| 1. |
- Wennblom, Gabriella
(författare)
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Mapping management accounting and trust : an extended literature review
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- More than three decades ago the notion of trust was introduced into the management accounting (MA) literature, and a growing stream of empirical papers elaborating on the relation between MA controls and trust signals the importance andvitality of this research area. However, a closer look at the literature shows that while major insights have been made, there is also considerable confusion around both research models and the meanings of key concepts. Accordingly, the time seems opportune to conduct an extended and critical review of the legacies of this literature. More precisely, the aims of the study are to (i) analyze how MA and trust have been conceptualized and related to each other; (ii) identify weaknesses andknowledge gaps in the literature; and, (iii) based on these, suggest how the literature may be synthesized and developed in the future.In so doing, this thesis analyses 37 empirical studies focusing specifically on the association between MA and trust. Overall, two key findings emerge from the analysis. A first key finding is that the area can be characterized as fragmented. More specifically, many different terms are used to denote similar concepts, and vice versa. The literature is also characterized by different levels of analysis, and different, potentially conflicting research models. The literature is also underpinned by different theoretical perspectives, of which some have conflicting assumptions.The second key finding is that there are several knowledge gaps and weaknesses in th eliterature. For example, while a majority of studies shows that MA is a factor affecting trust, MA itself is oftentimes left unexplained. Also, many studies conceptualize trust from the perspective of only one party in a relationship, and the questions of how and why MA and trust (co)develops and emerges over time are largely unaddressed. Furthermore, while researchers have empirically studied both personal trust and system trust, respectively, no one has modelled how they may be interrelated.Based on these findings, a model is proposed which not only synthesizes the extant literature, but also indentifies new, potentially important associations between different MA and trust factors. The model—consisting of twelve propositions—also theorizes how these factors affect each other over time. The thesis concludes with a number of suggestions for how to develop this research area in the future.
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| 2. |
- Härström, Malin, 1990-
(författare)
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Understanding management accounting when "institutions matter" : a multimethod approach
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis departs from a need to map extant research on management accounting (MA) drawing on institutional theorizing, due to unnecessary confusion and unclarity within. Four ‘areas of confusion’ are reviewed, i.e. MA as a concept, modelling of workings of and reasons for agency, MA’s role in social accounts and sources of (i.e. propellers of) MA practice to make it similar or different in time and space. The resulting maps contribute in an aggregate sense to overview but also add some ways of clustering insights as well as dimensions to these maps which are previously not pursued in institutionalist MA research in these ways or forms.Subsequently, empirical research in academia into consequences of increasing performance measurement of research(ers) enabled essay-specific contributions but also a closer look at how MA is reproduced in different situations (i.e. MA-situations). More generally put, this led to inquiring into when and why/i.e. in which MA-situations, traditionalist professional- and/or performer structures are reproduced by agents subjected to management control pressure. Thence, this thesis concludes and contributes with insights about three dimensions of perceived control exposure in/as MA-situation. First, as to what it is about MA (PMSs) that tends to be associated with high perceived exposure and associated reproduction of performer structures. Second, as to how MA (PMSs) can visualize aspects of the work processes of controlled in different ways and thus inform intra-individual variation in reproduction of both structures. Finally, as to how PMSs can help (re)construct professional values with resulting ambivalent perceptions of them – and how such insight adds to what we know about unpredictability of MA practices.Further, this thesis overall is perhaps best referred to as adopting an emergent multimethod approach. It approaches how to understand MA when ‘institutions matter’ both through an extensive literature review but also through qualitative and quantitative empirical research (by using semi-structured interviews as well as a survey).
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| 3. |
- Linton, Gabriel, 1982-
(författare)
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Entrepreneurial orientation : reflections from a contingency perspective
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Entrepreneurship has been argued to be a key driver of the economy by creating jobs, turning inventions to innovations, and also improving the overall standard of life. A firm’s entrepreneurial orientation (EO) indicates the degree to which a firm is entrepreneurial. However, there are several different approaches to conceptualizing the EO concept and its sub-dimensions, frequently described as innovativeness, risk taking, and proactiveness. The role of the sub-dimensions is not quite clear in the EO literature. Furthermore, many studies claim that firms can increase their performance simply by increasing their EO, while this thesis draws upon contingency theory to argue that EO needs to be aligned with—‘fit’ the internal and external context, if the firm is to perform well. Thus, this thesis aims to advance the conceptualization of EO by problematizing the core construct and also discussing how EO can fit with context. The thesis consists of four papers in which the EO concept is elaborated on and contingency theory is applied to construct conceptual models of the interaction between EO and different contexts, which are also empirically investigated. Furthermore, the sub-dimensions of EO are discussed in terms of their meanings and measurement to point out their individual impact on the EO.The overall findings indicate that EO is not as simple a concept as often portrayed in the EO literature. Rather, EO is more complex in the ways that it can fit with internal and external context and, on these bases, it is suggested that ideal types of EO and context is a way forward for research in the area. Additionally, it is argued that EO as a theoretical construct may not only be conceptualized as an overall entrepreneurial attribute (which is common in the extant literature), but also as a complex and granular attribute.
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| 4. |
- Nilsson Jannesson, Erik B, 1979-
(författare)
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Strategi, styrning och konkurrenskraft : En longitudinell studie av Saab AB
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Att skapa sammanhängande koncern-, affärs- och funktionsstrategier (strategisk kongruens), samt ett styrsystem med ett samstämmigt informationsflöde i och mellan de centrala styrverktygen (integrerad styrning), har sedan länge hävdats vara centralt för koncerners konkurrenskraft. I den mängd empiriska studier som legat till grund för detta har främst en eller två organisatoriska nivåer fokuserats när relationerna mellan strategier, styrning och konkurrenskraft diskuterats. Studier som tar ett helhetsgrepp om dessa samband efterfrågas därför för att öka kunskapen om och förståelsen av sambanden. Föreliggande avhandling svarar mot den efterfrågan.En longitudinell fallstudie för perioden 1995–2007 har genomförts. Strategier, ekonomistyrning och produktionsstyrning på koncern-, affärs- och funktionsnivå har studerats inom försvars- och säkerhetskoncernen Saab AB. Tre affärsenheter har studerats i detalj: Saab Aerosystems, Saab Bofors Dynamics och Saab Systems. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom 74 intervjuer med totalt 54 respondenter samt via både internt och publikt skriftligt material.Avhandlingen visar att strategisk kongruens och integrerad styrning skapas genom ömsesidig anpassning av strategier och styrning på koncern-, affärs- och funktionsnivå. Genom en sådan ömsesidighet anpassas styrningen till koncernens kritiska framgångsfaktorer och ett integrerat informationsflöde skapas. Inom Saab har detta i sin tur påverkat beteendet på alla nivåer och bidragit till att det förändrats i enlighet med strategierna. De senare har därmed implementerats. Samtidigt som dessa beteendeförändringar skett har Saabs konkurrenskraft varit god. Då implementerade strategier, anpassade utifrån omgivningen, kan antas vara en viktig del i ett företags framgång har Saabs strategiska kongruens och integrerade styrning rimligen haft en väsentlig betydelse för koncernens konkurrenskraft.
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| 5. |
- Backman, Jenny, 1980-
(författare)
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An Eye for Accounting : Studies investigating judgmental effects of visual cues in accounting communication
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation investigates judgmental effects of visual cues in accounting communication. The dissertation comprises a comprehensive summary and four empirical studies. My overall objective is to highlight the relevance of the visual to both accounting theory and practice by empirically demonstrating that, in corporate reports, visual elements juxtaposed with accounting information can significantly influence report readers’ evaluative judgments regarding corporate performance. My research aims to bring theoretical work on framing and the power of the visual into the accounting domain, focusing predominantly on the emotive power of visual imagery and color. Using experiments and complementary methods such as interviews and eye-tracking, the empirical studies demonstrate that these supplementary visual elements, despite not conveying any additional facts, can indeed influence report readers’ evaluative judgments regarding various aspects of communicated corporate performance. In line with psychology-based theoretical propositions that frames can promote different interpretations, the combined results suggest that the presentation format of accounting information does matter for evaluative judgments of corporate performance, and that information-redundant but affect-laden visual cues in accounting discourse can systematically affect stakeholder understanding. A central line of argument in this dissertation is that in an increasingly visual society, it is essential to gain a more nuanced understanding of the psychological effects of visual graphics in accounting discourse if we are to advance our understanding of accounting-related judgment and decision making. The potential judgmental effects of visuals in accounting communication has so far received little attention in accounting research or from regulators, and the display of visuals is currently not considered by general guidelines regarding corporate reporting. My overall motivation for this research is to address this incompleteness in extant accounting research and practice.
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| 6. |
- Karén, Mats, 1942-, et al.
(författare)
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Two studies on management accounting systems and performance in Swedish firms
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Doctoral Thesis at Uppsala University Dissertation presented at Uppsala University to be publicly examined in Hörsal 2, Ekonomikum, Uppsala, Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 10:15. Mats Karén for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The examination will be conducted in Swedish. Dissertation presented at Uppala University to be publically examined in Hörsal 2, Ekonomikum, Uppsala, Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 14.15. Sten Ljunggren, for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The examination will be conducted in Swedish. Abstract Karén, Mats & Ljunggren, Sten, 2008. Title: Two studies on management accounting systems and performance in Swedish firms, 24 pp. Distributor: Uppsala University, Department of Business Studies, Box 513, SE – 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden. ISSN 1103-8454 The two studies reported in this thesis deals with two related management accounting problems with an empirical basis in Swedish firms. In the first study we analyse the existence of measures and methods within management accounting practice in Swedish firms. We aim at a systematic description of practice. We conduct a field study with broad data collection. We search for differences in firms and their contingencies. The results of the study showed some distinctive patterns. The existence of measures and methods is widespread and at the same time limited in the single firm. Simple measures and methods are more frequent than more complicated ones. There are some connections to chosen contingency variables, but with only 15 firms. Some firms do not seem to fit into one of the patterns identified. In the second study we analyse performance in Swedish firms. How can performance best be explained? To do this we start using two competing models, one model inspired from traditional contingency theory and one where a relation-based theory view is incorporated into a traditional contingency theory model. The two models differ in their view of variable causality: single directed in traditional contingency theory and reciprocal non recursive in the relation-based model. We analyse the explanatory power of the relation-based model in two steps, is there a reciprocal adjustment between the chosen variables and is there a positive interaction affect on performance? Then we compare the two models explanatory power of performance. From this point of departure we develop the traditional contingency theory model to a congruence fit-model and then compare this model with the relation-based model. In a concluding discussion we use a neo-contingency theory view model inspired by concepts such as quasi-fit and hetero-performance and compare to the relation-based model. An electronic survey was used in the data collection. The results showed that the relation-based-model has a greater explanatory power then models inspired by traditional contingency theory. Karén, Mats & Ljunggren, Sten, Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University, Box 513, SE – 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden ISSN 1103-8454 © Mats Karén and Sten Ljunggren Printed in Sweden 2008 by Universitetstryckeriet, Ekonomikum, Uppsala, Sweden
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| 7. |
- Karlsson, Tom S., 1979-
(författare)
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Manager and civil servant : exploring actors' taken-for-granted assumptions in public administration
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Manager and Civil Servant is an exploration of actors' taken-for-granted assumptions that govern perceptions concerning how public administration should be undertaken within contemporary welfare states. It is argued that more than 30 years of continuous reforms directed towards public administration have caused dilemmas to arise. These dilemmas have resulted in a shifting of balances regarding the underpinning pillars of public administration. These reforms have furthermore resulted in an emergence of challenging social systems, entailing new beliefs and practices. The question posited is "how do actors engaged in public administration make sense of the dilemma(s) they face". Theoretically, this dissertation entails institutional theory as well as Structuration Theory. These are combined in a framework, wherein agency and structure are used in order to characterise manifestations of taken-for-granted assumptions. The framework is furthermore elaborated through conceptual perspectives concerning Management as well as Civil Service in order to model a framework for public administration. Empirically, this dissertation entails a use of qualitative as well as quantitative methods. Open-ended interviews are combined with self-administered surveys, statistical analysis, and focus groups. Two important contributions are highlighted. Firstly, actors engaged in public administration reject the idea of polarisation concerning inherent public administrative activities and that the dilemma being accentuated within public administration. As such, instances of making sense are reduced due to an unconscious enactment of meanings and sanctions that reject the presence of dilemmas. Secondly, actors' ability to reject polarisation, and thus dilemma, can be explained through compartmentalising interdependent perspectives. On the one hand actors enact an internal perspective wherein instances of Management make sense. On the other hand actors enact an external perspective wherein instances of Civil Service make sense. The separation and compartmentalisation of these perspectives not only enable actors to reject dilemma, they are enabled to enact seemingly different roles at once. They become both Managers and Civil Servants.
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| 8. |
- Ambrutytė, Zita, 1972-
(författare)
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Management Control : Linking Strategy with Inter‐Organisational Relationships
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The alignment of strategies and control systems is believed to affect the chances for firms to successfully achieve competitive edge. Contemporary business trends like globalization, vertical disintegration, the reduction in supplier bases, the focusing of operations and outsourcing of non-core activities, have caused companies to rely increasingly on relationships with other firms. These trends strengthen the awareness of the fact that a company’s success is also built upon the contribution from other players in the total supply network. It is recognised that management control systems play an important role in the management of interdependencies between organisations; yet, there has not been much research into strategy and control systems in interorganisational relationships. The relationship between strategy and control systems in purchasing as an interface towards interorganisational relationships has not received attention in the strategy-management control literature either. Moreover, discussions on inter-organisational control seem often to be divorced from the internal process in the companies concerned.In this thesis, an attempt is made to relate strategy with intra- and inter-organisational controls. The overall purpose is to describe and analyse the effects of strategy on those management control systems used within the purchasing function and to control relationships with suppliers, and further, to propose a framework for understanding how strategy impacts purchasing management control systems and the control of inter-organisational relationships. Two research questions are developed for this purpose, i.e. to examine 1) how a business unit strategy affects management control in purchasing, and 2) how a business unit strategy affects the pattern of management control for inter-organisational relationships. The ideas behind the strategy-structure paradigm are thus extended towards understanding the effects of strategy on the use of controls in inter-organisational relationships. The fieldwork is based on twenty nine interviews with employees at two manufacturing and ten supplier companies, and the data was collected during two periods of time, i.e. 2002-2003 and 2006-2007.This thesis began with the assumption that two companies pursue different business strategies which could be classified by using Porter’s (1980) typologies. It was expected that these different strategies would result in the different use of management control systems in purchasing and in controlling relationships with suppliers. The contribution of this thesis is twofold: firstly, it establishes the pattern of the alignment of business strategy, functional strategy, functional control systems and control of interorganisational relationships, and secondly, it suggests the possible directions towards the refinement of this pattern.
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| 9. |
- Anjou, Annette, 1975-
(författare)
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Scanias framgång : Betydelsen av strategisk kongruens och integrerad styrning
- 2008
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Att förstå orsaken till långsiktiga konkurrensfördelar har länge varit en intressant forskningsansats. Trots att tidigare forskning påvisat att såväl strategisk kongruens som integrerad styrning påverkar företags konkurrenskraft positivt finns det få studier som behandlar båda dessa områden tillsammans. I denna avhandling beskrivs och analyseras strategisk kongruens och integrerad styrning på Scania. Anledningen till att Scania valts som fallföretag är att det är ett framgångsrikt företag med en avancerad tillverkningsprocess. Inom dessa företag är ofta samordningen av verksamheten komplicerad, vilket innebär att högra krav ställs på såväl strategi som styrsystem.Studien har genomförts i form av en longitudinell fallstudie och täcker studieperioden 1992 till 2006. Information har inhämtats genom intervjuer, som har genomförts med ledande befattningshavare på såväl koncernsom funktionsnivå. Vidare har internt och externt material studerats. Den teoretiska ansatsen baseras på den av Nilsson och Rapp (2005) utvecklade tentativa modellen som beskriver hur företag kan skapa strategisk kongruens och integrerad styrning på ett framgångsrikt sätt. Studiens resultat visar att den tentativa modellen var väl lämpad som analysverktyg för att ta reda på huruvida Scania har uppnått strategisk kongruens och integrerad styrning.Scania bedriver en koncernstrategi som fokuserar på företagets kärnverksamhet - tillverkning av tunga lastbilar med hjälp av företagets modulsystem. Utifrån den väl utvecklade koncernstrategin har företaget lyckats skapa såväl en affärs- som produktionsstrategi som är anpassade till varandra samt till den omgivning som företaget är verksamt inom. Scania har dessutom genom en stark företagskultur, som karaktäriseras av att en stor del av planeringen och uppföljningen sker vid tvärfunktionella möten, lyckats skapa en integrerad styrning. Företags styrsystem hänger dessutom ihop mellan de olika organisatoriska nivåerna vilket stöder implementeringen av Scanias strategier. Företagets strategier och styrsystem har förändrats under studieperioden och anpassats till förändrade förutsättningar i omgivningen. Scania har lyckats genomföra dessa förändringar på ett sådant sätt att varken den strategiska kongruensen eller den integrerade styrningen äventyrats.
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| 10. |
- Beime, Kristina S., 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Theorizing the subjectivizing powers of market-based technologies : Looking beyond coercion and seduction
- 2024
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Ingår i: Critical Perspectives on Accounting. - : Elsevier. - 1045-2354 .- 1095-9955. ; 99
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Existing theorizations on how the proliferation of market-based technologies within universities come to foster so-called academic performer subjectivities have mainly drawn attention to their coercive and seductive powers. However, while these theorizations help explain why researchers either unwillingly adapt to, or identify with and cherish, their neoliberal ideals, they are less useful to explain recent empirical results showing that many researchers willingly comply yet are very critical of the very same ideals. Drawing upon an interview study of Swedish researchers, we address this theoretical gap in the literature by analytically disentangling three important qualities of the technologies per se, in terms of them producing performance numbers characterized by Specificness, Ongoingness, and Emptiness (SOE). These three qualities do not only have the dual power to interchangeably provoke bitter and sweet feelings, but also to foster the adoption of an academic performer subjectivity. In fact, it is precisely by provoking bittersweet feelings that these qualities break the sharp edges of pure coercion and seduction, thereby fostering a type of low-affective, yet highly persuasive form of reasoning about pros and cons of market-based technologies, which make their neoliberal ideals seem acceptable and reasonable at the end of the day.
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| 11. |
- Englund, Hans, 1971-, et al.
(författare)
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The Neoliberal University and Its Effects on Academic Researchers : Survey Evidence from Sweden
- 2023
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Ingår i: Universities under Neoliberalism. - : Routledge. - 9781032159294 - 9781003246367 ; , s. 86-109
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Neoliberalism has emerged as a key concept for understanding how contemporary universities around the world are organized and managed. As a rationality of government, this political-economic ideology is grounded in the belief that human activities in general, and educational ones in particular, are best orchestrated when left to the rationality of the market. The authors discusses how extant research within several scientific fields such as accounting, management, sociology and higher education has provided a number of important insights into the unintended and largely detrimental effects that such a market-based rationality of government has tended to bring about in contemporary universities. Notwithstanding the many important insights generated in this literature though, extant research is according to the authors mostly based on smaller sample studies, which raises the question of whether they are generalizable to a larger sample of academics. Related to this, there is a lack of cross-sectional evidence of the extent to which Swedish universities and researchers display the same type of effects as described in the international literature. Also, the authors claim we know fairly little about whether these alleged effects are universal in character or differ between different categories of academics. After all, recent findings suggest that certain groups of researchers, not least junior researchers and/or women, may be even more negatively affected by the increasing reliance on market-based controls. Based on this, and drawing upon evidence from a survey among a large number of researchers at Swedish universities, the aim of this chapter is to more systematically map out the effects of market-based controls on research(er) quality, autonomy and innovation, motivation and stress, and furthermore, explore the extent to which these alleged effects are more prevalent among junior researchers and women, respectively. In brief, the authors present empirical evidence suggesting that today's reliance on neoliberally oriented forms of governance is perceived as negatively affecting research quality, academic freedom and stress. They also show that these negative effects are generally perceived to be more accentuated among junior academics and women as opposed to men and academics holding senior positions.
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| 12. |
- Gerdin, Jonas
(författare)
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Ekonomisystems utformning inom produktionsavdelningar – en tvärsnittsstudie
- 2002
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis reports the results of a contingency study designed to examine whether differences in management accounting system (MAS) designs in manufacturing departments are systematically related to differences in departmental technology and organizational design. Empirical data was collected by means of a questionnaire survey addressed to 160 production managers. The response rate was 82.5%. The study extends prior contingency style MAS research in four significant ways. First, the findings provide some support for the notion that organizations adapt their MAS design to the control requirements of the situation. Second, by adopting a more holistic approach than typically has been the case, this study adds to the scarce empirical evidence that look upon the MAS as a system with internal consistency among multiple structural characteristics. Third, contrary to most contingency research, the present study offers some empirical support of the since long time hypothesized existence of equifinality, i.e., several functionally equivalent management control systems designs in a particular context. Fourth, the current study adds to the very few studies that have included several possibly conflicting contingent factors. This is an important research task since the demands placed on MAS design by multiple contingencies may conflict, i.e., attempts to satisfy one demand may mean that other demands must go unsatisfied.
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| 13. |
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| 14. |
- Gerdin, Jonas, Professor, 1966-, et al.
(författare)
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Vertical, horizontal, and self control in academia : Survey evidence on their diverging effects on perceived researcher autonomy and identity
- 2022
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Ingår i: The British Accounting Review. - : Elsevier. - 0890-8389 .- 1095-8347. ; 54:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Foucault-oriented research has since long argued that the proliferation of performance measurement systems (PMSs) within academia threatens perceived researcher autonomy and identity through normalization and stigmatization of deviants. The theoretical model developed in this study nuances these claims by suggesting that effects of PMSs will differ depending on whether they are enacted as important for superiors (vertical control), colleagues (horizontal control), the researchers themselves (self control), and how they are constructed by these very systems. Overall, the structural equation modelling analyses conducted on questionnaire data from some 700 Swedish researchers strongly confirm the model developed. Specifically, they show that PMSs enacted as a vertical form of control indeed threatens perceived autonomy and identity, and that horizontal control in the form of publish and peer pressure among colleagues works as a mediating mechanism which strengthens these effects. However, our analyses also show that when PMSs are enacted as important means of self control, this in fact increases perceptions of autonomy and reduces feelings of identity threat. We also find that the extent to which these systems construct researchers as high-performing is an important antecedent explaining how come they can be enacted in so different ways, and the effects thereof.
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| 15. |
- Gustafson, Agneta, 1946-
(författare)
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Normer och praxis : tre ideella föreningar och deras redovisning
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The focus of this study is the accounting of private non-profit organizations. Accounting is understood as a situated practice under specific conditions prevailing in different types of private non-profits. First, a pilot study of the financial reports of 39 Swedish non-profit organizations was undertaken. It identified similarities and differences between their reporting and the norms used in commercial accounting. Three case studies of private non-profits of different kinds and sizes were then undertaken. The purpose was both to describe how non-profits report their activities and their financial position to external interest groups and attempt to explain what lies behind their accounting practices. A combination of an institutional perspective and a resource dependence perspective has been used. The study contributes to our knowledge of practices in non-profit organization accounting and suggests some explanations of their accounting practices. The following research question was explored: When does institutional isoformism and when does resource dependence determine the accounting practices in these private non-profits? The main findings are the following: the purpose of the annual reports of these private non-profits is to show how they have used their resources. Their income statements are more like reports of financial flows. It has been difficult to measure the efficiency of their activities and for that reason they report more about doing the “right” things. A verbal story is needed to give a fair account of their performance. In trying to explain the accounting practices of these organizations four things were highlighted: · They imitated conventional accounting norms when the issues had no direct influence on future resources. · They diverged from conventional accounting norms and showed their distinctive character in that they created ways of presenting information according to what was needed by their interested parties, when the issues could influence future flow of resources. This is true even after the accounting regulations were established in 2001. However, when they were forced to follow conventional accounting norms, coercive isomorphic pressure meant that they had less freedom. · When the organizations used other channels than their annual reports to communicate with their supporters, the accounting practices did not influence future resources. Then they applied conventional accounting norms for business organizations. · When the organizations used their annual reports in planning for future obligations and in internal follow up, the accounting practices were also influenced by internal considerations. As they diverged from commercial accounting their differences form commercial organizations were highlighted and their need to communicate in a somewhat different way was seen. Key words: Private non-profit organizations, accounting, accounting theory, accounting norms, accounting practices, institutional theory, isomorfism, resources, resource dependence theory.
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| 16. |
- Stockhult, Helen, 1968-
(författare)
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Medarbetare i dialog : en studie om viljan att göra mer än det formellt förväntade
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- During the past years, interest in people’s willingness to take responsibility has increased. Earlier research has discussed this phenomenon varyingly and today a number of concepts in the literature discuss the proactive and responsible role of the employee. One of these concepts is Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB). It accounts for the willingness of an employee to go above and beyond the 'call of duty' and the formally expected roles and demands of the organization served. The purpose of the study is to contribute to the current understanding of OCB by studying how social structures - in terms of OCB - are embodied and (re) constructed between employees in an organization.This study was conducted within a Swedish public company – Posten (the Postal Service). Data were collected by interviews and observations. Using a theoretical framework inspired by institutional theory, main assumption is that human action is guided by social structure. Social structure is viewed as a set of social rules. After identifying social rules in terms of OCB among employees at one of the workplaces in the company, these rules were used for analyzing employee dialogues focusing specifically on issues of OCB, an event internally referred to as Interna dialogen. Results show that the OCB rules that were identified affect employee willingness to do more than is formally expected and, importantly, this willingness is largely (re)formed in and through dialogues between employees. Another (related) key finding is that OCB is dynamic and changes depending on the situation. In contrast to the extant OCB-literature (which is characterized by a focus on perceptions of the individual and on deterministic assumptions), OCB is thus more social in character. OCB is also much more unpredictable than prior research has argued and taken into account. This said, however, we need more research to deepen the understanding of how this dynamic works. One implication from this study thus is that we need more research on OCB, conducted with other research methods than those mos commonly used. By using qualitative methods, we can obtain more knowledge about how OCB within organizations develops.
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