Advancing Induced Models of Management Accounting Change: A Dynamic Perspective

Titolo Rivista MANAGEMENT CONTROL
Autori/Curatori Riccardo Giannetti, Lino Cinquini, Andrea Dello Sbarba
Anno di pubblicazione 2024 Fascicolo 2024/2 Suppl.
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 26 P. 99-124 Dimensione file 527 KB
DOI 10.3280/MACO2024-002-S1006
Il DOI è il codice a barre della proprietà intellettuale: per saperne di più clicca qui

Anteprima articolo

FrancoAngeli è membro della Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA)associazione indipendente e non profit per facilitare (attraverso i servizi tecnologici implementati da CrossRef.org) l’accesso degli studiosi ai contenuti digitali nelle pubblicazioni professionali e scientifiche

This research represents a progressive evolution of the induced model for man-agement accounting change (MAC), originally proposed by Innes and Mitchell (1990), later enriched by Cobb et al. (1995) and Kasurinen (2002). To this end, us-ing a longitudinal case study, this research employs Lewin’s (1943) force field the-ory to present and interpret the dynamics of contextual factors underlying the change scenario. The study makes two main contributions to the literature. First, it advances Kasurinen’s (2002) MAC framework by adding three elements that in-corporate a longitudinal perspective. The study acknowledges that the forces driv-ing change differ across organizations and evolve within individual organizations over time, both in terms of nature and intensity. This underscores the need for a flexible MAC model capable of tracking these forces at any given point in time. Moreover, the findings indicate that MAC can generate new factors that further influence its progression, underscoring the importance of understanding the chain reactions triggered by change. This is crucial for effectively managing both driving and restraining forces throughout MAC’s evolution. Finally, this study enhances Kasurinen’s model by expanding its components. Acknowledging that human agents are the primary drivers of MAC, the refined model emphasizes the roles of organizational actors in adopting new practices, assessing information, and deter-mining whether to continue, modify, or discontinue changes. These factors are es-sential for illustrating the dynamic evolution and interactions that drive organiza-tional development and transformation. The second contribution lies in validating Kurt Lewin’s force field theory within the domain of MAC. Although Lewin’s framework is widely used in organizational change and management studies, its application in management accounting has been largely overlooked. This study addresses that gap by demonstrating how Lewin’s framework effectively reveals how changes are initiated and managed, thereby extending the applicability of his approach to the new context.

Keywords:Management Accounting Change (MAC), Induced model, Force field theory, Budgeting system, Costing systems, Aviation industry

  1. Abernethy M.A., Chua W.F. (1996), A Field Study of Control System “Redesign”: The Impact of Institutional Processes on Strategic Choice, Contemporary Accounting Research, 13(2), pp. 569-606.
  2. Burnes B. (2007), Kurt Lewin and the Harwood studies: The foundations of OD, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 43(2), pp. 213-231. DOI: 10.1177/0021886306297004
  3. Abrahamsson G., Englund H., Gerdin J. (2011), Organizational identity and management accounting change, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 24(3), pp. 345-376. DOI: 10.1108/09513571111124045
  4. Amat J., Carmona S., Roberts H. (1994), Context and change in management accounting systems: a Spanish case study, Management Accounting Research, 5(2), pp. 107-122.
  5. Anderson S.W. (1995), A Framework for Assessing Cost Management System Changes: The case of Activity Based Costing Implementation at General Motors, 1986-1993, Michigan Business School Research Papers, 9501(4), pp. 1-46.
  6. Anderson S.W., Young S.M. (1999), The impact of contextual and process factors on the evaluation of activity-based costing systems, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 24(7), pp. 525-559. DOI: 10.1016/S0361-3682(99)00018-5
  7. Andon P., Baxter J., Chua W.F. (2007), Accounting change as relational drifting: A field study of experiments with performance measurement, Management Accounting Research, 18(2), pp. 273-308.
  8. Arroyo P. (2012), Management accounting change and sustainability: an institutional approach, Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 8(3), pp. 286-309, Emerald Group Publishing Limited. DOI: 10.1108/18325911211258317
  9. Baines A., Langfield-Smith K. (2003), Antecedents to management accounting change: A structural equation approach, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 28(7–8), pp. 675-698. DOI: 10.1016/S0361-3682(02)00102-2
  10. Bassani G., Pfister J.A., Cattaneo C. (2021), Management accounting change as an amplifier of a leadership dispute: an ethnography of convergent and divergent leader–follower relations, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 34(9), pp. 104-134. DOI: 10.1108/AAAJ-01-2020-4379
  11. Bell J., Hoque Z., Ansari S. (2009), Five easy pieces: A case study of cost management as organizational change, Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 5(2), pp. 139-167. DOI: 10.1108/18325910910963418
  12. Boje D., DuRant I., Coppedge K., Chambers T., Marcillo-Gomez M. (2011), Social materiality: A new direction in change management and action research, In Boje D., Burnes B., Hassard J. (eds), The Routledge Companion to Organizational Change, pp. 580-597, Routledge.
  13. Boohene R., Williams A. (2012), Resistance to organisational change: A case study of Oti Yeboah Complex Limited, International Business Management, 4(1), pp. 135-145.
  14. Bouten L., Hoozée S. (2013), On the interplay between environmental reporting and management accounting change, Management Accounting Research, 24(4), pp. 333-348.
  15. Bozan M.G. (2003), Using Lewin’s force field analysis in implementing a nursing information system, CIM: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 21(2), pp. 80-85. DOI: 10.1097/00024665-200303000-0000
  16. Briers M., Chua W.F. (2001), The role of actor-networks and boundary objects in management accounting change: a field study of an implementation of activity-based costing, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 26(3), pp. 237-269. DOI: 10.1016/S0361-3682(00)00029-5
  17. Broadbent J., Laughlin R. (1998), Resisting the “new public management”: Absorption and absorbing groups in schools and GP practices in the UK, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 11(4), pp. 403-435. DOI: 10.1108/09513579810231439
  18. Bruggeman W., Slagmulder R. (1995), The impact of technological change on management accounting, Management Accounting Research, 6(3), pp. 241-252.
  19. Burnes B. (2004), Kurt Lewin and the planned approach to change: A re-appraisal, Journal of Management Studies, 41(6), pp. 977-1002.
  20. Chua W.F. (1995), Experts, networks and inscriptions in the fabrication of accounting images: A story of the representation of three public hospitals, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 20(2–3), pp. 111-145. DOI: 10.1016/0361-3682(95)95744-H
  21. Cobb I., Helliar C., Innes J. (1995), Management accounting change in a bank, Management Accounting Research, 6(2), pp. 155-175.
  22. Cooke B. (2007), The Kurt Lewin/Goodwin Watson FBI files: A 60th anniversary ‘there and then’ of the ‘here and now,’ Human Relations, 60(3), pp. 435-462. DOI: 10.1177/0018726707076686
  23. Cooper S., Crowther D. (2008), The adoption of value-based management in large UK companies: A case for diffusion theory, Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 9(3), pp. 148-167. DOI: 10.1108/09675420810919711
  24. Corbin J., Strauss A. (2008), Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (3rd ed.), Sage.
  25. Covaleski M.A., Dirsmith M.W., Michelman J.E. (1993), An institutional theory perspective on the DRG framework, case-mix accounting systems and health-care organizations, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 18(1), pp. 65-80. DOI: 10.1016/0361-3682(93)90025-2.
  26. Cummings T.G., Worley C.G. (2005), Organization development and change (8th ed.), South-Western College Publishing.
  27. Dent J.F. (1991), Accounting and organizational cultures: A field study of the emergence of a new organizational reality, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 16(8), pp. 705-732. DOI: 10.1016/0361-3682(91)90021-6
  28. DeWalt K.M., DeWalt B.R. (2002), Participant observation: A guide for fieldworkers, AltaMira.
  29. Doganis R. (1992), The Airport Business, Routledge.
  30. Elsass P.M., Veiga J.F. (1994), Acculturation in acquired organizations: A force-field perspective, Human Relations, 47(4), pp. 431-453. DOI: 10.1177/001872679404700404
  31. Englund H., Gerdin J., Abrahamsson G. (2013), Accounting ambiguity and structural change, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 26(3), pp. 423-448. DOI: 10.1108/09513571311311883
  32. French W.L., Bell C.H. (1990), Organization development (4th ed.), Prentice Hall.
  33. Gable S., Chyung S., Marker A., Winiecki D. (2010), How should organizational leaders use employee engagement survey data?, Performance Improvement, 49(4), pp. 17-25.
  34. Giannetti R., Cinquini L., Miolo Vitali P., Mitchell F. (2021), Management accounting change as a learning process: a longitudinal analysis, Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management, 18(4–5), pp. 484-515. DOI: 10.1108/QRAM-01-2017-0003
  35. Gosselin M. (2011), Contextual factors affecting the deployment of innovative performance measurement systems, Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 12(3), pp. 260-277. DOI: 10.1108/09675421111187692
  36. Graham A. (2003), Managing airports: an international perspective (2nd edition), Butterworth Heinemann.
  37. Granlund M. (2001), Towards explaining stability in and around management accounting systems, Management Accounting Research, 12(2), pp. 141-166.
  38. Greenwood R., Hinings C.R. (1996), Understanding Radical Organizational Change: Bringing together the Old and the New Institutionalism, The Academy of Management Review, 21(4), pp. 1022-1054. DOI: 10.2307/259163
  39. Hiebl M.R.W., Feldbauer-Durstmüller B., Duller C. (2013), The changing role of management accounting in the transition from a family business to a non-family business, Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change, 9(2), pp. 119-154. DOI: 10.1108/18325911311325933
  40. Hopwood A.G. (1987), The archaeology of accounting systems, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 12(3), pp. 207-234. DOI: 10.1016/0361-3682(87)90038-9
  41. Hoque Z. (2011), The relations among competition, delegation, management accounting systems change and performance: A path model, Advances in Accounting, 27(2), pp. 266-277.
  42. Hubbard R., Vetter D.E. (1996), An empirical comparison of published replication research in accounting, economics, finance, management, and marketing, Journal of Business Research, 35(2), pp. 153-164. DOI: 10.1016/0148-2963(95)00084-4
  43. Hubbard R., Vetter D.E., Little E.L. (1998), Replication in strategic management: scientific testing for validity, generalizability, and usefulness, Strategic Management Journal, 19(3), pp. 243-254.
  44. Hughes M. (2007), The tools and techniques of change management, Journal of Change Management, 7(1), pp. 37-49. DOI: 10.1080/14697010701309435
  45. Innes J., Mitchell F. (1990), The process of change in management accounting: some field study evidence, Management Accounting Research, 1(1), pp. 3-19. DOI: 10.1016/S1044-5005(90)70042-X
  46. Ittner C.D., Larcker D.F. (2001), Assessing empirical research in managerial accounting: a value-based management perspective, Journal of Accounting and Economics, 32(1–3), pp. 349-410. DOI: 10.1016/S0165-4101(01)00026-X
  47. Jansen E.P. (2011), The effect of leadership style on the information receivers’ reaction to management accounting change, Management Accounting Research, 22(2), pp. 105-124.
  48. Jönsson S., Lukka K. (2006), There and Back Again: Doing Interventionist Research in Management Accounting, In Chapman C.S., Hopwood A.G., Shields M.D. (eds), Handbook of Management Accounting Research (Vol. 1), Elsevier.
  49. Jorgensen D.L. (1989), Participant Observation: A Methodology for Human Studies, SAGE Publications, Inc.
  50. Kasurinen T. (2002), Exploring management accounting change: The case of balanced scorecard implementation, Management Accounting Research, 13(3), pp. 323-343.
  51. Keating P.J. (1995), A framework for classifying and evaluating the theoretical contribution of case research in management accounting, Journal of Management Accounting Research, 7, pp. 66-86.
  52. Laitinen E.K. (2001), Management accounting change in small technology companies: Towards a mathematical model of the technology firm, Management Accounting Research, 12(4), pp. 507-541.
  53. Langley A. (1999), Strategies for Theorizing from Process Data, The Academy of Management Review, 24(4), pp. 691-710. DOI: 10.2307/259349
  54. Laughlin R., Broadbent J., Willig‐Atherton H. (1994), Recent Financial and Administrative Changes in GP Practices in the UK: Initial Experiences and Effects, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 7(3), pp. 96-124. DOI: 10.1108/09513579410064141
  55. Lewin K. (1942), Field theory and learning, In Cartwright D. (ed), Field theory in social science: Selected theoretical papers by Kurt Lewin, pp. 60-86, Social Science Paperbacks.
  56. Lewin K. (1943a), Defining the ‘field at a given time,’ In Cartwright D. (ed), Field theory in social science: Selected theoretical papers by Kurt Lewin, pp. 43-59, Social Science Paperbacks.
  57. Lewin K. (1943b), Forces behind food habits and methods of change, Bulletin of the National Research Council, 108, pp. 35-65.
  58. Lewin K. (1943c), Psychological ecology, In Cartwright D. (ed), Field theory in social science: Selected theoretical papers by Kurt Lewin, pp. 17-187, Social Science Paperbacks.
  59. Lewin K. (1947a), Frontiers in group dynamics, In Cartwright D. (ed), Field theory in social science: Selected theoretical papers by Kurt Lewin, pp. 188-237, Social Science Paperbacks.
  60. Lewin K. (1947b), Group decisions and social change, In Newcomb T.M., Hartley E.L. (eds), Readings in social psychology, pp. 330-344, Henry Holt.
  61. Lewin M. (1998), Kurt Lewin: His psychology and a daughter’s recollections, In Kimble G.A., Wertheimer M. (eds), Portraits of pioneers in psychology (Vol. 3), pp. 105-120, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  62. Libby T., Waterhouse J.H. (1996), Predicting Change in Management Accounting Systems, Journal of Management Accounting Research, 8, pp. 137-150.
  63. Lukka G., Modell S. (2010), Validation in interpretive management accounting research, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 35(4), pp. 462-477.
  64. Miller D., Friesen P.H. (1984), A Longitudinal Study of the Corporate Life Cycle, Management Science, 30(10), pp. 1161-1183.
  65. Miller P. (1991), Accounting innovation beyond the enterprise: Problematizing investment decisions and programming economic growth in the U.K. in the 1960s, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 16(8), pp. 733-762. DOI: 10.1016/0361-3682(91)90022-7
  66. Munir R., Baird K., Perera S. (2013), Performance measurement system change in an emerging economy bank, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 26(2), pp. 196-233. DOI: 10.1108/09513571311303710
  67. Ogden S.G. (1997), Accounting for organizational performance: The construction of the customer in the privatized water industry, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 22(6), pp. 529-556. DOI: 10.1016/S0361-3682(96)00027-X
  68. Ogden S.G., Anderson F. (1999), The role of accounting in organisational change: promoting performance improvements in the privatised UK water industry, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 10(1), pp. 91-124.
  69. Otley D., Berry A. (1994), Case study research in management accounting and control, Management Accounting Research, 5, pp. 45-65.
  70. Pigatto G., Cinquini L., Tenucci A., Dumay J. (2023), Serendipity and management accounting change, Meditari Accountancy Research, 31(7), pp. 88-115. DOI: 10.1108/MEDAR-09-2021-1450
  71. Revellino S., Mouritsen J. (2009), The multiplicity of controls and the making of innovation, European Accounting Review, 18(2), pp. 341-369. DOI: 10.1080/09638180802681529
  72. Revellino S., Mouritsen J. (2015), Accounting as an engine: The performativity of calculative practices and the dynamics of innovation, Management Accounting Research, 28, pp. 31-49.
  73. Scapens R.W. (1990), Researching management accounting practice: The role of case study methods, The British Accounting Review, 22(3), pp. 259-281. DOI: 10.1016/0890-8389(90)90008-6
  74. Scapens R.W., Roberts J. (1993), Accounting and control: a case study of resistance to accounting change, Management Accounting Research, 4(1), pp. 1-32.
  75. Schwering R.E. (2003), Focusing leadership through force field analysis: New variations on a venerable planning tool, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 24(7), pp. 361-370.
  76. Shields M.D. (1995), An Empirical Analysis of Firms’ Implementation Experiences with Activity-Based Costing, Journal of Management Accounting Research, 7, pp. 148-166.
  77. Shrivastava S.R., Shrivastava P.S., Ramasamy J. (2017), Force field analysis: An effective tool in qualitative research, Journal of Current Research in Scientific Medicine, 3(2), pp. 139-140.
  78. Soin K., Seal W., Cullen J. (2002), ABC and organizational change: an institutional perspective, Management Accounting Research, 13(2), pp. 249-271.
  79. Somekh B. (2006), Action Research: A Methodology for Change and Development, Open University Press.
  80. Sulaiman S., Mitchell F. (2005), Utilising a typology of management accounting change: An empirical analysis, Management Accounting Research, 16(4), pp. 422-437.
  81. Swanson D.J., Creed A.S. (2014), Sharpening the focus of force field analysis, Journal of Change Management, 14(1), pp. 28-47. DOI: 10.1080/14697017.2013.788052
  82. Taylor L.C., Scapens R.W. (2016), The role of identity and image in shaping management accounting change, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 29(6), pp. 1075-1099. DOI: 10.1108/AAAJ-10-2014-1835
  83. Thakkar J., Deshmukh S.G., Shastree A. (2006), Total quality management (TQM) in self-financed technical institutions: A quality function deployment (QFD) and force field analysis approach, Quality Assurance in Education, 14(1), pp. 54-74. DOI: 10.1108/09684880610643610
  84. Thrane S., Balslev L. (2017), Institutional contradictions and change of organisations and accounting: Case evidence from Greenland, Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change, 13(3), pp. 310-330. DOI: 10.1108/JAOC-02-2016-0009
  85. Vaivio J. (1999), Exploring a “non-financial” management accounting change, Management Accounting Research, 10(4), pp. 409-437.
  86. Valuckas D. (2019), Budgeting reconsidered: exploring change initiative in a bank, Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change, 15(1), pp. 100-126. DOI: 10.1108/JAOC-10-2016-0060
  87. Waggoner D.B., Neely A.D., Kennerley M.P. (1999), The forces that shape organisational performance measurement systems: An interdisciplinary review, In Int. J. Production Economics, 60.
  88. Whitehead J., McNiff J. (2006), All You Need To Know About Action, SAGE Publications.
  89. Yin R.K. (2018), Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods (6th ed.), Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
  90. Zimmerman B.J. (2001), Achieving Academic Excellence: A Self-Regulatory Perspective (2nd ed.), Routledge.
  91. Burnes B., Cooke B. (2013), Kurt Lewin’s field theory: A review and re-evaluation, International Journal of Management Reviews, 15(4), pp. 408-425.
  92. Chanegrih T. (2008), Applying a typology of management accounting change: A research note, Management Accounting Research, 19(3), pp. 278-285.

Riccardo Giannetti, Lino Cinquini, Andrea Dello Sbarba, Advancing Induced Models of Management Accounting Change: A Dynamic Perspective in "MANAGEMENT CONTROL" 2 Suppl./2024, pp 99-124, DOI: 10.3280/MACO2024-002-S1006