Christopher Lorin Akroyd
@profiles.canterbury.ac.nz
Professor Department of Accounting and Information Systems
University of Canterbury
EDUCATION
PhD - University of Auckland
MBA - Kobe University
MCom - University of New South Wales
BCom - Southern Cross University
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Business, Management and Accounting, General Business, Management and Accounting, Accounting, Strategy and Management
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Syrus M. Islam and Chris Akroyd
Wiley
AbstractTraditional private equity firms aim to maximise their financial returns when exiting an investment. In contrast, a major consideration for impact private equity firms is to ensure an impactful exit from their investments – increasing the chance of impact continuity in portfolio companies post exit. However, impactful exits may not be realised due to ownership‐, management‐, and operations‐related threats. Drawing on data from 45 impact private equity firms, we identify the control strategies that impact investors use throughout the investment lifecycle to manage impactful exits from investment. We also highlight how control‐related issues differ between traditional and impact private equity firms.
Ramona Zharfpeykan and Chris Akroyd
Emerald
Purpose This paper aims to evaluate the outcome effectiveness of the global reporting initiatives (GRI) transitions by understanding how companies have responded to the changes from G3.1 to G4 and finally to the GRI Standards. Design/methodology/approach A quality disclosure score is developed that incorporates assessments of both the quality of disclosures and the materiality of Australian companies. To analyse materiality, survey data were collected from 187 companies. Disclosure scores are based on a content analysis of the sustainability reports of 12 mining and metals companies and 12 financial services companies that used the GRI Standards from 2011 to 2019 (a total of 213 reports). Findings The study found that the GRI transitions have not led to companies improving the quality of their disclosures on areas considered important for them to achieve their social and environmental goals. Instead, the companies tended to use a greenwashing strategy, where the quality of disclosure of material issues declined or fluctuated over time. Practical implications From a practical perspective, the disclosure score developed in this paper enables managers of companies to recognize a threshold of completeness and to summarize the areas that are not materially relevant to their business. Social implications The results are potentially helpful for investors, shareholders and other stakeholders, enabling them to better understand sustainability reports. Originality/value This study contributes to the body of research in sustainability reporting by providing evidence on the outcome effectiveness of the latest updates in the GRI framework.
Sharlene Sheetal Narayan Biswas, Chris Akroyd, and Norio Sawabe
Emerald
Purpose Using institutional theory, this study aims to understand how the management control systems (MCSs) designed by top managers influence the micro-level process practices of organization members during product innovation. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports on a case study carried out at NZMed to examine the design and use of MCSs and their product innovation practices. Simons’ levers of control was used to understand the ways in which MCSs were designed and used in a product innovation setting. Findings The findings indicate that the everyday micro-level processes of organization members encoded MCS when their espoused values aligned with those of top managers. However, when the perspectives within the organization differed, variations to the micro-level processes of organization members emerged. The authors show how this resulted in an increase in innovation capabilities necessary to meet organizational goals. Practical implications The misalignment between espoused values and enacted values had a positive effect as it helped the organization maintain their innovation culture, and build long-term trusting relationships with suppliers which enabled the achievement of organizational goals. Originality/value By focusing on the relationship between MCS and the micro-level processes of organization members in product innovation, the paper shows how the lack of alignment between the espoused values of top management and the enacted values of project managers explained the variations between the MCS used by top managers and the practices of project teams at our case study company.
Nirupika Liyanapathirana and Chris Akroyd
Emerald
Purpose This paper aims to understand how accountants in Sri Lanka perceive the effect of religiosity on ethical decision-making. Sri Lanka is a highly religious country, but it also has a high level of corruption, so understanding ethical decision-making in this context is important for the accounting profession. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 40 accountants in Sri Lanka with decision-making roles. Virtue ethics theory and content analysis were used to analyse the interview data and categorise accountants' responses into themes using an interpretive methodology. Findings This paper identifies three ways in which religiosity can influence accountants’ ethical decision-making. Firstly, through a faith in the beliefs of their religion; secondly, through awareness of religious prescriptions and virtues; and thirdly, through a commitment towards religious practices and rituals. However, the findings show that religiosity does not always influence the ethical decision-making of accountants because of pervasive corruption, which is a cultural norm in contemporary Sri Lanka. Thus, it is evident that there is an interrelationship between religious and cultural environments which can influence ethical decision-making. Originality/value While the religiosity of accountants can support ethical decision-making, the findings of this paper show that the cultural norm of corruption can mediate this connection as the evidence shows that accountants with a strong religious background, irrespective of their religion, may still act unethically when corruption is a cultural norm.
Chris Akroyd, Kevin E. Dow, Andrea Drake, and Jeffrey Wong
Emerald Publishing Limited
Anderson Betti Frare and Chris Akroyd
Emerald
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of performance management (PM) practices on in-bound open innovation (OI) and out-bound OI. To do this, the authors examine the organizational effectiveness as well as the non-financial and financial performance of Brazilian startups that have had recent OI relationships with larger companies.Design/methodology/approachUsing data collected from 103 Brazilian startups, the hypotheses were tested via partial least squares–structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). An additional analysis was performed using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).FindingsThe findings show that PM practices orchestrate in-bound OI and out-bound OI; however, only in-bound OI promotes organizational effectiveness in Brazilian startups. Organizational effectiveness results in good non-financial performance, which in turn improves financial performance. PM practices have an indirect effect on financial performance from the serial mediation of in-bound OI, organizational effectiveness and non-financial performance. Moreover, several combinations of conditions lead to high levels of organizational effectiveness, non-financial performance and financial performance.Originality/valueThis study provides new evidence and insights from an emerging market on the antecedents and consequences of startups' OI adoption.
Sharlene Biswas and Chris Akroyd
Wiley
AbstractThis study examines the changing use of controls to manage an ongoing inter‐organisational collaborative relationship. We do this by studying the development of an open innovation relationship using a case study informed by concepts from neo‐old institutional economics and Simons’ levers of control. Data was collected via semi‐structured interviews and an analysis of documents. Our findings suggest that initially, governance structures and formal safeguards were applied diagnostically, which resulted in low levels of trust. Over time, the development of a collaborative relationship through investments in relational specificity has resulted in a more interactive style of control, which has increased trust.
Sharlene Sheetal Narayan Biswas and Chris Akroyd
Emerald
PurposeThis paper aims to understand the strategic management of innovation by examining the effect that management control systems (MCS) have on innovation activities during the strategic change process.Design/methodology/approachA case study was carried out at an innovative company as they undertook a strategic change from closed innovation to open innovation. Simons’ levers of control was used to frame the ways in which MCS were designed and used by managers and the effect MCS have on the innovation activities of organization members.FindingsThe findings indicate that while managers designed and used MCS to support a drive toward open innovation, organization members did not change their innovation activities. Instead, the findings show that new MCS enabled improvements to their closed innovation strategy. This led to a decrease in the time taken to develop new products, which resulted in increased customer satisfaction, which contributed to the achievement of organizational goals.Originality/valueBy focusing on the relationship between MCS and innovation activities in the strategic change process, the paper sheds new light on the ability of MCS to change the innovation activities of organization members. Even though the innovation activities at our case company did not change the interactions between the MCS enabled organizational goals to be achieved as they provided the necessary information infrastructure and motivated goal congruence.
Anderson Betti Frare, Ana Paula Capuano da Cruz, Carlos Eduardo Facin Lavarda, and Chris Akroyd
Emerald
Purpose This study aims to understand the relationship between the elements of a startup firms’ management control system (MCS) package, its entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected survey data from a sample of 100 Brazilian startups who had exited technology-based parks and incubators. The authors used two data analysis techniques, namely, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Findings The findings show that cultural and planning controls were the only two MCS elements that were included in all high-performing startup firms’ MCS packages. The authors also found that EO has a positive influence on firm performance through the MCS package. Research limitations/implications The mixed-method approach allowed for a holistic view of the analyzed phenomenon. PLS-SEM analysis was applied to the symmetric relationships between the proposed relationships while fsQCA was used to analyze the asymmetric combinations between EO dimensions and MCS package elements, which promoted high firm performance. Practical implications The authors show how different combinations of MCS elements form a package, mediating EO, which can enable high performance. Originality/value Using fsQCA and PLS-SEM, the authors were able to better understand the important role that MCS package adoption has on a startups’ performance and provide new evidence regarding the interface between MCS and EO. This extends the understanding of the importance that cultural and planning controls have in an MCS package to support startup performance.
Ramona Zharfpeykan and Chris Akroyd
Elsevier BV
Chris Akroyd and Ralph Kober
Elsevier BV
Chris Akroyd, Ralph Kober, and Danni Li
Wiley
AbstractThe dilemma faced by founders of entrepreneurial companies is how to scale their business while staying in control. While the accounting literature has found that financial controls are important to rapidly scale a business, we do not know how these controls emerge in entrepreneurial companies in relation to other management controls. Using a case study of an entrepreneurial company that rapidly scaled its business, this study examines the management controls that emerged to become a package of controls. We highlight the importance of the management control package remaining in balance, with controls working together interdependently in a complementary fashion.
Stephen Jollands, Chris Akroyd, and Norio Sawabe
Emerald
Purpose Organisations produce effects that go beyond the economic framing within which they operate, referred to as overflows in this paper. When an organisation comes under pressure to address these overflows they must decide how to respond. Previous research has placed social and environmental reporting as an important tool organisations mobilise in their attempts to mediate these pressures and the groups that give rise to them. However, these reports are typically only released once a year while the pressures that organisations face can arise at any time and are ongoing and constant. The purpose of this paper is to explore situated organisational practices and examine if and how management controls are mobilised in relation to the actions of pressure groups. Design/methodology/approach This paper takes a case study approach to understand how an organisation attempts to mediate the pressures from a number of overflows: carbon emissions, changing lifestyles, aspartame and obesity. To undertake this research a performative understanding of management control is utilised. This focusses the research on if and how management controls are mobilised to assist with attempts to mediate pressures. Findings Analysis of the data shows that many different management controls, beyond just reports, were mobilised during the attempts to mediate the pressure arising from the actions of groups affected by the overflows. The management controls were utilised to: identify pressures, demonstrate how the pressure had been addressed, alleviate the pressure or to dispute the legitimacy of the pressure. Originality/value This paper shows the potential for new connections to be made between the management control and social and environmental accounting literatures. It demonstrates that future research may gain much from examining the management controls mobilised within the situated practices that constitute an organisations response to the pressures it faces.
Gary Spraakman, Winnie O’Grady, Davood Askarany, and Chris Akroyd
Emerald
Purpose This paper aims to show how our understanding of the effects of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems on management accounting are influenced through “nudging” by researchers in their preamble before interviews begin. Design/methodology/approach There were two groups of comparable respondents. Each group received a different preamble to the same questions. The differences in group responses were analyzed. Findings When the impact of ERP implementation on the physical, transactional and information flows within the firm were nudged, the responses focused on how the chart of accounts had to be expanded to account for the additional data introduced by transaction processing. When the IT and ERP system knowledge and skills were nudged, the responses tended to emphasize analyses or the use of new information through the use of drill down functionality. This research provides new insights and contributions to understanding how nudging affects or directs respondent assessments of the impact of ERP systems on management accounting. Research limitations/implications The research is limited by the relatively small samples and by the fact that these were different research projects. Practical implications Nudging has an obvious impact on research that should not be ignored. Social implications Unintentional nudging should be considered with all research projects. Originality/value This paper makes explicit that nudging occurs in research whether intentional or unintentional.
Winnie O’Grady, Chris Akroyd, and Inara Scott
Emerald Publishing Limited
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the changes organizations can adopt to move beyond budgeting. We show how these changes can be understood as modes of adaptive performance management that explains the ways in which organizations move beyond budgeting to become more adaptive. The proposed modes are then used to derive propositions for future research.
Methodology/approach: We follow a conceptual approach through an analysis of the beyond budgeting principles using the management and systems literatures on radical decentralization. We theorize how organizations can enhance their adaptability to environmental uncertainty through changes to their management structure and control processes.
Findings: We show that organizations can move beyond budgeting by decentralizing within or beyond their management structure and modifying or removing their budget-based control processes. We propose that beyond budgeting can be conceptualized as four modes of adaptive performance management: better budgeting, advanced budgeting, restricted budgeting, and nonbudgeting.
Research limitations/implications: The four modes of adaptive performance management can be used in future research to consider how changes to management structures and budget-based control processes can enhance the organizational adaptability needed to manage environmental uncertainty.
Practical implications: We show that while the nonbudgeting mode may be most suited to organizations facing high levels of environmental uncertainty, organizations facing low–to-moderate levels of environmental uncertainty can achieve sufficient levels of adaptability with less extensive changes to management structure and budget-based control processes.
Originality/value: The four modes of adaptive performance management reflect different approaches for dealing with environmental uncertainty. Positioning nonbudgeting as one mode and identifying alternate modes of adaptive performance management provides a basis for comparing and understanding the changes organizations make to move beyond budgeting.
Sharlene Biswas and Chris Akroyd
Emerald
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the governance of inter-firm co-development in an open innovation setting and show how a stage-gate product development process can be used to support this relationship. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopt a qualitative case-study approach informed by ethnomethodology. Data were obtained via semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Findings They found that in an open innovation setting – where the producing partner relies on a research partner for all product development activities – a stage-gate product development process can act as a governance mechanism, as it enables the development of trust and cooperation which supports the co-development relationship. Research limitations/implications The implication of this finding is that a stage-gate process can be a flexible governance mechanism, which can adapt over time in relation to the needs of the co-development partners in an open innovation setting. This also lays the groundwork for future research to explore the applicability of this tool in other settings, e.g. outsourcing arrangements as well as help guide the design and implementation of future governance mechanisms. Originality/value In the context of accounting research, this paper helps practitioners and academics understand how a stage-gate process can be used as a governance mechanism to manage and control co-development projects in an open innovation setting.
Winnie O’Grady and Chris Akroyd
Emerald
Purpose Budgets are commonly viewed as a central component of management control systems (MCS). The beyond budgeting literature argues that managers can develop other controls to replace budgets. The purpose of this paper is to examine the MCS package of an organisation which has never in its history had a traditional budget. Design/methodology/approach The authors carry out an ethnomethodology informed case study at Mainfreight, a large multinational logistics company headquartered in New Zealand. Data were collected from interviews with managers and accountants, internal company documents, published corporate histories, a company presentation, the corporate Web site and site visits. Findings The authors found that Mainfreight’s MCS package was explicitly designed based on cultural and administrative systems which supported the planning, cybernetic and reward systems managers used to monitor key drivers of short-and long-term performance with a focus on profitability. Research limitations/implications The implication of the finding is that a more holistic view of the MCS package is necessary to understand how control is achieved within organisations that have moved beyond budgeting. Practical implications The authors show that organisations can operate without traditional budgets and still maintain a high level of control by developing appropriate cultural and administrative control systems that are internally consistent with their planning, cybernetic and reward systems. Originality/value The scarcity of organisations that have never had budgets limits opportunities to investigate an MCS package intended to function without budgets. This unique case setting reveals the design of an integrated non-budgeting MCS package.
Chris Akroyd, Sharlene Sheetal Narayan Biswas, and Sharon Chuang
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Purpose – This paper examines how management controls are used in practice to enable the alignment of projects with potentially conflicting corporate strategies during the product development process.Methodology/approach – Using an ethnomethodology informed approach we carry out a case study of an innovative New Zealand food company. Case data was collected through an internal company document, interviews with organization members from new product development (NPD), marketing and finance functions as well as an external market analysis document focused on our case study company and its market.Findings – Our case study company had both sales growth and profit growth corporate strategies which have been shown to cause tensions. We found that the company used four management controls to enable the alignment of product development projects to these strategies. The first management control was making different functions within the company responsible for different strategies. The other management controls used were product development project activities, cross functional project teams, and strategy focused project performance measures.Research limitations/implications – These finding add new insights to the management accounting literature by showing how a combination of management controls are used in practice to align projects with potentially conflicting corporate strategies during the product development process.Practical implications – While the alignment of product development projects to corporate strategy is not easy this case study shows how it can be enabled through the use of a number of management controls. Originality/value – We contribute to the management accounting research in this area by extending our understanding of how management controls can be used during the product development process.
Gary Spraakman, Winifred O'Grady, Davood Askarany, and Chris Akroyd
Informa UK Limited
Abstract Management accountants work in a computerized workplace with information technology (IT) for producing financial ledgers and for reporting. Thus, the role of the management accountant has shifted from capturing and recording transactions to analyzing business issues. The research question is: what IT knowledge and skills do employers require of management accounting graduates? An exploratory field research approach was used; chief financial officers and their subordinates at some of New Zealand's largest firms were consulted. These respondents were consistent in their requirements. They emphasized intermediate proficiency with some Microsoft tools (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook) and sufficient familiarity with the structure and navigation of an enterprise resource planning system to process transactions such as accounts receivable. Of those requirements, Excel for analysis was the most important. Our contributions update and augment the literature by clarifying the perceptions of employers regarding the IT competencies required of management accounting graduates.
Stephen Jollands, Chris Akroyd, and Norio Sawabe
Emerald
Purpose – This paper aims to examine a management control constructed by senior managers, a core value focused on sustainability, as it travels through time and space. The criticality of sustainable development suggests the need to understand the effects that core values have on organisational actions. Design/methodology/approach – A case study methodology carried out at a multinational organisation is used. This analysis was informed by an actor-network theory which allowed placing the organisation’s sustainability focused core value at the centre of this research. Findings – It was found that management control, in the form of a sustainability-focused core value, took on an active role in the case organisation. This enabled the opening of space and time that allowed actors to step forward and take action in relation to sustainable development. It is shown how the core value mobilised individual actors at specific points in time but did not enrol enough collective support to continue its travel. The resulting activities, though, provided a construction of sustainable development within the organisation more in line with traditional profit-seeking objectives rather than in relation to sustainability objectives, such as inter- and intra-generational equity. Research limitations/implications – These findings suggest possibilities for future research that examines the active role that management controls may take within sustainable development. Originality/value – This paper shows the active role a management control, a sustainability focused core value, took within an organisation. This builds on the research that examines management control in relation to sustainability issues and sustainable development as well as the literature that examines core values.
Frederick Ng, Julie A. Harrison, and Chris Akroyd
Emerald
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for the systematic examination of management accounting practices in small businesses using a revenue management perspective. This highlights the multi-faceted nature of size as a contextual factor and emphasises the role of management accounting in supporting profit-oriented decision-making, rather than its traditional role of co-ordination, control, and accountability. Design/methodology/approach – The framework is theoretically derived from the management accounting, revenue management, and small business literature. An illustrative case study of a small fast-food business is presented to demonstrate the applicability of this framework to practice. Findings – The paper identifies that various dimensions of business size have different and sometimes opposing effects on management accounting practices. Given heterogeneity is a common feature of small businesses, the framework considers alternative specifications of the size contingency variable. Research limitations/implications – The synthesis of small business characteristics and revenue management perspective offers a more incisive understanding of what has traditionally been considered a simple practice. The case study illustrates some of the influences of small business characteristics identified in the framework. Given its narrow scope, the findings are used for theorisation rather than offering generalisable results. Further cross-sectional comparisons of small businesses are needed to confirm size influences. Practical implications – The framework can assist practitioners to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of their management accounting practices and can help assess the value of adopting more sophisticated management accounting practices, given their particular business environment. A synthesis of these small business attributes can help practitioners identify key barriers to implementation. Originality/value – The revenue management perspective and the inclusion of key characteristics of small businesses provide a new approach to evaluating management accounting practices in small businesses.
VG Sridharan and Chris Akroyd
Wiley
AbstractAs the integration solution to the problem of specific assets cannot be replicated on human asset specificity because slavery is illegal, economic theory states that control systems substitute for integration through a balanced structure to help align diverse interests. To understand the intricate design features of the balance, we examine a case‐study firm. For low human asset specificity, the restriction and segregation of usable decision rights link with standards. However, incentives are traced to individuals only to the extent task deviations do not create relevant future costs that are difficult to be self‐corrected. For high specificity, incentives are related to outputs rather than outcomes, because outcome variations reduce the attractiveness of maintaining the balance. Subjective assessment is used as an efficient alternate ‘balancing’ solution and decision control is shared when available subjective data are inadequate.
Chris Akroyd and William Maguire
Emerald
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which management control is enacted in a product development setting, to provide new insights into the different roles that control can play in this context.Design/methodology/approachA nine‐month, in‐depth field study was carried out at a subsidiary of an Australasian multinational firm which operates in the consumer foods industry. A participant observation approach was used to collect field notes and documents from the organisation, which were analysed through the lens of ethnomethodology.FindingsThe results indicate that the role of management control during product development is mainly focused on reducing uncertainty at each stage and promoting goal congruence at the decision gates. The authors argue that this helps explain why management control has a positive effect in a product development setting.Research limitations/implicationsThe implication of this finding is that the role of management control changes during product development due to the involvement of different organisational members (communities of practice) and the activities that they carry out. This helps build a more holistic understanding of control in product development. As this is a field study of a specific company, the findings are not generalizable to other companies or settings. Future research needs to investigate other possible roles which management control may play in this context.Originality/valueThe paper extends the research in this area by showing how and why management control can take on multiple roles in practice.