Accounting - Research Publications
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ItemQualitative management accounting research: rationale, pitfalls and potential A comment on Vaivio (2008)(EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LTD, 2008)Purpose This paper's purpose is to provide a commentary on “Qualitative management accounting research: rationale, pitfalls and potential,” a paper by Juhani Vaivio. Design/methodology/approach The approach is to draw on alternative research paradigms to expand the definition and discussion of qualitative research in management accounting. Findings The paper endorses many of the prescriptions in Vaivio but expands the definition and discussion of qualitative research in management accounting to recognize the blurred boundaries with field research more generally, and to be more inclusive of qualitative field research from a positivist/functionalist perspective. Similarly, the need for qualitative research to challenge textbook, economics and consulting representations of management accounting is acknowledged, but the range of catalysts is expanded to highlight the potential for qualitative research building on both qualitative and quantitative extant research. This paper also seeks to broaden the discussion of legitimate study design characteristics and data collection methods, and to stress the importance of matching research design with research question. Originality/value The paper stresses the value of pluralism and inclusiveness in both methodological and method choices.
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ItemDiagnosing decision quality(ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV, 2008-04)
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ItemDifferent interpretations of a “fixed” concept(Emerald, 2008-03-28)Purpose This paper aims to examine the reasons why introducing a “fixed” management accounting technique, such as Juran's cost of quality technique, results in different, rather than similar outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Actor‐Network Theory (ANT) was used to examine events in a longitudinal case study where Juran's cost of quality technique was introduced into two manufacturing plants of the same organisation. Findings Both plants developed the cost of quality in significantly different ways to Juran's “fixed” cost of quality technique. In addition, significant differences were also found between the plants, despite the intention to replicate the cost of quality from one plant to the other. Research limitations/implications Although the precise circumstances of the plants in the case study are unique, the principles of ANT that describe how the cost of quality was introduced and the differences that were observed, are likely to be relevant to other organisations and techniques. Practical implications The practical implications of this study are that “fixed” techniques – such as Juran's cost of quality – are not fixed and are unlikely to be implemented in “textbook” fashion. To manage the innovation process better, practitioners need to understand the heterogeneity of actors' interests, the variety and complexity of the context and the iterative, recursive nature of the innovation process. Originality/value Although the cost of quality is an important management accounting technique, this is one of the few studies to have empirically examined it.
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ItemPerformance Measurement System Design in Joint Strategy Settings(AMER ACCOUNTING ASSOC, 2008-12)ABSTRACT: This study examines empirically the association between joint strategies and the design of manufacturing performance measurement systems. Drawing on data collected from production managers in 84 industrial firms, the study seeks evidence of links between the implementation of differentiation, low-cost and joint strategies in production, and reliance on efficiency, financial, and customer-focused performance measures. The results indicate the paradoxical situation where virtually all units in the sample pursue competitive advantage in differentiation yet many rely intensely on efficiency and financial measures to measure manufacturing performance. Reliance on efficiency measures is observed to be associated with the pursuit of low-cost and differentiation strategies jointly. Reliance on financial measures, on the other hand, appears to be related to differentiation and not related to the strategic importance of low cost. The findings suggest that financial measures may have a role in monitoring the financial impact of differentiation and curbing excessive differentiation. However, efficiency measures are primarily related to the extent of strategic focus on low cost and may be observed in differentiating units when differentiation is pursued jointly with low cost.
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ItemThe moral intensity of reduced audit quality acts(AMER ACCOUNTING ASSOC, 2008-05)Underlying attributes of reduced audit quality (RAQ) acts are investigated in this research paper. Since RAQ acts may result from ethical judgments, we examine whether they could vary because of differences in moral intensity. Moral intensity was proposed by Jones (1991) in a model that looked at the attributes of the moral issue itself. This study examines whether auditors perceive seven different RAQ acts to differ on three components of Jones' model (social consensus, magnitude of consequences, and probability of effect). Little variation was found on the social consensus dimension showing that auditors think the acts equally wrong. However, significant differences in perceptions about the RAQ acts relating to the probability of effect and the magnitude of consequences were found. The results suggest that RAQ acts differ in terms of their moral intensity, and hence auditors' decisions to undertake RAQ behavior may be issue-contingent. The study provides empirical support for Jones' model by showing, in an audit context, that moral intensity factors vary with the moral issue.