The adoption of value-based management in large UK companies:a case for diffusion theory

Purpose – In the 1990s, a growing number of companies adopted value-based management (VBM) techniques in the UK. The purpose of this paper is to explore the motivations for the adoption or non-adoption of VBM for managing a business. Design/methodology/approach – An interview-based study of 37 large UK companies. Insights from diffusion theory and institutional theory are utilised to theorise these motivations. Findings – It was found that the rate of adoption of VBM in the sample companies does follow the classical S-shape. It also suggests that the supply-side of the diffusion process, most notably the role played by consultants, was an influence on many companies. This was not, however, a sufficient condition for companies to adopt the technique. The research also finds evidence of relocation diffusion, as several adopters are influenced by new officers, for example chief executive officers and finance directors, importing VBM techniques that they have used in organizations within which they have previously worked. Research limitations/implications – It is quite a small scale study and further work would be needed to develop the findings. Practical implications – Understanding and theorising the adoption of new management techniques will help understand the management of a business. Originality/value – This research adds further evidence to the value of studying management accounting, and more specifically management accounting change, in practice. It shows the developments in the adoption of a new technique and hence how a technique becomes accepted in practice.

On the boundedness of the SORM DEA models with negative data

Emrouznejad et al. (2010) proposed a Semi-Oriented Radial Measure (SORM) model for assessing the efficiency of Decision Making Units (DMUs) by Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) with negative data. This paper provides a necessary and sufficient condition for boundedness of the input and output oriented SORM models.

Deliberate and spontaneous sensations of disembodiment:capacity or flaw?

Introduction: Hallucinations that involve shifts in the subjectively experienced location of the self, have been termed “out-of-body experiences” (OBEs). Early psychiatric accounts cast OBEs as a specific instance of depersonalisation and derealisation disorder (DPD-DR). However, during feelings of alienation and lack of body realism in DPD-DR the self is experienced within the physical body. Deliberate forms of “disembodiment” enable humans to imagine another’s visuo-spatial perspective taking (VPT), thus, if a strong relationship between deliberate and spontaneous forms of disembodiment could be revealed, then uncontrolled OBEs could be “the other side of the coin” of a uniquely human capacity. Methods: We present a narrative review of behavioural and neuroimaging work emphasising methodological and theoretical aspects of OBE and VPT research and a potential relationship. Results: Results regarding a direct behavioural relationship between VPT and OBE are mixed and we discuss reasons by pointing out the importance of using realistic tasks and recruiting genuine OBEers instead of general DPD-DR patients. Furthermore, we review neuroimaging evidence showing overlapping neural substrates between VPT and OBE, providing a strong argument for a relationship between the two processes. Conclusions: We conclude that OBE should be regarded as a necessary implication of VPT ability in humans, or even as a necessary and potentially sufficient condition for the evolution of VPT.

Minor and major consolidations in inverse DEA:definition and determination

Many production systems have acquisition and merge operations to increase productivity. This paper proposes a novel method to anticipate whether a merger in a market is generating a major or a minor consolidation, using InvDEA model. A merger between two or more decision making units (DMUs) producing a single merged DMU that affects the efficiency frontier, defined by the pre-consolidation market conditions, is called a major consolidation. The corresponding alternative case is called a minor consolidation. A necessary and sufficient condition to distinguish the two types of consolidations is proven and two numerical illustrations in banking and supply chain management are discussed. The crucial importance of anticipating the magnitude of a consolidation in a market is outlined.