Scrutinising Practice Variation: The balanced scorecard in a Brazilian electricity company

Seminar abstract

Innovative managerial practices perform multiple roles and unfold continuously as a consequence of the constantly changing rationales for their use.

As we still have much to learn about what happens in organizations when new practices are adopted, the researchers examine how the intertwined interactions of contextual factors, human agency and the perceived characteristics of the BSC (i.e., the BSC as a flexibly interpretive boundary object and an institutional carrier at same time) may influence the unfolding of rationales of the Balanced Scorecard at intra-organizational level. Empirical support for this investigation is gathered from an in-depth field study.

The focal firm is a Brazilian electricity distribution company that transitioned from state ownership to privatization under hyper-regulation, and whose holding company experienced strategic and structural changes.

Misalignment between the characteristics of the firm and the perceived BSC features led to organizational actors developing networks with internal and external stakeholders to translate the unfolding rationalities of the new practice into strategic and operational processes.

At the intra-organizational level, the translation process resulted in the implementation of a similar BSC version with reduced scope as well as a merging between the BSC dimensions and the extant performance management system as a strategy to respond to their competing characteristics.

The institutional characteristics of our wider context and focal firm may contribute to the theorization of the translation of managerial innovations to new specific settings.

In this presentation, Dr Wanderley advances the understanding of the microprocesses of practice variation, which also comprised the deployment of a strategy of merging to resolve conflicts between the BSC features and the characteristics of the firm.

Three potentially interesting areas for further research were identified.

Booking

This seminar is free to attend with no need to register in advance.

Please join this seminar online on Wednesday 26 May 2021 at 2pm(BST)

Speaker bio

Claudio Wanderley received his PhD in Accounting from the Management School, University of Sheffield, the UK.

He is an Associate Professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil. He was also a visiting scholar at Portland State University, Erasmus University, and Amsterdam University.

He is the former Director of Institutional Relations of the Brazilian Accounting Association (ANPCONT), former Member of the Executive Committee of the International Association for Accounting Education and Research (IAEER), and former Member of the AAA (American Accounting Association) Global Engagement Committee.

He is associate editor of the ‘Contabilidade e Finanças’ Journal (the best journal in the accounting field in Brazil) and head of the management accounting stream of the ANPCONT and Sao Paulo University Conferences.

He has had a number of research projects funded by renowned organizations such as CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) and the IMA (Institute of Management Accountants).

His main research interests include;

• management accounting change,
• management accounting practices adaptation,
• identity and the management accounting profession,
• accounting systems in emerging economies,
• public sector reforms.

He has published his research in a range of highly rated academic Brazilian and international outlets (e.g. Management Accounting Research, Accounting Forum) and has presented his work at numerous international and Brazilian conferences.