This study explores the strategic thinking of managers from an accounting perspective. By building on interview data from managers working with strategic roles in various organizations, an understanding is offered of the experienced potentials and pitfalls of accounting in strategic thinking. The results are elaborated into a framework presenting the dual nature of accounting in strategic contexts. This study suggests that the benefits and pitfalls of accounting for strategic thinking constitute a paradoxical duality, which cannot be fully solved, but must be addressed by practising managers. The observed role of accounting in managers' strategic thinking also offers implications for management control in organizations.
The study explores management control in the strategic development of business model and managerial innovations. The issue is approached from the perspective of managerial work, aiming to outline what managers consider as essential elements of management control in these often iterative and learning-intensive developmental activities. Design The study is based on the views of 20 managers engaged in strategic development and its control in various organisations. The interview data consist of the respondents' experiences and project cases involving non-technological innovations. Qualitative content analysis (QCA) is used to identify three key concepts of management control of business model and managerial innovations. Findings The findings suggest that, with managerial and business model innovation, appropriate management control could be established by: (1) aligning the innovation being developed with the strategic story of the organisation, (2) leveraging co-creational projects, and (3) experimentation with close customer contact. Research limitations/implications The focus of this qualitative research is on building an initial framework. Future research could expand our understanding of managerial work and accounting by examining this study's outcomes in more practical detail in various contexts. Practical implications The findings of this study lead managers and researchers to consider management control of non-technological innovations as an enabling system supporting successful innovations. Originality/value This study adds a unique perspective to the literature by conceptualizing and offering managerial implications for management control in the context of strategic development of non-technological innovations.
This paper reports on a teaching innovation using participant-generated drawings. Experienced managers were asked to produce a drawing to illustrate their work from an accounting perspective. The drawings were then used to make the managerial context of the participants the explicit starting point for personalized executive learning. This study is the first in the sphere of accounting education and research to take drawing seriously as a learning method. The results of the experiment show how drawing can be further used as a tool in management education by facilitating the visualization of the managerial contexts participants work within.
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