Rúben Silva Barros and Ana Maria Dias Simões da Costa Ferreira
By designing a pilot time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) model, this study aims to examine in depth the suitability and the complexity of TDABC in a manufacturing company.
Abstract
Purpose
By designing a pilot time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) model, this study aims to examine in depth the suitability and the complexity of TDABC in a manufacturing company.
Design/methodology/approach
To obtain a deeper understanding on the matters to analyse, this research adopts an interventionist approach. The host organisation is GP, a Portuguese company in the frozen food sector.
Findings
The authors’ experience allows them to assert that TDABC is suitable for a manufacturing company and it is able to deal with the variability of the industrial processes. Nonetheless, through a comparison with the models presented in the literature, TDABC appears to be more complex for manufacturing. The authors argue that this happens for two reasons. First, the two types of resources (human labour and machinery) used in production areas create a need to split tasks and to create two equations for each process, something that does not happen in service companies. Second, times are difficult to individualise for certain highly automated procedures, which could also give rise to some errors.
Research limitations/implications
The designed model is compared to other models presented in the literature.
Practical implications
This study shows a real example of TDABC in manufacturing and the procedural innovation of the time equations.
Originality/value
As the TDABC literature has been mostly focused on examples of service companies, the authors examine the technical suitability and the complexity of TDABC in manufacturing companies.
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Gustavo Silva, Leandro F. Pereira, José Crespo Carvalho, Rui Vinhas da Silva and Ana Simoes
This study aims to conduct a pertinent assessment of the concept of business competitiveness and how Portugal can progress in that field, for the sake of becoming a more…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to conduct a pertinent assessment of the concept of business competitiveness and how Portugal can progress in that field, for the sake of becoming a more sustainable and wealth-creator economy.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was elaborated with 65 in-depth interviews with expert persons from the Portuguese business ecosystem, who were asked to reflect on the state of the economy and competitiveness of the country.
Findings
There is much room for improvement in almost all areas of activity, in particular by promoting an innovative, value-adding and exporting private sector and a lighter and more efficient public sector. The conclusions point to modernisation of the Portuguese economy as a way of making it more competitive in a highly competitive and demanding global scenario.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first time that a reflection with experts of the local Portuguese economy has been carried out, especially after a difficult period of COVID.
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Rúben Silva Barros and Ana Maria Dias Simões da Costa Ferreira
The purpose of this study is to present the evolution of thinking on the role of management control systems (MCSs) in innovation, according to the development of control…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to present the evolution of thinking on the role of management control systems (MCSs) in innovation, according to the development of control practices, and to provide a reflection on the achievements of the more recent literature.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper assesses articles, books and book chapters that have explored MCSs in innovation, together with seminal works on management accounting and control.
Findings
Moving from the traditional phase where MCSs were seen as detrimental to innovation, the literature has now reached a new consensus that attributes a positive role to control. In this recent phase, it arises from the literature that MCSs in the realm of innovation should embrace a multiplicity of controls; MCSs depend on the magnitude and innovation mode of a company; MCSs evolve over time; and that synergies and tensions are expected to arise. Adding these factors to the inherent complexity of innovation, the assertion is that qualitative approaches should be undertaken to infuse the field with more fine-grained evidence. It is also proposed that this methodological approach be used to address the following points: (1) the use of multiple controls; (2) synergies and tensions; and (3) behavioural aspects of controls in relation with innovation.
Originality/value
The paper is of value for researchers who have an interest in studying the use of MCSs in innovation and in qualitative research and proposes some areas of research that could be explored.
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Rúben Silva Barros and Ana Maria Dias Simões da Costa Ferreira
Building on the growing body of research that has addressed management control systems and innovation, the purpose of this study is to assess the extent and nature of the use of…
Abstract
Purpose
Building on the growing body of research that has addressed management control systems and innovation, the purpose of this study is to assess the extent and nature of the use of controls in an innovative setting and how they work together unveiling the relationships and tensions amongst the Simons’ levers.
Design/methodology/approach
This study resorts to an in-depth and single case study in a company that has both a strong orientation to innovation and stable control practices in place. Evidence was collected from 32 interviews, visits to the company and internal documentation.
Findings
At the case company, it was possible to find the presence of controls according to all the levers of control. Likewise, joint effects of controls used according to interactive and beliefs approaches and diagnostic and boundary controls showed a consistent reinforcement that push the organization in a single direction. Signs of some countervailing reinforcement between these pairs were also detected, creating tensions. This in general shows that innovation can be weighed against the necessity of goal achievement taking place within fields in which the company can exploit the effort developed.
Originality/value
This study documents the collective use of controls in a context in which innovation is needed and how the combination of the levers of control with their inner workings and tensions allow the company to have a corporate environment of innovation that is friendly.
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Ana Simões, Américo Azevedo and Suzete Gonçalves
Hospital centres (HCs) are the result of a horizontal integration of two or more hospital units. The benefits of this integration have been presented in the literature. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Hospital centres (HCs) are the result of a horizontal integration of two or more hospital units. The benefits of this integration have been presented in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to define the hospital performance dimensions most valued by HC internal stakeholders, and to evaluate if the importance given to each dimension is different when comparing professional groups.
Design/methodology/approach
An in-depth HC case study using a quantitative survey based on the Parsons’ social system action theory to achieve this goal was conducted which embraces the four major models of organizational performance. In the final version of the survey, 37 items were retained for analysis. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted for a final sample of 365 participants, through principal component analysis, with oblique rotation and the Kaiser criterion.
Findings
Four factors were retained: “Human resources development and Internal Processes”, “Attractiveness/Openness”, “Public service mission” and “Interpersonal relationships”. The means factor scores only reveal statistical differences between the attractiveness/openness factor and the remaining three factors. A shared view was found in this study among the three groups of internal stakeholders: physicians, caregivers and administrative staff.
Originality/value
The results of this study suggest that the HC performance concept should be expanded and performance measurement frameworks with a greater scope should be used. Interpersonal relationships, the human resources development and the public service are considered important dimensions for the performance measurement of the HC. Additionally, a consensual view regarding the most valued performance dimension could contribute to a beneficial and healthy working environment and improvements in HC performance.
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Rita Basílio de Simões, Inês Amaral and Ana Marta M. Flores
This chapter focuses on the meanings that young adults ascribed to their practices on mobile app-based platforms, recurring to diary records. Combining their emic perspectives and…
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the meanings that young adults ascribed to their practices on mobile app-based platforms, recurring to diary records. Combining their emic perspectives and etic knowledge, we sought to identify young adults' performances, emotions and beliefs to make sense of contemporary digital practices' social and cultural role. Research has shown that, along with ordering everyday experiences and providing convenience, ease and speed, digital technologies also establish asymmetrical relations between the different actors in the mediation process, with platform affordances enabling or constraining specific actions based on power relations. Adopting this critical standpoint, the conceptual frames they trigger, and the patterns of usages that young adult users regard as distinct and significant, we argue that normalising apps' daily practices should be seen as embedded in broader neoliberal governmentality.
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Eduardo Simőes, Ana Patricia Duarte, Kanji Tanimoto, Ana Simaens and Vasco Rato