Author(s): Robalo, Rui Manuel da Costa
Date: 2011
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10216/10770
Origin: Repositório Aberto da Universidade do Porto
Subject(s): Contabilidade de gestão; Processos de mudança; Confiança; Poder; Estudo de caso.; Management accounting; Processes of change; Trust; Power; Case study.; CIÊNCIAS EMPRESARIAIS; Porto
This thesis is the result of a longitudinal in-depth case study conducted from January 2003 until February 2006 within a public sector Portuguese postal company, POST, in order to enhance comprehension about the adoption, implementation and use in practice of two new management accounting systems in this specific organisation. The current thesis is composed of three essays that explore several issues of the processes of management accounting change in POST. In the first essay I argue that trust-building processes are crucial for a better understanding of the decision-making processes that lead companies to adopt new management technologies such as management accounting systems. Although there are economic and organisational arguments which may suggest that the implementation of a new management accounting system is due to efficiency reasons, these arguments alone are not sufficient to decide on its adoption. Trust relationships between the parties involved are needed for new management accounting systems to be introduced in organisations. At POST, the trust-building processes between a series of Boards of Directors and two other bodies consultancy firms and the Planning and Control Office (PCO), which is an internal organisational area were fundamental in the adoption of two new management accounting systems. The PCO, as well as the consultants, argued for the introduction of these systems based on reasons of efficiency in order to convince each of the successive Boards of their usefulness. However, it was the different types of trust built up between the afore-mentioned bodies through repeated interactions over time that eventually led one of the Boards to adopt these systems. The different types of trust built up are identified in this essay according to Kramer s (1999) proposed definitions. In the second essay I investigate how and why the implementation processes of two new management accounting systems in POST were influenced by strategies of power. In particular, I explore the strategies of power adopted by a particular organisational area, the PCO, intended to maintain its power position within POST. The strategies of power adopted by the PCO are interpreted in the light of the different dimensions of power proposed in Hardy s (1996) framework. Furthermore, I extend this framework as a result of the limitation it has in explaining the `power of the system in POST, which encompasses both `unconscious and `conscious behaviours. In the third essay, insights from Burns and Scapens (2000) framework, including its extensions, have been applied in order to explain the existing gap between the rules of the newly implemented management accounting systems and their use in practice (routines). The study adds some theoretical insights to Burns and Scapens framework. Firstly, it demonstrates that a change that follows established routines and institutions may be as difficult to implement as a change that challenges them. Secondly, it emphasises the importance of trust and power issues in understanding how the new management accounting systems were used in practice at POST. In so doing, it contributes towards extending the focus of management accounting change difficulties to other additional entities, from users to implementers and sponsors. Finally, this study shows that external pressures are important for initiating change as well as managing the processes of change in subsequent stages.
