Routines in management accounting research: further exploration

Abstract

This paper seeks to enhance the eminent work of Burns and Scapens (2000) by introducing broader conceptualisations on organisational routines and rules in to management accounting. Design/methodology/approach The paper sets out with the Burns and Scapens (2000) framework. The paper is primarily conceptual in nature and with the addition of some more recent literature on organisational routines serves to bolster the underpinnings of the Burns and Scapens (2000) framework. Drawing especially on the work of Feldman and Pentland (2003), the nature of management accounting routines in particular is explored in some detail. By association, rules are also explored. Findings This paper proposes that an ostensive-performative distinction of routines augments our conceptualisation of how management accounting routines can represent both a source of stability and of change (simultaneously). Also, by showing how routines can represent both structure and action simultaneously, some light is shed on the ongoing interrelationship between routines and rules as highlighted in the Burns and Scapens (2000) framework and some concerns in recent literature addressed. In particular, a refined view of both routines and rules not only bolsters the work of Burns and Scapens (2000), but potentially increases its applicability as a theoretical lens to empirical studies in less formal organisations. Practical implications The proposed refinements to the Burns and Scapens (2000) framework, which aim to clarify the nature of rules and routines in a management accounting context, may be particularly useful for researchers studying less formalised (or, less rules-based) organisations. The findings emphasise the potentially more important role of the less formal concept of routines in most organisations. Originality/value The paper supports and complements the Burns and Scapens (2000) framework by integrating more recent conceptual developments on organisational routines and offering some potential definitional clarity on rules and routines in management accounting.

Resource-Based View and SMEs Performance Exporting through Foreign Intermediaries: The Mediating Effect of Management Controls

“…Examining the context of supply chain management, Tan and Cross [71] argues that inter-organizational coordination plays a very relevant role to link activities and to integrate a firm with its upstream and downstream members; "inter-organizational coordination competence [serves] as unique assets to link manufacturing firms and retail organizations in a supply chain" (p. 941). Besides, MCSs go beyond the technical dimension, since MCS practices are deeply embedded in organizational routines, especially in the case of SMEs [72], and inextricably intertwined to the cultural dimension [73,74]. Hence, MCSs are imperfectly imitable and have the potential to support competitive advantage [47,72].…”

Accounting for war risk costs: management accounting change at Guinness during the First World War

“…Several studies using institutional phenomena such as rules and routines have also been undertaken (see, e.g. Burns 2000; Burns and Scapens 2000;Quinn 2011;Van der Steen 2009. Downloaded by [Trent University] at 07: 22 12 October 2014 Second, structuration theory has been used by several researchers to analyse change and stability in accounting systems.…”

A Teoria Institucional aplicada à Contabilidade Gerencial: análise da contribuição teórica e metodológica de publicações internacionais ocorridas no período de 2006 a 2015

“…Foi observado em 4 estudos que o processo de institucionalização proposto por Burns e Scapens (2000) pode explicar os fatores para a implantação de novos processos ou ferramentas nas organizações, por meio da introdução de regras de controles, com a participação direta dos atores responsáveis pela execução desses processos (Englund & Gerdin, 2008;Quinn, 2011;Bogt & Helden, 2011;Youssef, 2013).…”