Factores Determinantes na Implementação do Balanced Scorecard em Portugal

Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is recognized, both in the academic and business world, as one of the most powerful strategic management accounting tools. Thus, we launched in October 2004 a questionnaire survey applied to the 250 largest Portuguese companies aiming at observing the knowledge, use, and companies’ characteristics which are adopting this management instrument. Despite the majority of the companies inquired recognize BSC more as a strategic management tool than a performance valuation system, the results show that there is still a reduced and recent utilization of BSC in Portugal. Similarly to other countries Portugal is still in the initial state of BSC utilization. Our work has shown that the companies that use more BSC belong mainly to the secondary sector of industry. Nevertheless, unlike other studies, we did not get empirical evidence on the influence of variables such as geographical localization, dimension and internationalization, in the use and knowledge of BSC in Portugal.

Accounting and the “Doctor-Manager Relationship”

The adoption of the “new public management” in the hospital sector brought about greater presence and power to professional managers in hospitals, thus increasing the risk of conflict in the doctor-manager relationship. Aiming to enrich the discussion on the factors that could be the bases for this conflict and considering the role of accounting, the study presented here corresponds, basically, to what we call “content analysis” of qualitative studies. The results demonstrate that the Portuguese doctors as the sample studied accept, in essence, the principles of enterprise management and recognize the use of accounting information in the scope of their functions as long as they are called to participate as legitimate actors, and authorities respect their desires to preserve a practice which they consider of quality.

The Main Determinants of the Use of the Cost Accounting System in Portuguese Local Government

This paper explores the main determinants of the use of the cost accounting system (CAS) in Portuguese local government (PLG). Regression analysis is used to study the fit of a model of accounting changes in PLG, focused on cost accounting systems oriented to activities and outputs. Based on survey data gathered from PLG, we have found that the use of information in decision-making and external reporting is still a mirage. We obtain evidence about the influence of the internal organizational context (especially the lack of support and difficulties in the CAS implementation) in the use for internal purposes, while the institutional environment (like external pressures to implement the CAS) appears to be more deterministic of the external use. Results strengthen the function of external reporting to legitimate the organization’s activities to external stakeholders. On the other hand, some control variables (like political competition, usefulness and experience) also evidence some explanatory power in the model. Some mixed results were found that appeal to further research in the future. Our empirical results contribute to understand the importance of interconnecting the contingency and institutional approaches to gain a clear picture of cost accounting changes in the public sector.

Capital Intelectual: sua divulgação no setor bancário em Portugal

The importance of intangible resources has increased dramatically in recent years comparing to tangible ones. The economy in which we live is the result of competitive pressures that have imposed the implementation of business at an international level as well as a requirement in the application of sophisticated technologies that allow us to follow this fast evolution. In this age of information and innovation organizations will only survive if they are inserted in a global network of strategic relations, generically called as the network economy by Lev (2003). The service sector has stood out against the more traditional sectors of the economy. The intensive use of knowledge and a strong customer orientation created a new reality in today’s organizations: a growing importance attached to innovation, to the quality of products and services offered, to the information and communication technologies adopted, and to the creativity and particular abilities of human resources. The concept of intangible assets is more common in an accounting language and intellectual capital is most often applied in the context of management, being associated with a more comprehensive, multidimensional approach, representing all the knowledge that the institution owns and that it applies in the form of expertise, the creativity and organizational competencies that lead to innovation and to the sustained attainment of future economic benefits. An analysis of the scope of intellectual capital is fundamental to take more appropriate management decisions so that a more appropriate accounting treatment could be given by the accounting standardization organizations. This study intends to analyse the practices of information disclosure of the intellectual capital in the banking sector in Portugal, complementing the analysis of the disclosure of intangible assets in the context of accounting standards with the disclosure of intellectual capital in the context of organizational management. In particular, our main aims are to identify the extent of disclosure of intellectual capital made by banks in Portugal and also to identify the factors that determine such a disclosure. The disclosure in the context of accounting standards will be studied by checking the disclosure of intangible assets through the items listed in the International Accounting Standard 38 developed by the International Accounting Standards Board. The context of management was analysed by means of creating a voluntary disclosure index based on assumptions of the model Intellectus, developed by the Centro de Investigación sobre la Sociedad del Conocimiento – Instituto de Administración de Empresas (CIC-IADE) of the Universidad Autónoma of Madrid, and of the model Intellectual Capital Statement (made in Europe) (InCaS), both promoted by the European Commission and that we have adapted to the banking sector. When analysing the disclosure of intangible assets based on the context of accounting standards and the voluntary disclosure of intellectual capital, this study has tried to raise awareness about the importance of issuing reports on the intellectual capital as an alternative tool to take management decisions in the existing organizations and reflects the transparency and legitimacy that these institutions seek through a more extensive and more detailed information disclosure of their intellectual capital. Based on a complimentarily of economic theories, together with social and political theories, we tried to check the extent, evolution and tendencies of the compulsory disclosure of intangible assets and of the voluntary disclosure of the intellectual capital analysed in the period 2001-2011. Banks characteristics were also analysed in order to deduce those factors that determine or promote a larger disclosure in this sector. Based on these objectives, we adopted a longitudinal approach to explore the extent and the development of the disclosure of intangible assets as well as the factors that have determined it. Furthermore, we sought to assess the impact of the adoption of IAS 38 in the financial statements of the organizations in this sector. The disclosure index created on the basis of the disclosure requirements stated in IAS 38 from IASB was applied to the consolidated financial statements of the seventeen banks that rendered their statements in Portugal from 2001 to 2009. Since the information disclosed in the context of accounting standards may not have an important role as a management tool once it was not able to reflect what really contributes to the competitiveness and organizational growth, the voluntary disclosure of the intellectual capital was analysed according to the information obtained from the 2010 annual individual reports of the banks operating in Portugal in that year and from their respective websites in 2011. We tried to analyse the extent of the voluntary disclosure of the intellectual capital and of each of its components, human capital, structural capital and relational capital. The comparative analysis of their annual reports and their web pages allowed us to assess the incidence of the disclosure and discover what channel the banking sector focuses on when disclosing their intellectual capital. Also in this analysis the study of the disclosure determinants has allowed us to conclude about the influence of particular characteristics in the voluntary disclosure of the intellectual capital. The results of the analysis to the extent of the disclosure of intangible assets in the consolidated financial statements of the banking groups in Portugal in the period 2001-2009 have shown an average information disclosure of 0.24. This information disclosure evolved from an average value of 0.1940 in 2001 to 0.2778 in 2009. The average value is 0.8286 if it is only considered the disclosure of the intangible assets that the banks possessed. The evolution of this index means an increase in the average disclosure from 0.7852 in 2001 to 0.8788 in 2009. From the first results that are related to the extent of the disclosure of intangible assets in the financial statements, we can verify that the banking groups present a low disclosure level of these resources. However, when considering the disclosure of only the intangible assets that each institution owns, the disclosure level appears to be in compliance with the disclosure requirements for this sector. An evolution in the disclosure of intangible assets for the period considered was confirmed, showing an increase in the information disclosure of intangible assets in 2005, the year in which the accounting rules for intangible assets changed. The analysis that focused on the disclosure in the context of management tried to understand the extent, the incidence and the determinants of the voluntary information disclosure of intellectual capital in the annual reports of 2010 and on their web pages in 2011, studying the 32 banks operating in Portugal in this period. The average voluntary disclosure of the intellectual capital in the 2010 annual reports is 0.4342 while that in web pages is 0.2907. A review of the components of the intellectual capital allowed us to assess the importance that the banks confer to each of these components. The data obtained show that the relational capital, and more specifically the business capital, is the most disclosed component by banks in Portugal both in the annual reports and in their institutional web pages, followed by the structural capital and, finally, by the human capital. The disclosure of the human capital and the structural capital is higher in the annual reports than that in the websites, while the relational capital is more disclosed in the websites than in the annual reports. The results have also shown that the banks make a complementary use of both sources when disclosing information about their structural capital and relational capital but they do not show any information about their human capital in their websites. We tried to prove the influence of factors that could determine the accounting disclosure and the voluntary disclosure of the intellectual capital in this sector. The change in the IASB accounting rules as from January 1st 2005 gave a greater disclosure of accounting information of intangible assets in the financial statements of banks. The bank size and corporate governance measures have statistically proved to have an influence on the extent of the accounting disclosure of intangible assets and on the voluntary disclosure of the intellectual capital. Economic and financial variables such as profitability, operating efficiency or solvency were not determinants of information disclosure. The instability that the banking sector has experienced in economic and financial indicators in recent years as a result of the global financial markets imbalance has worsen indicators such as profitability, efficiency and solvency and caused major discrepancies in the economic situation between banks in Portugal. This empirical analysis has contributed to confront the disclosure required by accounting rules performed in the financial statements of organizations with that performed in the main disclosure media which is available for entities and which is increasingly requested in the process of taking management decisions. It also allowed us to verify whether there is homogeneity between institutions in the fulfilment of the requirements for information disclosure of intangible assets. However, as for voluntary disclosure of intellectual capital, there are large disparities in the disclosure extent between organizations. Regardless of this sector specific characteristics, the voluntary disclosure of intellectual capital made by banks in Portugal follows the trends in other sectors and the practices adopted in other countries, namely regarding the amount of information disclosed, the incidence of the disclosure on the indicators of relational capital and the importance of variables such as size as determinants of disclosure of intellectual capital. For a further knowledge in this field, we created a specific index for the banking sector, considering appropriate indicators for an incisive, comprehensive analysis in order to consider the most relevant indicators of intellectual capital components. Besides, confronting the analysis of disclosure in the context of accounting standards with the study of voluntary disclosure brought a new analysis approach to the research on intellectual capital disclosure. With this study, we have also intended to raise greater awareness of the need for harmonization in the intellectual capital disclosure on the part of the regulatory banking authority by means of a demanding, consistent and transparent report of intellectual capital with simple, clear, objective indicators so that those interested in disclosing intellectual capital information in the organizations in this sector may obtain more harmonized and comparable information. A research on the disclosure quality of intellectual capital, together with the application of other analysis methodologies in this sector, might be a promising approach for future research. Applying the voluntary disclosure index to the same sector in other countries may also contribute to the knowledge of disclosure practices in different geographical environments. We highlight the relevance of further studies contributing to the harmonization and consistency in the presentation of an intellectual capital report so as to enable organizations to disclose the resources that contribute most to their competitiveness and growth.

Integration of Individualized Management Systems (MSs) as an Aggregating Factor of Sustainable Value for Organizations: An Overview Through a Review of the Literature

Nowadays, there exist various standards for individual management systems (MSs), at least, one for each stakeholder. New ones will be published. An integrated management system (IMS) aims to integrate some or all components of the business into one coherent and efficient MS. Maximizing integration is more and more a strategic priority in that it constitutes an opportunity to eliminate and/or reduce potential factors of destruction of value for the organizations and also to be more competitive and consequently promote its sustainable success. A preliminary investigation was conducted on a Portuguese industrial company which, over the years, has been adopting gradually, in whole or in part, individualized management system standards (MSSs). A research, through a questionnaire, was performed with the objective to develop, in a real business environment, an adequate and efficient IMS-QES (quality, environment, and safety) model and to potentiate for the future a generic IMS model to integrate other MSSs. The strategy and research methods have taken into consideration the case study. It was obtained a set of relevant conclusions resulting from the statistical analyses of the responses to the survey. Globally, the investigation results, by themselves, justified and prioritized the conception of a model of development of the IMS-QES and consequent definition and validation of a structure of an IMS-QES model, to be implemented at the small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) where the investigation was conducted.

The strategic management of creation process and of change: a theoretical contribute from the perspective of tourism

The entrepreneurship and innovation have been gradually gaining ground in the academic community as a field of study. However, the interpretations surrounding fragmented, without a univocal definition. In last decades, tourism has received greater attention from researchers in various sciences, varying only by the different emphases considered: economic, social, cultural and environmental. As other emerging sectors in a modern economy, tourism is a dynamic and ever-changing industry. The study has as purpose to provide a better understanding regarding the essence of entrepreneurship: theoretical and practical implications from the perspective of tourism. Regarding the methodology used here, this is a conceptual paper with a literature review that brings together the major components of entrepreneurship and its implications tourist perspective and conceptual model of the dynamic nature of the Triggering Process and innovation (e.g. iTravey, Interactive Stores, Tourist Transportable Tower).

The international harmonization process of public accounting in Portugal: the perspective of different stakeholders

This paper investigates the reform of public accounting in Portugal through the IPSAS adoption highlighting the perception of different stakeholders. Two competing theories (NPM and the institutional theory) are used to understand public accounting changes within the Portuguese context. In general, different stakeholders agree with the favorable moment and the context of the reform. The context of financial crises and the great external pressures to cut public deficits and to improve the quality of financial information seem to be the most important factors to stimulate changes in public accounting. In addition, stakeholders recommend the use of different strategies to ensure success.

Use of Performance Measurement in the Public Sector: the case of the police service

Many public organisations have been under great pressure in recent years to increase the efficiency and transparency of outputs, to rationalise the use of public resources, and to increase the quality of service delivery. In this context, public organisations were encouraged to introduce the New Public Management reforms with the goal of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the performance organisation through a new public management model. This new public management model is based on measurement by outputs and outcomes, a clear definition of responsibilities, the transparency and accountability of governmental activities, and on a greater value for citizens. What type of performance measurement systems are used in police services? Based on the literature, we see that multidimensional models, such as the Balanced Scorecard, are important in many public organisations, like municipalities, universities, and hospitals. Police services are characterised by complex, diverse objectives and stakeholders. Therefore, performance measurement of these public services calls for a specific analysis. Based on a nationwide survey of all police chiefs of the Portuguese police force, we find that employee performance measurement is the main form of measurement. Also, we propose a strategic map for the Portuguese police service.

The internationally standardized process of public accounting: the perspective of different stakeholders in Portugal

New Public Management (NPM) led to great pressures for to introduce and adapt businesslike accounting in the public sector (Hood, 1995; Lapsley, 2008; Lapsley et al., 2009), specially the transition from cash basis to accrual-based accounting. In consequence, since the last 20 years we assist to a movement towards internationally standardized of public sector accounting that led to the publication of 32 International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) for all public sector entities from national central governments to local governments (IFAC, 2008). These standards are accrual-basis and they emphasize the balance sheet approach, the fair value measurement and the revenue-expense approach (Hints, 2007). The main innovations are associated with the use of the balance sheet approach and the fair value measurement because, traditionally, public accounting systems are mainly focused on the revenue-expense approach and on historical cost valuation (Oulasvirta, 2014).

Linking customer satisfaction, quality, and strategic planning

By acknowledging and dissecting the interconnected roles of customer satisfaction, quality, and strategic planning, this paper provides an analytical framework for creating a customer-driven organization and culture. It shows how quality starts and ends with the customer. Companies that are achieving long-term continuous improvement in quality tailored to customer satisfaction possess lasting characteristics such as customer orientation, customer consciousness, and customer responsiveness. In doing so, they liberate the quality concept from the narrow product or service focus to encompass total conformance to customer requirements in spite of the existing functionalization and departmentalization of modern complex structures. In addition to these key components, a customer-driven organization demands building and nurturing a customer satisfaction culture and value system that makes quality improvement and heightened concern for customer satisfaction a permanent aspect of organizational life.

Do stakeholders matter in strategic decision making of a sports organization?

This study aims to identify and prioritize the stakeholders involved in making decisions in a sports organization. A multiple linear regression analysis was used to assess the influence of the attributes of power, legitimacy and urgency on the salience of the various stakeholders. The results showed a convergence of external and internal decision makers' perceptions, concerning the three main stakeholder groups: top management, sponsors and member association. Pearson correlations identified four types of stakeholder: definitive, dangerous, demanding and non-stakeholders. A generalized differentiation was also found in stakeholder classification, regarding evaluation of attributes, between external and internal decision makers. In addition, the study suggests the success of organizations' management will depend on correct identification of stakeholders and consequent assessment of their relevance, in order to highlight who should get priority, and how, in strategic decision making.

STRATEGIC DECISIONS OF FAMILY FIRMS ON CASH ACCUMULATION

ABSTRACTGiven the particular strengths, weaknesses, and peculiarities of family firms as well as the importance of liquidity in today’s marketplace, we analyze the distinct characteristics and strategies of family businesses related to the amount of cash a firm holds. We look beyond the traditional factors that influence decisions related to cash management to examine factors that are particularly important for family firms. Specifically, we outline the relevance of strategic decisions guided by family firms’ conservatism, flexibility, long-term view, and the active control that they have over family members. To our knowledge, no prior studies exist regarding family firms and their strategic adjustment of cash holding. Therefore, we investigate whether the ownership structure of the firm (through the presence of a controlling family) moderates decisions on cash holding. We found that family firms tend to accumulate cash for strategic reasons and as a result of their own idiosyncrasies. Thus, family firms can achieve optimal cash accumulation more efficiently than non-family firms.

Ensuring dynamic strategic fit of firms that compete globally in alliances and networks: proposing the Global SNA - Strategic Network Analysis - framework

In order to sustain their competitive advantage in the current increasingly globalized and turbulent context, more and more firms are competing globally in alliances and networks that oblige them to adopt new managerial paradigms and tools. However, their strategic analyses rarely take into account the strategic implications of these alliances and networks, considering their global relational characteristics, admittedly because of a lack of adequate tools to do so. This paper contributes to research that seeks to fill this gap by proposing the Global Strategic Network Analysis - SNA - framework. Its purpose is to help firms that compete globally in alliances and networks to carry out their strategic assessments and decision-making with a view to ensuring dynamic strategic fit from both a global and relational perspective.

O planejamento econômico no Brasil: considerações críticas

In the past thirty years, a series of plans have been developed by successive Brazilian governments in a continuing effort to maximize the nation's resources for economic and social growth. This planning history has been quantitatively rich but qualitatively poor. The disjunction has stimulated Professor Mello e Souza to address himself to the problem of national planning and to offer some criticisms of Brazilian planning experience. Though political instability has obviously been a factor promoting discontinuity, his criticisms are aimed at the attitudes and strategic concepts which have sought to link planning to national goals and administration. He criticizes the fascination with techniques and plans to the exclusion of proper diagnosis of the socio-political reality, developing instruments to coordinate and carry out objectives, and creating an administrative structure centralized enough to make national decisions and decentralized enough to perform on the basis of those decisions. Thus, fixed, quantified objectives abound while the problem of functioning mechanisms for the coordinated, rational use of resources has been left unattended. Although his interest and criticism are focused on the process and experience of national planning, he recognized variation in the level and results of Brazilian planning. National plans have failed due to faulty conception of the function of planning. Sectorial plans, save in the sector of the petroleum industry under government responsibility, ha e not succeeded in overcoming the problems of formulation and execution thereby repeating old technical errors. Planning for the private sector has a somewhat brighter history due to the use of Grupos Executivos which has enabled the planning process to transcend the formalism and tradition-bound attitudes of the regular bureaucracy. Regional planning offers two relatively successful experiences, Sudene and the strategy of the regionally oriented autarchy. Thus, planning history in Brazil is not entirely black but a certain shade of grey. The major part of the article, however, is devoted to a descriptive analysis of the national planning experience. The plans included in this analysis are: The Works and Equipment Plan (POE); The Health, Food, Transportation and Energy Plan (Salte); The Program of Goals; The Trienal Plan of Economic and Social Development; and the Plan of Governmental Economic Action (Paeg). Using these five plans for his historical experience the author sets out a series of errors of formulation and execution by which he analyzes that experience. With respect to formulation, he speaks of a lack of elaboration of programs and projects, of coordination among diverse goals, and of provision of qualified staff and techniques. He mentions the absence of the definition of resources necessary to the financing of the plan and the inadequate quantification of sectorial and national goals due to the lack of reliable statistical information. Finally, he notes the failure to coordinate the annual budget with the multi-year plans. He sees the problems of execution as beginning in the absence of coordination between the various sectors of the public administration, the failure to develop an operative system of decentralization, the absence of any system of financial and fiscal control over execution, the difficulties imposed by the system of public accounting, and the absence of an adequate program of allocation for the liberation of resources. He ends by pointing to the failure to develop and use an integrated system of political economic tools in a mode compatible with the objective of the plans. The body of the article analyzes national planning experience in Brazil using these lists of errors as rough model of criticism. Several conclusions emerge from this analysis with regard to planning in Brazil and in developing countries, in general. Plans have generally been of little avail in Brazil because of the lack of a continuous, bureaucratized (in the Weberian sense) planning organization set in an instrumentally suitable administrative structure and based on thorough diagnoses of socio-economic conditions and problems. Plans have become the justification for planning. Planning has come to be conceived as a rational method of orienting the process of decisions through the establishment of a precise and quantified relation between means and ends. But this conception has led to a planning history rimmed with frustration, and failure, because of its rigidity in the face of flexible and changing reality. Rather, he suggests a conception of planning which understands it "as a rational process of formulating decisions about the policy, economy, and society whose only demand is that of managing the instrumentarium in a harmonious and integrated form in order to reach explicit, but not quantified ends". He calls this "planning without plans": the establishment of broad-scale tendencies through diagnosis whose implementation is carried out through an adjustable, coherent instrumentarium of political-economic tools. Administration according to a plan of multiple, integrated goals is a sound procedure if the nation's administrative machinery contains the technical development needed to control the multiple variables linked to any situation of socio-economic change. Brazil does not possess this level of refinement and any strategy of planning relevant to its problems must recognize this. The reforms which have been attempted fail to make this recognition as is true of the conception of planning informing the Brazilian experience. Therefore, unworkable plans, ill-diagnosed with little or no supportive instrumentarium or flexibility have been Brazil's legacy. This legacy seems likely to continue until the conception of planning comes to live in the reality of Brazil.