Power, organization design and managerial behaviour

Abernethy, Margaret A.; Vagnoni, Emidia

doi:10.1016/s0361-3682(03)00049-7

Cited by 177 publications

(149 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

130

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Finally, we show that integrating clinicians into the management structure does not harm a hospital's competitive advantage. Top-level managers with a clinical background are not necessarily managers looking for power and influence to circumvent the implementation of some strategic priorities or manipulate elements of MCS, as suggested by the political model of organisational behaviour (Abernethy and Vagnoni, 2004); they are also managers who strive to achieve hospital objectives.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Management control theory suggests that such a strategic priority, which is not widely accepted by influential and powerful actors in the firm, needs to be complemented by organic controls, characterised by loose control over operations and open channels of communication (Burns and Stalker, 1961). In a hospital setting, both Abernethy and Vagnoni (2004) and Naranjo-Gil and…”

Section: Joint Effect Of Strategic Priorities and Use Of Pms On Hospimentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Examining the joint effects of strategic priorities, use of management control systems, and personal background on hospital performance

Harlez

Malagueño

2016

Management Accounting Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study aims to respond to recent calls for a better understanding of the factors that support the effectiveness of formal control practices in hospitals. Based on survey data from 117 top-level managers in Belgian hospitals KeywordsPerformance measurement systems; strategic priorities; personal background; hospital performance; interactive use IntroductionHospitals face growing regulatory and competitive pressures to develop management control systems (Cardinaels and Soderstrom, 2013). However, formal management control systems (MCS) are seen to be problematic in hospitals (Aidemark and Funck, 2009).Questions about the use of monetary incentives for goal congruence, the power of physicians and nurses over operational processes, various priorities imposed by a large diversity of influential stakeholders, and austere budgets that constrain expansion and restructuring combine to create unparalleled complexities for the effective use of MCS (Abernethy et al., 2007). Previous research in management accounting thus calls for a better understanding of MCS in hospitals (e.g., Bai et al., 2010;King and Clarkson, 2015), especially factors that influence the effectiveness of formal performance measurement systems (PMS) (Ballantine et al., 1998;Cardinaels and Soderstrom, 2013). 2Over the past two decades, the literature on MCS in hospitals has emphasised the importance of aligning the use of MCS with hospital strategies (e.g., Aidemark and Funck, 2009;Ballantine et al., 1998;Chilingerian and Sherman, 1987;Wardhani et al., 2009), an alignment that should lead to positive organisational outcomes, such as hospital performance 2 Management control systems are defined as "formal, information-based routines and procedures managers use to maintain or alter patterns in organisational activities" (Simons, 1995, p. 5). Formal performance measurement systems are an essential aspect of formal management control systems (Chenhall, 2005;Henri, 2006). 3( King et al., 2010). Inherent in these arguments is the implicit assumption that the individual behaviour of clinicians dominating the core operations of a hospital can be controlled towards the successful achievement of hospital strategies. However, several management accounting studies (e.g., Abernethy and Stoelwinder, 1991, 1995;Jones, 2002) report that regular conflicts between the professional objectives of administrators and clinicians curtail the effectiveness of MCS. Coombs (1987, p.391) notes that bureaucratic control mechanisms attempted by administrators have "the potential to substantially affect the motivations and practices of a relatively cohesive and powerful occupational group who frequently defend their professional autonomy quite effectively". Therefore, our knowledge of how PMS are effectively used to support hospital strategies remains incomplete and fragmented.In the hospital management literature, significant attention has concentrated on the role of "doctor managers" (i.e., managers with a clinical background) in the management team and the implication...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Joint Effect Of Strategic Priorities and Use Of Pms On Hospimentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the joint effects of strategic priorities, use of management control systems, and personal background on hospital performance

Harlez

Malagueño

2016

Management Accounting Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Top managers with a dominant technical orientation have a greater understanding of the production process, and are therefore inclined to offer more autonomy and participation to professional colleagues at lower hierarchical levels in establishing working goals (Armstrong 1987, Mintzberg 1990). Abernethy and Vagnoni (2004) showed that professional managers indeed use the accounting system to cope with role conflicts between their medical (technical) and managerial (administrative) roles. Further, these authors have suggested that the top managers with a technical orientation used MASs for communication and dialogue with their professional peers, which is used for interactive controls rather than in a traditional diagnostic cost-oriented way (Mintzberg 1990, Simons 1995, Gaidiene & Skyrius 2006.…”

Section: Technically Oriented Top Managers and The Use Of Massmentioning

confidence: 99%

Top Manager Orientation, Management Accounting Systems and Strategy Implementation: Evidence from the Sri Lankan Manufacturing Sector

Wijesinghe

Samudrage

2016

NSBM J. Mgt

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper examines how technically oriented top managers use Management Accounting Systems (MASs) for organizational strategy implementation in the Sri Lankan manufacturing sector. Based on the Upper Echelon Theory (UET), the researchers argue that technically oriented top managers use MASs more interactively than diagnostically and prefer the use of innovative to traditional MAS information. Further, the researchers argue that technically oriented top managers support the implementation of prospector strategy as a result of their innovativeness. In order to achieve the objectives of the study a quantitative based approach was adopted. The hypotheses were developed and tested in a survey among the technically oriented top managers in the manufacturing sector in Sri Lanka. The researchers conducted a few in-depth interviews as well. The findings of the study confirmed that the technically oriented top managers prefer the interactive style in the use of MASs and also prefer to use innovative MAS information. The results also confirmed that technically oriented top managers prefer to adopt the prospector strategy. Further, the findings confirmed that the interactive style of using MASs and innovative MAS information strongly supports the adoption of prospector strategy. The findings confirmed the applicability of UET in the Sri Lankan manufacturing sector. The findings will also aid business organizations in preparing MAS information to complement prospector strategy implementation. The paper contributes to the existing literature on UET and the role of MASs in supporting strategy implementation particularly in a South Asian, Sri Lankan setting.

show abstract

“…Being involved in the startup process and governance of the specialty clinic and subsequently having direct influence on clinics' policies not only diminishes the likelihood of interest dissatisfaction developing but also fits well with the initial medical logic in which most entrepreneurial physicians were initially embedded. This is supported by a growing body of literature pointing to the added value of involving physicians in governance (Abernethy & Vagnoni, 2004;Goodall, 2011;Klopper-Kes et al, 2010a;Scholten & Van der Grinten, 2002;Walston & Chou, 2006;Witman et al, 2011). In sum, physicians' satisfaction in specialty clinics is not a result of a newly created logic resulting from transformational change but rather the outcome of a good fit with the medical logic in which the physician was formerly embedded and which prevailed during the entrepreneurial process.…”

Section: Physicians (N=15) Physicians (N=12)mentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Although medical dominance is reported to remain strong in key areas of technical and clinical autonomy (Abernethy, 2004;Currie, Humpreys, Waring, & Rowley, 2009;Fitzgerald & Ferlie, 2000;Klopper-Kes, Meerdink, van Harten, & Wilderom, 2009;McDonald, Waring, & Harrison, 2006;Succi, Lee, & Alexander, 1998), it is a source of strain and interest dissatisfaction among physicians (Thorne, 2002). Based on a survey among 8108 physicians in the US, Paul Leigh (2002) points to the high proportion of dissatisfied physicians among surgical specialties, whereas their colleagues practicing medical specialties are unlikely to be dissatisfied.…”

Section: Figure 1: Review Model Of Intra-organizati Onal Dynamics As mentioning

confidence: 99%

Doctors in business

Koelewijn¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Power, organization design and managerial behaviour

Cited by 177 publications

References 44 publications

Examining the joint effects of strategic priorities, use of management control systems, and personal background on hospital performance

Examining the joint effects of strategic priorities, use of management control systems, and personal background on hospital performance

Top Manager Orientation, Management Accounting Systems and Strategy Implementation: Evidence from the Sri Lankan Manufacturing Sector

Doctors in business

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About