Benchmarking for routines and organizational knowledge: a managerial accounting approach with performance feedback

Abstract

This study proposes a managerial accounting research design that bridges a gap between firm productivity based on frontier techniques and strategic management. In doing so, it operationalizes the theoretical frameworks based on the endogenous components of across-firms heterogeneous resources and routines, which are fundamental for firm performance. The design focuses on industry-level benchmarking to analyze changes in performance and organizational knowledge investments, and proposes some indicators for firm-level strategic benchmarking. An analysis of a 12-year panel of the U.S. technology hardware and equipment industry illustrates the usefulness of the proposals. Findings reveal wider gaps between better and worse performers following economic distress. Increasing intangibles stocks is positively associated with changes in frontier benchmarking, while enhancing R&D spending is linked to frontier shifts. The discussion develops managerial interpretations suitable for control and reward systems.

Best practices, performance advantage and trade-offs: new insights from frontier analysis

“…Theoretically, we explain how frontier analysis can integrate the resource-based theory and practice-based view perspectives of BPs in operations, through the concept of dynamic capabilities. The incorporation of these perspectives in DEA-related studies has been seldom done, while some efforts exist (e.g., Brea-Solís et al 2015;Epure 2016). Empirically, we show how frontier analysis can be used to capture performance advantage and operations-based capabilities by estimating distance to the performance frontier.…”

“…Our study informs the efficiency and productivity analysis literature by employing efficiency measurement methods in an operations context. This has been an under-researched area (exceptions include Brea-Solís et al 2015;Triebs and Kumbhakar 2018;and Epure 2016), and, to the authors' knowledge, there has not been the application of the benefit of the doubt approach to compute an aggregate index of operational performance. Indeed, Brea-Solís et al (2015), Triebs and Kumbhakar (2018) and Epure (2016) all link operations aspects of the firm to the traditional concept of efficiency-the process through which inputs like labor and capital are used to produce outputs like revenue-and do not compute aggregate performance as we do in this paper.…”

The current role of management accounting: paradigm shift and future challenges

“…The first studies on cost topic were published on the role of MA in the efficiency of organizations through cost control, particularly in manufacturing organizations (Ehteshami et al , 1992; Tse and Robb, 1994) and hospitals (Eldenburg, 1994; Noreen and Soderstrom, 1994). More recently, the focus has been on environmental and intangible costs (Epure, 2016; Oosthuizen et al , 2019). Although cost is one of the oldest and most researched topics in MA, it remains active because of the major changes that have taken place in markets and business organizations.…”