governance, offers the opportunity to investigate global regulatory convergence. Using the metaphor of regulatory space, this article analyzes the positions of the parties who submitted formal responses to the introduction of "The Swedish Code of Corporate Governance-A Proposal from the Code Group." While the globalization of financial markets might forecast unconditional acceptance of the proposed code by business and financial interests, the analysis of who made comments, and what was said, reveals three categorically distinct groups: Swedish business "insiders" connected to the existing institutional framework who opposed changes that would erode traditional division of functions, including collective responsibility for the actions of company boards; "outsiders" (i.e., foreign investors and more marginal Swedish investors) aligned with Anglo-Saxon internationalization of the markets who would change the system of corporate accountability; and the professions (i.e., auditors), who advocated for their professional interests. Of the three groups, Swedish business insiders were most successful in gaining support for their positions. Although international financial and political interests were key to the introduction of the Code in the first place, the article demonstrates how the dynamics of national (local) culture and power structures influence the transfer of regulatory law across jurisdictions.
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| 3. |
- Jonnergård, Karin, 1957-, et al.
(author)
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Doxa of shareholders and owners : on the threshold of financialization
- 2018
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In: Accounting, Economics, and Law. - : Walter de Gruyter. - 2194-6051 .- 2152-2820. ; 8:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Following financialization, there has emerged an understanding of what it implies to be a shareholder based on the shareholder value perception. However, as this shareholder value perception spreads internationally, it clashes with traditional perceptions. In this paper, we apply the language developed by Bourdieu to a Swedish public debate on equal treatment of shareholders in connection with the reform of the Swedish market for corporate control. Using Bourdieu’s conceptual framework, we describe how a global development interacts with the persistence of national practices. We conclude that in Sweden, local institutional investors have allied themselves with international institutional investors to enhance their positions in the restricted field of Swedish corporate control. Shareholder value is then used by these local actors as an argument to strengthen their position. At the same time, some of the controlling shareholders depart from their traditional position as industrial entrepreneurs and embrace a more financial approach to ownership, thereby altering both the power constellations and the capital, in Bourdieu’s sense, of the field.
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| 4. |
- Jonnergård, Karin, et al.
(author)
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Stubborn Swedes : the Persistence of the Swedish Corporate Governance System under International Reform
- 2016
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In: Nordic Journal of Business. - : Association of Business Schools Finland. - 2342-9003 .- 2342-9011. ; 65:1, s. 13-28
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Despite a number of corporate governance reforms introduced following an Anglo-American blueprint, the Swedish corporate governance system still contains several country-specific traits. In this article, we try to understand this continuity of the national corporate governance system. We do this by outlining a model for describing the processes of change built on Mary Douglas’ (1986) theory of ‘institutional thinking’ and applying this model to a case of the implementation of regulation on independent directors in Sweden. The results highlight (i) that continuity is ensured through the use of ‘sacred objects’ and (ii) that compromises between the old and the new is made possible by the uses of concepts with ‘positive connotations’. Hereby a form of assimilation to the international blueprint occurs which may – or may not – lead to convergence in the long run.
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| 5. |
- Jonnergård, Karin, et al.
(author)
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The unlikely root of stock market development : labour influence on transparent accounting
- 2016
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Few, if any, corporate governance related issues have been given as much research interest as ownership dispersion and ownership concentration of listed corporations: ‘Why is that some countries, such as the US and UK, has dispersed ownership of corporations listed there, while others, such as France and Germany, has concentrated ownership of corporations listed there?’. This is a question that has been given countless answers since the seminal work of La Porta et al (1997) laid the Berle and Means (1932) understanding of corporate ownership to rest. Scholars from business history (e.g. Morck & Steir, 2005), legal studies (e.g. Coffee, 2001), economics, (e.g. La Porta et al, 1998), political science (e.g. Roe, 2003), and even creating its own sub-field comparative corporate governance (e.g. Aguilera & Jackson, 2010), has all provided insights to topic. Often minority shareholder protection has been the main issue, although the role of transparent accounting is also highlighted (e.g. La Porta et al, 1998; Roe, 2003; Höpner, 2005). Arguable, transparent accounting is a necessary precondition of ownership dispersion, as few minority shareholders are likely to surface in absence of it. This indicate that the development pattern of transparent accounting may be one of several aspect to look into when explaining ownership structuresIn this paper we empirically investigate the regulatory processes that created the first wave of transparent accounting in Sweden during the 1970s. Theoretically the paper draws on a path dependency perspective (e.g. North, 1990). Elsewhere in the literature, it has been acknowledged that Swedish pre-IAS harmonization accounting was the most transparent accounting in the world (La Porta et al, 1998). In this paper we argue that the development of transparent accounting in the 1970s was one of the triggers for the remarkable development of the Swedish stock markets that began in 1980s (see further Jonnergård & Larsson-Olaison, 2016) that later on created stock-markets comparable to those of the US and the UK regarding width and depth (see Sinani et al, 2008). This dispersion of ownership occurred despite continuous concentrated control in the listed corporations (see e.g. Lekvall et al, 2015), thus making Sweden an ideal case for exploring the role of transparent accounting. In this paper we develop and test a preposition that organized labour interest during the 1970s made way for transparent accounting in Sweden, which later on favoured outside ownership of listed corporations. Thereby the paper contributes to the discussions of the antecedents and reasons for increasing transparent accounting.
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| 6. |
- Jonnergård, Karin, et al.
(author)
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Tråkigt på jobbet : dokumentstyrning av revisorer och lärare
- 2017
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In: Socialvetenskaplig tidskrift. - Lund : Förbundet för forskning i socialt arbete (FORSA). - 1104-1420 .- 2003-5624. ; 24:3-4, s. 261-279
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Bored at work – Auditors and teachers under management by documentsThe aim is to investigate how experiences of work amongst teachers and auditors change as a shift from input control towards action control is implemented through management by documents. The study is based on interviews with auditors and teachers with long professional experience. The result shows that action control of professionals implies that (i) the core of work shifts from being based on relationships with clients to be based on documentation; (ii) priorities change to satisfy document requirements; (iii) there is a reduction in the sense of the work being rele-vant. These implications reduce the professionals work-related enthusiasm. In conclusion: mana-gement by document establishes conditions that do not provide incentives for professionals to fully apply their individual capabilities, thereby also preventing professional development and learning
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| 7. |
- Jonnergård, Karin, et al.
(author)
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Worker representation on corporate boards from a longitudinal perspective : Between corporate governance and industrial relations
- 2017
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- At the intersection between industrial relations and corporate governance - i.e. board level worker representation - this paper attempts to bridge four perspectives from the industrial relations literature (unitary, pluralist, radical and egoist) by observing changes in board director perceptions over time. Empirically, a longitudinal survey (1994-2014), filled out by both shareholder- and worker-elected directors in the largest listed Swedish corporations, is utilized to map differences and similarities between the two director populations regarding ‘perception of responsibility’, ‘governance efficiency’ and ‘board norms’. The findings indicate that some of the different industrial relations perspectives are relevant for understanding worker representation on corporate boards at different times and in different populations. Specifically, we observe that shareholder-elected directors become more financialized in their perceptions over time, whereas worker-elected directors remain more stakeholder-oriented, while to a growing extent acknowledging the interest of the controlling shareholders. Thus, the paper contributes to the industrial relations literature by linking perspectives on industrial relations, often understood as incommensurable, by considering a longitudinal development in perceptions among relevant actors.
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