The role of government and accounting in the development of academic research commercialization: The New Zealand experience

Abstract

Over the past three decades, many nations accelerated their efforts to develop academic research commercialisation to help drive their innovation and productivity goals.Despite failure to achieve the desired results, surprisingly very few studies have examined how research commercialisation initiatives are designed at the government level. This study reviews the historical role of the government and the interplay between significant shifts in research direction, funding and accounting that contributed to the development of academic research commercialisation in New Zealand. The paper concludes that funding pressures combined with the government's lack of early recognition and formal endorsement of research commercialisation as a vital activity has contributed to previous low levels of academic research commercialisation. The important lessons to be learnt from the New Zealand case are that academic research commercialisation requires a coherent long-term national strategy that is responsive, promises results and has funding incentives.

Accounting for Accounting History: A topic modeling approach (1996–2015)

“…While papers highly associated with topic 6 deal with the evolution of institutions of public sector accountability and constitutional requirements in nineteenth-century Britain (Funnell, 1997, 2004, 2008), papers showing a high percentage of topic 8 deal with more recent new public management-related issues. Such issues include the introduction of accrual accounting in central and local government (Buhr, 2012; Yamamoto and Noguchi, 2013), the increasing role of charities in public services delivery (Cordery, 2012) and the commercialisation of universities (Narayan, 2012). The sectorial aspect emerges more clearly from an analysis of the most relevant words per topic.…”

The development and use of performance measures in New Zealand tertiary education institutions

“…Narayan and Stittle (2018) highlighted processes of accounting polarising teaching and research. Curtis (2008: 179) revealed ‘how a rhetoric of rewarding excellence in research is subordinated to a new mangerialist thrust for efficiency’ while Narayan (2012) noted that performance based research funding drives the research culture of tertiary institutions. Ashcroft (2005:125) has argued that research performance measures create a culture of ‘winners and losers’, with less attention paid to excellence in teaching and ‘academic collegiality and quality research’ giving way to ‘widespread career anxiety and apprehension’.…”

The role of accounting in transforming public tertiary institutions in New Zealand

“…The New Zealand case is particularly relevant because the public sector was at the forefront of NPM-inspired government reforms in the 1990s with innovations in accounting and financial management systems serving as a benchmark for many other countries (Jones and Kettl, 2003;Pallot, 1999). Over the past three decades, public TEIs have undergone major NPM inspired reforms based on the radical political agendas of government to cut costs, improve quality, ensure social equity and become more strategic in pursuing the goals of economic growth (Narayan, 2012). In particular, the changing social context and different political agenda of successive governments offer unique opportunities for comprehensive insights into accounting and its influence on the transformation of public TEIs.…”