Mixed methods research:don't "just do it"

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify some of the dilemmas involved in the debate on the how, when and why of mixed methods research. Design/methodology/approach The authors' starting point is formed by developments in the philosophy of science literature, and recent publications on mixed methods research outside of the management accounting domain. Findings Contrary to recent claims made in the management accounting literature, the authors assert that uncovering points of disagreement between methods may be as far as researchers can go by combining them. Being reflexive can help to provide a deeper understanding of the research process and the researcher's role in this process. Research limitations/implications The paper should extend the debate among management accounting researchers about mixed methods research. One of the lessons drawn is that researchers are actively immersed in the research process and cannot purge their own interests and views. Accepting this lesson casts doubt on what the act of research may imply and achieve. Practical implications The paper shows that combinations of research methods should not be made based on a "whatever works" attitude, since this approach ultimately is still infused with ontological and epistemological considerations that researchers have, and should try to explicate. Originality/value The value of this paper lies in the provision of philosophical underpinnings that have not been widely considered in the management accounting literature on mixed methods to date. © 2011 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.

Visual modes of governmentality:traffic lights in a housing association

This study focuses on the use of traffic lights by a Registered Social Landlord (RSL) as a visual representation of self conduct that reflects a way of thinking, acting and constituting a 'well governed, well managed and viable' housing association. We show that the visible representation of traffic lights introduced by the regulator as indicators of performance has been used widely by the RSL to reflect two self-imposed principles of continuous improvement and self assessment. In this context the different accounts of governmentality within the RSLs board reports are studied and some significant insights suggested. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

A roadmap for cost engineering in the automotive supplier sector

The advent of global competition has introduced the need for new competitive manufacturing strategies. The implementation of new strategies has a dramatic effect on measuring product cost compared to traditional management accounting methods. It is found that new cost management methods are required to measure success and support decision-making within the new strategies. One example is the consequences of using traditional management accounting methods for measuring the effects of lean having catastrophic results during reporting. Such results steer managers away from lean manufacture based upon a false picture of the potential benefits. This research examines cost management methods potentially applicable within the automotive supplier sector. Because of the lack of cost-related data collected within the supplier sector companies, this paper ends with a demonstration of a novel method for use in data scarce environments. Copyright © 2008 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Cutting the Gordian knot [?]:a response to Lukka and Vinnari (2014)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to constructively discuss the meaning and nature of (theoretical) contribution in accounting research, as represented by Lukka and Vinnari (2014) (hereafter referred to as LV). The authors aim is to further encourage debate on what constitutes management accounting theory (or theories) and how to modestly clarify contributions to the extant literature. Design/methodology/approach – The approach the authors take can be seen as (a)n interdisciplinary literature sourced analysis and critique of the movement’s positioning and trajectory” (Parker and Guthrie, 2014, p. 1218). The paper also draws upon and synthesizes the present authors and other’s contributions to accounting research using actor network theory. Findings – While a distinction between domain and methods theories … may appear analytically viable, it may be virtually impossible to separate them in practice. In line with Armstrong (2008), the authors cast a measure of doubt on the quest to significantly extend theoretical contributions from accounting research. Research limitations/implications – Rather than making (apparently) grandiose claims about (theoretical) contributions from individual studies, the authors suggest making more modest claims from the research. The authors try to provide a more appropriate and realistic approach to the appreciation of research contributions. Originality/value – The authors contribute to the debate on how theoretical contributions can be made in the accounting literature by constructively debating some views that have recently been outlined by LV. The aim is to provide some perspective on the usefulness of the criteria suggested by these authors. The authors also suggest and highlight (alternative) ways in which contributions might be discerned and clarified.

Motivations Behind Sustainable Purchasing

Sustainability issues in purchasing are receiving greater attention. Literature is rapidly growing, with several research programs being initiated to investigate the topic. This study presents the results of a research project which aims to reveal and structure the motivating forces leading companies to make efforts in sustainability purchasing and the means used to attain achievements in some fields of sustainability. Results presented in the literature are scattered in terms of the fields of sustainability: most of the studies focus only on green or corporate social responsibility issues and there is a lack of exploratory models. Sustainability in purchasing is addressed in a comprehensive way including green, social responsibility and corporate growth issues. After presenting the results of a literature review, theoretical development was undertaken to create a framework in which it is possible to describe the means of sustainability applied and the motivating forces behind them. This framework serves as the basis for an empirical investigation among Hungarian companies. Empirical results confirm the usefulness of the theoretical framework: the number and the characteristics of sustainability activities were determined by the particular types of motivation – to avoid negative effects, to achieve compliance with expectations and to attain positive effects.

Welke 'acteur' neemt de controllerrol als extraverte business partner?

Which 'actor' takes the management accountant role as an extravert business partner? Does a relation between the personal trait Extraversion and fulfilling a management accountant role as a business partner exist? Open Universiteit Nederland End thesis MSc Management, Accounting & Finance Support 1: Prof. dr. A.C.N. van de Ven RA Support 2: dr. P.C.M. Claes Examinator: dr. P. Kamminga Date of approval: September 3, 2014 student: P.R. van der Wal (studentnumber 839104017 email petervanderwal2003@yahoo.com The main question of this research is: Does a relation between the personal trait Extraversion and fulfilling a management accountant role as a business partner exist? This research is based on the dataset obtained by the controller survey 2013, executed in commission of the 'Open Universiteit' (Bork & van der Wal, 2014). From the literature review it is clear: among other management accountant roles we need business partners. And there is a relation between the personal trait Extraversion and fulfilling the role as business partner. At the same time a lack of necessary personal traits for this role has been noticed, among which is Extraversion. The factor- and cluster analyses reported by Bork & van der Wal (2014) resulted in the identification of two types of management accountant roles. In this extended research TYPE II is identified as a business partner because (s)he practices activity-combinations which are related to strategy, analyzing, supporting management in decision making, advisory, change-agency and representing the organization. 36% of the population of Dutch management accountants with a master degree (or similar) meet with the role of the business partner. Although the fulfillment of the role (TYPE II) is not purely business partnering. E.g. reporting and scorekeeping are still activities executed by TYPE II and it is not clear to what extent. Apart from that, role TYPE I executes change management and risk-management activities, which are (according to the definition) activities that belong to the business partner. The role as business partner is practiced but not that optimal as defined in theory. The logistic regression analyses on the survey-data show that Extraversion among three other triggers is significant for the prediction of the fulfillment of the management accountant role (Bork & van der Wal, 2014). A more extravert personal trait predicts a preference for TYPE II, which relates to the business partner. This 'in depth research' concentrated on the relation between the Big Five personal traits and the six activity-combinations (factors) instead of on the two clusters (I and II). The statistic analyses confirm the predicting influence of Extraversion on the business partner role. Although, except for one factor, no extra significance has been found in this additional research. The essential question can be confirmed positively: the management accountant role business partner exists in practice, some management accountants are more extravert then others, and there is a positive relation between extraversion and fulfilling the business partner role. Some formulated research limitations are related to the statistical weakness of some prediction outcomes and to interpretation differences that might occur. Further research can e.g. concentrate on the other personal traits and the significance for role-differentiation in education programs. The management accountant survey 2013 Management accountant roles in 2013 in the Netherlands Open Universiteit Nederland End thesis MSc Management, Accounting & Finance Support 1: Prof. dr. A.C.N. van de Ven RA Support 2: dr. P.C.M. Claes Examinator: dr. P. Kamminga Date of approval: September 3, 2014 student: P.R. van der Wal and H.J. Bork studentnumber: 839104017 and 838532340) email: petervanderwal2003@yahoo.com and hjbork@hotmail.com This paper describes the conceptual model and results of the 'management accountants survey 2013'. The survey is part of a longitudinal survey, earlier executed in 2004, 2007 and 2010 under responsibility of the 'Open Universiteit Nederland'. Secondly the dataset of this survey will be used by us to do our own analyses on the predicting value of the triggers 'personality factor: extraversion' and 'lever of control: interactive controls' on the management accounting role that comes close to a role defined as 'Business Partner'. Scientific research shows that there are different management accounting roles, and that these roles change and that preferences exist for certain roles (Verstegen B. , Loo, Mol, Slagter, & Geerkens, 2007). The main question that will be answered in this paper is which coherent combinations of activities are being executed by management accountants in 2013 in the Netherlands by master-graduates? And secondly which triggers of management accountants' activities predict to which cluster a management accountant belongs? The conceptual model of this research has been developed in 2004 (Verstegen B. , Loo, Mol, Slagter, & Geerkens, 2007). For this research the same 37 activities as in the former researches are included (appendix 1). In the trigger-set (appendix 1) some adaptations have been made for reasons of restricting the length of the survey and to pinpoint on particular research goals (e.g. personality and levers of control). The coherent combinations of activities were found by a factor-analysis and the groups of controllers by a cluster analysis. A regression analysis shows which trigger-items are most significant. The survey has been sent to 2.353 students that finished a controller-study on a Dutch University. There was a 9% (211) response with a completely filled survey. 137 of which indicated to work in a controller-function at the moment. These controllers have been included in the results. The factor-analysis results in six different coherent combinations of activities (factors). Shortly these factors are: advising top management on strategic level with result-effecting information (1), organizing internal reporting (2) organizing and representing the organization on external reporting (3), advising and managing changes by shortcomings in processes and control systems (4), maintaining and managing administrative organization- , information- and control systems (5) and organizing/executing risk management and internal audit (6). Factors 4, 5 and 6 are clustered in cluster TYPE I (125 controllers) and factors 1, 2 and 3 in cluster TYPE II (69 controllers). TYPE II can be associated with the management accountant role 'Business Partner', although the accountant keeps partly active in a scorekeeper role. The four most significant triggers for predicting being a TYPE II controller are 'Executing a risk-management task in order to meet compliance standards' (1), extraversion (2), company size in terms of fte (3) and gender (4).

A Field Study of the Impact of a Performance-Based Incentive Plan

Much management accounting research focuses on design of incentive compensation contracts. A basic assumption in these contracts is that performance-based incentives improve employee performance. This paper reports on a field test of the multi-period incentive effects of a performance-based compensation plan on the sales of a retail establishment. Analysis of panel data for 15 retail outlets over 66 months indicates a sales increase when the plan is implemented, an effect that persists and increases over time. Sales gains are significantly lower in the peak selling season when more temporary workers are employed.

Johdon laskentatoimen kuukausiraportoinnin kehittäminen case-yrityksessä

Tämän kandidaatintutkielman tarkoituksena on tutkia johdon laskentatoimen kuukau-siraportointia ja sen kehittämistä case-yrityksen avulla. Tutkielman teoriaosuus muo-dostaa työlle sen teoreettisen viitekehyksen. Empiriaosuudessa käsiteltävä kuukausi-raportoinnin kehittäminen alkaa sen lähtötason määrittelemisellä. Tämän jälkeen tun-nistetaan prosessiin liittyviä kehitystä vaativia asioita sekä pyritään löytämään keinot näiden ongelmien ratkaisemiseksi. Tutkielmassa käytettävä empiirinen aineisto on kerätty laadullisen tutkimuksen mene-telmiä käyttäen. Tähän on kuulunut sekä työnteon havainnointia että haastatteluja. Ha-vainnointi koostui kahden kuukaudenvaihteen raportointiprosessin seuraamisesta. Siitä saatua aineistoa hyödynnettiin erityisesti raportoinnin lähtötason määrittämiseksi. Haastatteluja hyödynnettiin puolestaan prosessin ongelmakohtien tunnistamiseksi ja niiden ratkaisemiseksi. Tutkimuksesta selvisi, että case-yrityksen kuukausiraportointiprosessin lähtötilanne on yleisesti ottaen hyvä. Raportoinnille tunnistettiin kolme keskeistä päämäärää: hyvä ai-kataulutus, korkea automaation taso ja analyysin hyödynnettävyys. Koska kuukausira-portointi on jatkuvasti kehittyvä prosessi, on siinä aina jotain parannettavaa. Tutkimuk-sesta nousikin kolme keskeistä raportointiprosessin kehittämiskohdetta: aikataulutuk-sen ja talousosaston sisäisen kommunikaation haasteet, raportointityökalut sekä tie-don tiedon analyysin ja yksiköiden välisen kommunikaation haasteet. Näistä jokaiseen löydettiin konkreettisia parannusehdotuksia, joita case-yritys voi hyödyntää raportoin-tiprosessin päämäärien saavuttamiseksi.

NONDISCLOSURE – A GOOD NEWS SIGNAL?

I examine the implications of nondisclosure in a setting where there is a credible signal as to the proprietary nature of the undisclosed information. Specifically, I investigate the market and analysts' response to firms’ application to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a confidential treatment order (CTO), which allows firms to redact required disclosures from SEC filings when the redacted information is proprietary. I find that the market and analysts react favorably to the voluntary nondisclosure of proprietary information using the SEC confidential treatment process. Market and analysts reactions are more favorable to the redaction of information that is more likely to have proprietary value, such as information related to research and development. In addition, I show that the redacting firms experience superior accounting performance compared to their peers in the years following the redaction, consistent with the market and analysts’ response to the redaction. However, I find that analysts engage in more intense private information search in response to a CTO redaction. This finding suggests that, although a CTO redaction can signal the nature of undisclosed information, analysts believe that the signal is not fully revealing of the economic magnitude of the undisclosed information. Overall, this study’s findings indicate that a firm's willingness to submit to the CTO approval process serves as a credible signal of the proprietary nature of the withheld information. The results of this study suggest a possible role for a credible signaling channel to facilitate communication between insiders and outsiders regarding the nature of withheld information.

EVALUACIÓN DEL ÁREA DE CIENCIAS APLICADAS (600 DEWEY) DE LA COLECCIÓN DE LA BIBLIOTECA “JOAQUIN GARCÍA MONGE”

Con esta investigación se pretende determinar la calidad, actualidad, grado de satisfacción de los usuarios, uso y pertinencia de la colección del área de Ciencias Aplicadas de la Biblioteca “Joaquín García Monge” en relación con las necesidades de los usuarios.Se seleccionó como estudio de caso la colección del área de Ciencias Aplicadas de la Biblioteca “Joaquín García Monge” que cubre ciencias ambientales, agrarias y forestales; física y química industrial; medicina veterinaria, psiquiatría, administración, contabilidad, mercadeo, manualidades y mecanografía. Se evaluará el fondo bibliográfico correspondiente únicamente a los libros de la colección y material bibliográfico de referencia.

Proposta do modelo ABC na contabilidade de gestão das instituições de ensino superior : o caso da Universidade de Évora

O contexto actual vivido pelas Instituições de Ensino Superior tem requerido a adopção de sistemas de Contabilidade de Gestão mais precisos face às crescentes necessidades de informação de custos e de gestão. Deste modo, o principal propósito deste trabalho de investigação é estudar os recentes desenvolvimentos dos sistemas de Contabilidade de Gestão, enfatizando o Custeio baseado nas Actividades (ABC) como o modelo mais apropriado para responder a estas exigências informativas. Esta abordagem é complementada com a realização de um estudo de caso na Universidade de Évora, onde é aplicado empiricamente o ABC, sendo o mesmo apresentado como proposta de modelo na Contabilidade de Gestão destas organizações. Esta dissertação apresenta uma análise crítica e comparativa entre os distintos sistemas de custos tradicionais e a contabilidade por actividades, sendo ainda destacadas as potencialidades da metodologia ABC como plataforma para implementação de outros sistemas de informação baseados nas actividades, nomeadamente ao nível da gestão, do orçamento, dos preços de transferência e da gestão da qualidade total. Neste âmbito, com recurso a vários estudos de caso, são descritas as propriedades, as limitações e os resultados que mais se evidenciam pela implementação do sistema ABC nestas entidades. Os principais resultados desta investigação permitem concluir que embora os sistemas de custeio tradicionais apresentem um substrato conceptual totalmente válido, o sistema ABC evidencia uma estrutura conceptual mais credível, capaz de produzir informação mais precisa de apoio à tomada de decisão. No entanto, há algumas reservas que lhe são apontadas, em especial, no que respeita à relevância, utilidade e praticabilidade do método, e insuficiente documentação sobre os resultados obtidos. Pela aplicação empírica do sistema ABC na Universidade de Évora, conclui-se que a informação disponibilizada por este modelo é relevante, facilitadora e influencia o processo de tomada de decisão da sua gestão, e responde às exigências contabilísticas e de prestação de contas do POC-Educação e de outras entidades externas. ABSTRACT; The present context of Institutions of Higher Education has required adoption of more accurate Management Accounting systems due to increasing needs for information about costs and management. Thus, the main propose of this research is to study the recent developments of the Management Accounting systems, emphasizing the Activity-based Costing (ABC) as the most appropriate model that addresses these information requirements. This approach has been enriched through a case study at the University of Évora, where the ABC methodology was applied empirically, and presented as a proposed model of Management Accounting of these organizations. This dissertation presents a critical and comparative analysis between the traditional cost systems and the ABC, pointing out the potentialities of this methodology as a platform for implementation of other information systems based on activities, namely, with regard to management, budget, transfer pricing and total quality management. ln this context and supported by some case studies, the main properties, limitations and results of the implementation of the ABC system in these institutions have been described. The main results of this research indicate that although the traditional cost systems present a total valid conceptual structure, the ABC system provide a more credible conceptual structure, which is able to produce a more accurate information base for decision-making. However, there are some reservations that are considered, namely the relevance, utility, practicability, and insufficient documentation with regard to the obtained results. The empirical application of the ABC system at the University of Évora makes it possible to conclude that the information provided through the use of this model is relevant in terms of its influence in the decision-making process, and provides the answers to the accounting requirements of Education-POC and other external entities. NOTA: O volume II na página 228 contém a Matriz 10, que não foi digitalizado devido ao enorme formato que não permitiu ser digitalizado.

Industry Linkages and Audit Firms' Industry Portfolio Choice: Evidence from Product Language

Audit firms are organized along industry lines and industry specialization is a prominent feature of the audit market. Yet, we know little about how audit firms make their industry portfolio decisions, i.e., how audit firms decide which set of industries to specialize in. In this study, I examine how the linkages between industries in the product space affect audit firms’ industry portfolio choice. Using text-based product space measures to capture these industry linkages, I find that both Big 4 and small audit firms tend to specialize in industry-pairs that 1) are close to each other in the product space (i.e., have more similar product language) and 2) have a greater number of “between-industries” in the product space (i.e., have a greater number of industries with product language that is similar to both industries in the pair). Consistent with the basic tradeoff between specialization and coordination, these results suggest that specializing in industries that have more similar product language and more linkages to other industries in the product space allow audit firms greater flexibility to transfer industry-specific expertise across industries as well as greater mobility in the product space, hence enhancing its competitive advantage. Additional analysis using the collapse of Arthur Andersen as an exogenous supply shock in the audit market finds consistent results. Taken together, the findings suggest that industry linkages in the product space play an important role in shaping the audit market structure.

Aa necessidades de informação conducentes ao desenvolvimento da contabilidade de gestão na GNR

O presente trabalho de investigação aplicado perspetiva os contributos do desenvolvimento da contabilidade de gestão na Guarda subordina-se ao tema: “As necessidades de informação conducentes ao desenvolvimento da contabilidade de gestão na Guarda Nacional Republicana”. Para a prossecução da investigação, adotou-se o modelo hipotético-dedutivo. Assim sendo, o estudo prima por verificar as hipóteses, responder às perguntas derivadas e tem o propósito último de dar resposta à questão de partida. A metodologia empregue na realização deste trabalho de investigação, foi delineada por Quivy & Campenhoudt (2008) e Sarmento (2013), na qual a análise documental e a pesquisa bibliográfica, as entrevistas, os inquéritos por questionário e as observações diretas foram os procedimentos de recolha de dados empregues. Este trabalho de investigação é constituído por cinco capítulos, esquematizados em três partes, designadamente a Parte I – Enquadramento teórico, a Parte II – Parte prática e as conclusões e recomendações. Na parte I, são apresentados conceitos teóricos, nomeadamente a definição de informação e os conceitos relacionados com os sistemas de informação. Em seguida, é efetuada a abordagem teórica aos conceitos, finalidade e contributos da contabilidade de gestão. A parte II expõe os métodos e procedimentos utilizados, a análise e discussão dos resultados obtidos e são expostas as principais necessidades de informação de gestão das chefias. As conclusões e recomendações futuras são redigidas no último capítulo. Conclui-se que o contributo da contabilidade de gestão, poderá ser preponderante para suprir as necessidades de informação das chefias da Guarda Nacional Republicana, uma vez que estas disporão de informação de gestão que por sua vez permite: a) avaliação dos serviços mais criteriosa; b) determinação de necessidades; c) concretização da economia, eficiência e eficácia; d) efetuar comparações, análises e o controlo dos gastos; e, e) identificar a duplicação de gastos e tarefas. Em suma, contribui para a melhoria do desempenho organizacional.