Henk-Jan van Roekel and Martijn van der Steen
This paper aims to uncover how implementation practices affect the unfolding of integration as the ideal of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. In this way, the authors…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to uncover how implementation practices affect the unfolding of integration as the ideal of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. In this way, the authors aim to provide a better understanding of the ways in which the ideal of integration affects the complexity of ERP systems.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper interprets a case study of the implementation of an ERP system in a Dutch company.
Findings
The paper highlights how different variations of an object of integration were enacted during an ERP implementation. The authors observe how the interests of the various actors were not always served by the variations of integration in circulation. They illustrate how this resulted in a failure of the network to be folded into a taken-for-granted configuration of constituent parts. Consequentially, having multiple variations of integration contributed to increased complexity of the system.
Originality/value
The paper highlights how multiple variations of a single object of integration are brought into circulation. Such perspective enables a better understanding of some of the complexities associated with ERP implementations.
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Martijn van der Steen, Mark van Twist, Maarten van der Vlist and Roger Demkes
This paper aims to argue that utilising foresight becomes a more useful tool to organisational management, if the innovative technique of “creative competition” is applied. In an…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to argue that utilising foresight becomes a more useful tool to organisational management, if the innovative technique of “creative competition” is applied. In an empirical analysis, it seeks to show how the technique of creative competition was used in a scenario‐project. The case study shows how and why the technique of creative competition “worked”. These findings will then be used to explore the broader application of creative competition in organisational foresight.
Design/methodology/approach
The study first elaborates theoretically on the difference between “forecast” and “foresight” and explores how the addition of the organisational dimension to these terms changes their meanings. It then focuses on the organisation that commissioned the study – Rijkswaterstaat – and describes its history with respect to exploring the future and certain other relevant contextual elements of the case study, such as how the project was organised. After that, it conceptualises the RWS2020 project as an example of using “organisational foresight” and discusses the concept of “creative competition” as a means of bringing “organisation” and “foresight” closer together. The paper then describes what creative competition was used in the case, how it worked in the case study, and how “the game” of creative competition was played. It formulates conclusions on the basis of this case study and then reflects on the findings.
Findings
Application of creative competition adds to the integration of foresight in organizational management and organizational change. It supports a more future orientedness in strategic management. Further analysis of other cases is needed to further strengthen theory about application of the method of creative competition.
Originality/value
The technique of creative competition is relatively new and has not been theorized as yet. Organizational foresight has been used as a concept, but has hardly been theorized and empirically tested as well. The paper does both, in an exploratory way. It provides interesting insight into the working of organizational foresight for both academics and practitioners, and identifies strategic choices for managers conducting organizational foresight studies with or without the use of creative competition.
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Andrea Bellisario, Andrey Pavlov and Martijn Pieter van der Steen
This paper aims to address an important theoretical shortcoming in the conceptualization of internal alignment by investigating the cognitive processes involved in aligning…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to address an important theoretical shortcoming in the conceptualization of internal alignment by investigating the cognitive processes involved in aligning operations with strategy and the role of performance measurement (PM) in sustaining these processes.
Design/methodology/approach
A theory-building study investigates the process of using PM to drive the implementation of a new strategy in a large beer manufacturer in Italy. The study uses a sensemaking perspective to theorize the findings. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, field observations and company documents.
Findings
This study develops a theoretical model suggesting that establishing and maintaining internal alignment occurs through seeking, assembling, adjusting and finalizing the meaning of how strategic priorities inform local action. PM plays a central role in this process by providing interpretive support.
Research limitations/implications
This article advances a cognition-centred view of internal alignment that complements the behavioural aspect of the phenomenon emphasized in prior literature.
Practical implications
Using PM for aligning operations with strategy is a complex and iterative process that requires time and effort and generates temporary stability. Managers may need to complement traditional approaches to alignment with providing space for sensemaking.
Originality/value
The paper proposes a view of internal alignment as an ongoing interpretive process that is sustained by PM. This process brings about the consistency of meanings that generates strategy-consistent behaviours.
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Martijn Pieter van der Steen and Sandra Tillema
The purpose of this paper is to address the impact of a multidivisional structure on the implementation of lean manufacturing. It investigates how the controls employed by the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address the impact of a multidivisional structure on the implementation of lean manufacturing. It investigates how the controls employed by the corporate level impact the local implementation of lean manufacturing.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reports on case studies in three subsidiaries in different multidivisional organisations.
Findings
The paper finds that lean manufacturing can be severely constrained by the accounting-based controls which are commonly in place in a multidivisional structure. Depending on the degree of centralisation, subsidiaries may be restricted to implementing lean tools in a fragmented way, rather than acting according to a coherent set of principles.
Practical implications
Companies may have to accept that being part of a multidivisional organisation can imply that their lean implementation is more gradual and piecemeal than they prefer. The paper proposes several ways to mitigate the constraints that may arise from incompatibilities between accounting-based controls and lean controls.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature about external constraints on production innovations, such as lean manufacturing. It highlights how the organisational context creates local conditions that may be detrimental to the implementation of lean manufacturing.
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Philip Marcel Karré, Martijn van der Steen and Mark van Twist
In these times of financial austerity and the emergence of wicked problems, traditional Public Administration and New Public Management as government's conventional mechanisms to…
Abstract
In these times of financial austerity and the emergence of wicked problems, traditional Public Administration and New Public Management as government's conventional mechanisms to steer society often fail to produce desired societal outcomes. This has made the governments of many Western nations call for civic engagement hoping this will lead to the emergence of a resilient society that can resist and react to even the most major shocks and disasters by being flexible and adaptive (Longstaff, 2005; Meijs, 2004; Wildavsky, 1988). A recent example of this broader trend are the discussions in the United Kingdom on how government can help create a Big Society, in which local people and communities feel empowered to deal with social problems on their own, without the interference of politics or governmental busybodies.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics involved in the emergence and change of management accounting routines. It seeks to provide an understanding of the ways in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics involved in the emergence and change of management accounting routines. It seeks to provide an understanding of the ways in which these complex routines foster stability and change in management accounting practices.
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal case study was conducted at the Rabobank Groningen – an autonomous member of the cooperative Rabobank group – over a period of four years. The emergence of a new routine of planning and control was traced, which evolved substantially over the period of study.
Findings
It was found that the cognitive representations of the routine studied, i.e. the way it was subjectively understood, provided a temporarily stable basis for the routine. Change arose from improvisations through its recurrent performances. It was also found that change could result from complex dynamics in the routine, as opposed to viewing them as static and stable entities that react to “external” stimuli.
Research limitations/implications
The research findings contribute to an understanding of the reproduction of management accounting routines and the ways in which change can arise in these routines. It provides a means to study the micro‐processes of reproduction of routines, which play an important part in institutional theories of management accounting change.
Originality/value
This paper places management accounting routines and their processes of reproduction at the centre of the argument to provide an understanding of the role of routines in accounting change. Since the notion of management accounting routines has not been developed extensively, this understanding contributes to studies into the nature of routines and their role in management accounting change.
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This paper aims to investigate ways in which inertia obstructs the adoption of new management accounting rules. Drawing on the view of management accounting as organisational…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate ways in which inertia obstructs the adoption of new management accounting rules. Drawing on the view of management accounting as organisational rules and routines, it aims to suggest various ways in which inertia can become more pronounced when new accounting rules challenge existing routines.
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal case study was conducted at one of the largest banks in The Netherlands. This bank introduced a program called “Results Oriented Management”, which produced various new management accounting rules.
Findings
The paper identifies various ways in which inertia manifested itself when new management accounting rules were introduced. Moreover, the paper shows that ambiguity and contradictions play an important role in the presence of inertia.
Research limitations/implications
The identification of individual‐level habits and scripts is a difficult undertaking. Through a focus on the performative and ostensive aspects of routines, some of the processes of inertia and change on an individual level are identified. This is a relevant method for students of management accounting change.
Originality/value
Although it is well known that routines can produce inertia, the process by which this inertia is manifested and how this affects the adoption of new management accounting rules is still unclear. The paper aims to contribute to this understanding.
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Sandra Groeneveld and Steven Van de Walle
Multifaceted issues such as safety, social inclusion, poverty, mobility, rural development, city regeneration or labour market integration require integrated approaches in their…
Abstract
Multifaceted issues such as safety, social inclusion, poverty, mobility, rural development, city regeneration or labour market integration require integrated approaches in their steering. Governments are looking for instruments that can address the boundary-spanning nature of many social problems. In their quest to achieve valued social outcomes, they struggle with their new role, and the inadequacy of both market working and government-led central agency. After three decades of New Public Management (NPM)-style reforms, the strengths and weaknesses of this philosophy have become widely apparent. Fragmentation is a prominent observation in many evaluations of the NPM approach. The fragmentation of both policy and implementation lead to unsatisfactory public outcomes and a heightened experience of a loss of control on the part of policymakers. Achieving valued and sustainable outcomes requires collaboration between government departments, private actors, non-profit organisations, and citizens and requires tools that integrate the lessons of NPM with the new necessities of coordinated public governance. The public administration literature has in recent years been concerned with the ‘what's next?’ question, and many alternatives to NPM have been proposed.