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The interplay of ma...
The interplay of managerial and non-managerial controls, institutional work, and the coordination of laterally dependent hospital activities
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- Nyland, K. (author)
- Business School, NTNU Trondheim, Trondheim, Norway
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- Morland, C. (author)
- Business School, NTNU Trondheim, Trondheim, Norway
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- Burns, John (author)
- Department of Accounting, Business School, Exeter University, Exeter, United Kingdom
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(creator_code:org_t)
- Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. 2017
- 2017
- English.
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In: Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management/Emerald. - : Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.. - 1176-6093 .- 1758-7654. ; 14:4, s. 467-495
- Related links:
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https://urn.kb.se/re...
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https://doi.org/10.1...
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Abstract
Subject headings
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- Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore two hospital departments, one of which is laterally dependent on the other to function, but which are subject to distinct vertical managerial controls. This complexity in vertical-lateral relations generates tension amongst the hospital's senior managers and a perception of coordination difficulties. However, this paper shows how the interplay between managerial and non-managerial controls, plus important employee "work", moderates tension and facilitates day-to-day lateral coordination at the patient-facing level. Design/methodology/approach - This is a case-study, relying mostly on the findings of semistructured interviews. Theoretically, the paper draws from previous insights on inter-organisational relations (but informing the focus on intra-organisational coordination) and an "institutional work" perspective. Findings - Consistent with much extant literature, this paper reveals how non-managerial controls help to moderate tensions that could emerge from the coercive use of managerial controls. However, the authors also show a maintained influence and flexibility in the managerial controls at patient-facing levels, as new circumstances unfold. Research limitations/implications - The findings of this paper could generalise neither all laterally dependent spaces in hospitals nor patterns across different hospitals. The authors recommend future research into the dynamics and interaction of managerial and non-managerial controls in other complex settings, plus focus on the purposeful work of influential agents. Originality/value - The paper has two primary contributions: extending our knowledge of the interplay between managerial and non-managerial controls inside complex organisations, where non-managerial controls reinforce rather than displace managerial controls, and highlighting that it is seldom just controls per se which "matter", but also agents' purposeful actions that facilitate coordination in complex organisations.
Subject headings
- SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP -- Ekonomi och näringsliv (hsv//swe)
- SOCIAL SCIENCES -- Economics and Business (hsv//eng)
Keyword
- Complex organisations
- Coordination
- Hospitals
- Institutional logics
- Institutional work
- Managerial controls
- Non-managerial controls
- Vertical-lateral relations
Publication and Content Type
- ref (subject category)
- art (subject category)
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