Research theme:The practice-orientation of academic
researchers in public sector management accounting
Presentation at the Politecnico di Milano 1st of March 2012
Jan van Helden, University of Groningen
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Overview of research projects
Public sector practice, politicians and managers
Academic researchers (public sector management accounting)
Consultants(public sector market)
supply supplydemand demand
Project 1: the research arena
Project 2: supply of advice by academics and consultants
Project 3: demand for advice by academics and consultants
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Project 1: Examining the practical relevance of public sector management accounting research, with Deryl Northcott, New Zealand, FAM, 2010
• Two themes of practical relevance:
1. Content
Do the stated objectives (and subsequent content) focus on matters of practical relevance?
2. Communication
Do the conclusions identify and communicate the practical implications of the research?
• Method: Literature review of 128 papers in international journals
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Research findings
Research goals categorized according to practical relevance:
• A: Developing new MA techniques
• B: Evaluating existing MA techniques
• C: Conditions for successful implementation
• D: Understanding the adoption and use of techniques
Goal D is mostly (ca. 75%) addressed, while goals A, B and C, with more immediate practical relevance, are underresearched
• Communication: in around 50% of papers the practical implications are presented
• Potential for more research on topics of immediate practical relevance (objectives A, B & C) and for greater reflection on the practical implications of our research for practitioners: via other outlets (practice journals, media, consultancy, reports, research networks), but also in academic papers (engaging peers)
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Project 2:Knowledge Creation for Practice in Public Sector Management Accounting by Consultants and Academics, MAR, 2010 (with Harrie Aardema, Henk ter Bogt and Tom Groot), 18 interviews in the Netherlands
Types of knowledge created by consultants
Types of knowledge created by researchers
Types of know-ledge consultants in expertise centres
Types of know-ledge created by consultant-researchers
practiceStrong relationship
Weak relationship
Hardly any relationship
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Project 3Public sector managers’ preferences for
attracting consultants or academics as external
experts; a multi-country exploratory study Paper to be published in QRAM, Summer 2012
Jan van Helden, University of GroningenAnders Grönlund, University of Stockholm
Riccardo Mussari, University of SienaPasquale Ruggiero, University of Siena
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Agenda
• Introduction and background• Research questions and research design• Theoretical framework • A diversity of methods of data collection• The findings of the varying methods of data collection• Conclusions and discussion
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Introduction and background
• Practitioners are asking for new knowledge, which external experts can give (Jacobsen, 2004);
• Public sector reforms may lead to public managers’ competence shortage (competence movement – Lodge and Hood, 2005);
• In the last years expenses of public administrations, especially at the central level, for external advices are increasing substantially (Management Consultancies Association, 2001).
• Our study focuses on public sector managers demand for external expertise by consultants and academics and builds on an earlier published study on the supply side of external expertise (Van Helden, Aardema, ter Bogt and Groot in MAR 2010)
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Research question and research design• Research question:
• Which factors determine public sector managers’ preference to approach either consultants or academics in order to solve their managerial problems?
• Research design: Face to face semi-structured interviews with 24 central government agencies top managers (eight in each country)
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Knowledge created by consultants and academics• Differences relate to:
• Objective of knowledge creation and kinds of knowledge produced
• Process of knowledge creation• Transfer of knowledge
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Framework: Knowledge created by consultants and academics
Types of differences Consultants Academics
Objective of knowledge creation and kinds of knowledge produced
Solving practical and technical problems
Helping to solve well-defined problems
Solving value-laden problems
Support in identi-
fying problems
Process of knowledge creation
Based on own experience and that of colleagues
Resembles knowledge creation in organization
Based on scientific approach, methods, theories
Process relatively
independent and
neutral to organization Transfer of knowledge Tacit and explicit
knowledge, where tacit knowledge is transferred through socialization
Explicit knowledge transferred through interiorization
Mediating in contro-versial interests by providing authorative opinions
Politecnico Milan, Feb. 2012 11
Methods: three types of questions used in interviews
• Reflections on six real-life-cases (real-life constructs)• Factual experiences of managers regarding a project for
which a consultant was attracted and a project for a which an academic was attracted
• Reactions on statements about circumstances under which a consultant or an academic is preferred
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Case 2Currently your organization uses two separate financial systems, one for external reporting and the other for internal budgeting and accounting. In your capacity as public sector manager, you want to introduce a so-called multi-purpose financial system that provides relevant information for both external and internal purposes.
Case 5In your capacity as public sector manager, you introduced a new system for job appraisal for managers three years ago. This system is based on quantitative information about issues such as meeting budget targets, sick leave of employees, complaints of clients, and the productivity of key processes. This system is considered highly controversial: some managers argue that it overrates the value of quantitative information and that it stimulates a tunnel vision. The supervisory board of your organization therefore wants this system to be evaluated.
Examples of real-life cases
Expectations: in case 2 preference for consultant and in case 5 preference for an academic
Findings on real-life casesReal-life cases Expected
preferencePreference found
1. Restructuring of the organization Consultant Consultant
2. Introduction of multi-purpose financial system
Consultant Consultant
3. Implementation of new cost allocation system
Consultant Consultant
4. Change in the attitude of the managers and employees of your organization (towards client orientation)
Consultant or academic
Diverging
5. Assessment of controversial system for job appraisal
Academic Diverging, 50% academic
6. Reconsideration of strategic position in the service providing chain
Academic DivergingPolitecnico Milan, Feb. 2012 14
Factual experiences of managers regarding a project for which a consultant was attracted and a project for a which an academic was attracted
• Consultants:• mostly approached for reorganising the client’s organization or
helping them in designing and implementing specific systems• Experience in comparable cases in the past is the main reason for
approaching a consultant • Interaction between consultant and organization is strong
• Academics, give a more diffused picture:• Some of the topics for which academics were approached confirm
the expectations of our theoretical framework • However, also typical consultancy topics are addressed
(Examples: development of a strategy for real estate management, design/implementation management training)
• However, a closer look reveals that the reasons for calling upon an academic are often the need for impartial advice
• Interaction with organization mostly strong
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Reactions on pre-structured statements
Statement (examples, 3 statements approved, 4 with unclear reactions)
Support?
1. When I need to tackle a technical matter, such as the introduction of a new instrument, I prefer a consultant to an academic.
Yes
2. If an issue, such as a new technique or approach, is controversial, I prefer an academic to a consultant because the advice of an academic is mostly more trustworthy than that of a consultant.
Yes
3. When I am strongly committed to a certain practice (technique, approach, etc.) in my organization, I will be more reluctant to approach an academic than a consultant, because academics mostly have a quite independent perspective on the phenomena they have to evaluate.
No clear support for or disapproval
4. The way in which a consultant works is more similar to how I work as a public sector manager than to the way in which an academic works, and therefore I involve myself more easily in the advisory process of a consultant than in that of an academic.
No clear support for or disapprovalPolitecnico Milan, Feb. 2012 16
Consultant’s profile corroborated
• A consultant:• Helps to solve technical and practical problems, for
which experience in comparable cases in the past is important
• Strongly interacts with people from the client organization in identifying the problem and searching for solutions (knowledge transfer through socialization)
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Academic’s profile only partly corroborated• An academic is approached:
• When a problem relates the values of the organization, but also – comparable to consultants – when practical and technical problems have to be solved (in the latter cases giving an impartial advise is often considered to be important)
• Interaction with client organization in the advisory process is mostly strong (so rather than interiorization learning through socialization)
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Country specific differences?• In general differences between countries are
small, although the number of interviews is limited• This regards the types of deficiencies (design,
implementation, reflection, etc.), with variations within countries that are larger than variations between countries
• This also regards types of problems: economic (more appropriate for consultants) versus democratic (more suitable for academics), although some differences appear between Italy and Sweden
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Conclusions and discussion (1)
• The type of topic for which a public sector manager needs an advise from an external expert, is not always distinctive for consultants and academics• the decision to choose an academic rather than a consultant
was often motivated by the type of advice needed rather than by the topic, in the sense that academics were particularly preferred when the organization was faced with ill-defined problems or when ambiguous problems needed an impartial advice.
• The need for impartiality makes an academic more attractive, and consultants are primarily asked for experience-based knowledge
• Socialization (as expected for consultants) was also the dominant way of transferring knowledge when academics were approached as external experts
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Conclusions and discussion (2)
• Also unexpected differences appear, especially when consultants are asked for behavioural matters and academics for exploration of alternative options• a deeper understanding of the types of topics concerning the
values of the client organization that require the advice of either a consultant or an academic. Some of our real-life cases on value-laden topics, like a controversial performance rewarding system or the position of the organization in the value chain, show that public sector managers prefer a consultant when behavioural aspects dominate, and an academic in the case of method problems or when various options need to be explored.
• Some real-life cases indicated that a quick advice requires a consultant and more complex issues, for which more time is available, call for an academic expert.
• We are further investigating the extent to which the three methods of data collection show coherent results among the interviewees
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