Accounting for strategic management, strategising and power structures in the Jordanian higher education sector

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a field study, investigating accounting, strategising and accounting for strategic management and power structures in the Jordanian higher education (HE) sector on the basis of Bourdieu’s theory of practice. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts an interpretive stance, seeking to investigate the perceptions of actors in the field, with regard to accounting, strategising and accounting for strategic management in HE. The adopted methodology is adapted grounded theory, as this study assumes a prior theoretical stance of Bourdieu’s theoretical concepts. Data were collected through participant observation in meetings, at the workplace, interviews and documentation. Findings The main findings of this paper reflect how strategising and accounting in practice manifest themselves in the Jordanian HE sector. Bourdieu’s theory of practice sets the meta-theoretical context of the current study, with field setting the scene, and habitus being represented in the strategising mind-set participants adopt. The mind-set determines how strategic management accounting is perceived and dealt with. Strategic management accounting takes place at varying degrees. The power structures that influence and determine strategising and accounting in support thereof are researched on the basis of Bourdieu’s forms of capital. Different forms of capital matter in the HE sector determined by fields’ doxa. Research limitations/implications The researcher is a part of the field, the Jordanian HE sector; thus, their habitus has been exposed to its characteristics and features. Thus, certain internalised structures and experiences needed to be challenged for this analysis, which was not an easy task. Originality/value This study investigates accounting, strategic management and power structures in HE, and it highlights the different power structures, using Bourdieu’s forms of capital, which offers a great insight into how different cultures approach similar issues.

The dimensions of accounting service quality

“…The discussions above are aligned with previous literature that an advisory role would be a key factor for the survival of the accountancy profession (Zimmerman 2015 ), advocating the role of providing not only analyses for financial information, but also related to company’s products, market competition, and help on the implementation of a business strategy to support organizational decisions (Hutaibat 2019 ; Manyaeva et al 2016 ).…”

“…"As companies grow, there is a need for all sectors to become strategic, so we have an advisory accounting that helps us in decision making, fiscal, financial, etc." implementation of a business strategy to support organizational decisions (Hutaibat 2019;Manyaeva et al 2016).…”

Performance habitus: performance management and measurement in UK higher education

“…This part of the study commenced in 2013, with the final evaluation of findings by participants, and reliability checks being undertaken in 2019. Similar studies were undertaken by Broad et al (2007), Broad and Goddard (2010), Hutaibat et al (2011) and Hutaibat (2019), using interpretive research methodologies in HE and accounting and strategising. In a similar vein, the current study seeks to investigate UK HE and performance management and measurement in more detail, to add to the body of prior studies and knowledge that was commenced by these prior studies.…”

“…What academic and managerial elements are particularly influential regarding performance? The current study addresses this question to determine elements of the UK HE’s performance habitus, adding to the body of studies that Hutaibat et al (2011) and Hutaibat (2019) have developed. Both have undertaken interpretive studies of accounting and strategising, seeking to explore the perceptions and sense-making of participants in HE sectors.…”

O Papel do Controller na Perspectiva da Estratégia como Prática: um Ensaio Teórico

“…While management accounting studies have been developed from the perspective of strategy as practice (Cuganesan, Dunford & Palmer, 2012;Drost, Minnaar, Vosselman, & Wagensveld, 2016;Mahama & Chua, 2016) some of them including addressing the relevance of social actors in this process (Ahrens & Chapman, 2007;Hutaibat, 2019), this approach has not been used for analyzing the role played by controllers in organizations, has been little explored in the accounting literature. Thus, an intersection between the literature of strategy as a practice and the literature of management accounting is proposed in this research, with the purpose of indicating future research opportunities to analyze the controller's double role, as a business partner and as a middle management, from the different dimensions of the strategy as practice.…”