Sharlene Anderson and Chris Guilding
To explore the nature and potential of competitor‐focused accounting practice (CFA) in a large hotel.
Abstract
Purpose
To explore the nature and potential of competitor‐focused accounting practice (CFA) in a large hotel.
Design/methodology/approach
Unstructured tape‐recorded interviews ranging from one to one‐and‐a‐half hours' duration were conducted with 21 senior managers representing finance, marketing, hotel operations, casino, and human resource management in a large hotel.
Findings
Levels of CFA formalised application appear limited, especially when compared with a widely held managerial perception that significant benefits could derive from applying CFA. The CFA practices noted were conducted in an unstructured and ad hoc manner. The main generic use of CFA is in connection with sensitising staff with respect to competitors’ strengths and also strategy development. The hotel shared occupancy level information with competing hotels.
Research limitations/implications
The study suffers from all the limitations generally associated with a single company qualitative field study. These limitations include the degree of subjectivity that is invoked when researchers interpret qualitative field study data.
Practical implications
The paper clarifies the notion of “CFA” and provides an outline of CFA management issues arising in the context of a hotel. An outline is provided of those parts of a hotel operation that are most likely to be more active in CFA, together with empirically informed suggestions with respect to CFA uses in a hotel.
Originality/value
The paper is highly original. Despite the generally accepted importance of strategy development being informed by appropriately conducted competitor analysis, there has been a paucity of research concerned with competitor analysis in the hotel industry.
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Sharlene Chadwick and Joanne Travaglia
During the past decade, there has been increased attention into bullying behaviours in workplaces. Research to date has varied in design, the definition of what constitutes…
Abstract
Purpose
During the past decade, there has been increased attention into bullying behaviours in workplaces. Research to date has varied in design, the definition of what constitutes bullying behaviour, as well as the methods used to collect data and measure bullying incidence and prevalence. Nonetheless, studies demonstrate that bullying is a significant issue, which warrants an increased research focus to develop greater understanding of the concept, its effects and implications in, and for, the workplace. The purpose of this paper is to focus on capturing a range of international and Australian literature regarding workplace bullying behaviours in a health context from a management perspective. As a result, this paper identified the gaps in the literature when expanded specifically to an Australian health context.
Design/methodology/approach
The purpose of this review is to summarise the existing literature, both internationally and in Australia which examines workplace bullying behaviours in a health context from a management perspective. This describes the review of the literature on workplace bullying in a health context undertaken from January to April 2014. The “Preferred Reporting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses” method was used to structure the review, which covered a wide range of literature from databases including MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and InformIT, as well as reports, and grey literature.
Findings
The review included 62 studies that met the inclusion criteria and reported either: factors contributing to workplace bullying, at least one significant example of workplace bullying behaviour or the impact of workplace bullying behaviours in a health context.
Originality/value
There is limited data on workplace bullying behaviours in an Australian health context. The literature supports there is value in future research to develop consistent definitions, policies, procedures and frameworks, which could help to prevent or address workplace bullying behaviours based on work being undertaken internationally.
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Sharlene Biswas and Chris Akroyd
The purpose of this paper is to examine the governance of inter-firm co-development in an open innovation setting and show how a stage-gate product development process can be used…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the governance of inter-firm co-development in an open innovation setting and show how a stage-gate product development process can be used to support this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopt a qualitative case-study approach informed by ethnomethodology. Data were obtained via semi-structured interviews and document analysis.
Findings
They found that in an open innovation setting – where the producing partner relies on a research partner for all product development activities – a stage-gate product development process can act as a governance mechanism, as it enables the development of trust and cooperation which supports the co-development relationship.
Research limitations/implications
The implication of this finding is that a stage-gate process can be a flexible governance mechanism, which can adapt over time in relation to the needs of the co-development partners in an open innovation setting. This also lays the groundwork for future research to explore the applicability of this tool in other settings, e.g. outsourcing arrangements as well as help guide the design and implementation of future governance mechanisms.
Originality/value
In the context of accounting research, this paper helps practitioners and academics understand how a stage-gate process can be used as a governance mechanism to manage and control co-development projects in an open innovation setting.
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Sharlene Sheetal Narayan Biswas, Chris Akroyd and Norio Sawabe
Using institutional theory, this study aims to understand how the management control systems (MCSs) designed by top managers influence the micro-level process practices of…
Abstract
Purpose
Using institutional theory, this study aims to understand how the management control systems (MCSs) designed by top managers influence the micro-level process practices of organization members during product innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports on a case study carried out at NZMed to examine the design and use of MCSs and their product innovation practices. Simons’ levers of control was used to understand the ways in which MCSs were designed and used in a product innovation setting.
Findings
The findings indicate that the everyday micro-level processes of organization members encoded MCS when their espoused values aligned with those of top managers. However, when the perspectives within the organization differed, variations to the micro-level processes of organization members emerged. The authors show how this resulted in an increase in innovation capabilities necessary to meet organizational goals.
Practical implications
The misalignment between espoused values and enacted values had a positive effect as it helped the organization maintain their innovation culture, and build long-term trusting relationships with suppliers which enabled the achievement of organizational goals.
Originality/value
By focusing on the relationship between MCS and the micro-level processes of organization members in product innovation, the paper shows how the lack of alignment between the espoused values of top management and the enacted values of project managers explained the variations between the MCS used by top managers and the practices of project teams at our case study company.
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Chris Akroyd, Sharlene Sheetal Narayan Biswas and Sharon Chuang
This paper examines how the management control practices of organization members enable the alignment of product development projects with potentially conflicting corporate…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines how the management control practices of organization members enable the alignment of product development projects with potentially conflicting corporate strategies during the product development process.
Methodology/approach
Using an ethnomethodology informed research approach, we carry out a case study of an innovative New Zealand food company. Case study data included an internal company document, interviews with organization members, and an external market analysis document.
Findings
Our case study company had both sales growth and profit growth corporate strategies which have been argued to cause tensions. We found that four management control practices enabled the alignment of product development projects to these strategies. The first management control practice was having the NPD and marketing functions responsible for different corporate strategies. Other management control practices included the involvement of organization members from across multiple functions, the activities they carried out, and the measures used to evaluate project performance during the product development process.
Research limitations/implications
These findings add new insights to the management accounting literature by showing how a combination of management control practices can be used by organization members to align projects with potentially conflicting corporate strategies during the product development process.
Practical implications
While the alignment of product development projects to corporate strategy is not easy this study shows how it can be enabled through a number of management control practices.
Originality/value
We contribute to the management accounting research in this area by extending our understanding of the management control practices used during the product development process.