Mahama, Habib (2000) The role of financial and non-financial information in the constitution and stabilisation of collaborative supply relationships. PhD thesis, University of New South Wales, Australia.
Abstract
Collaborative supply relationships (CSRs) are growing in significance in contemporary inter-organisational management. Their growing significance apart, they are distinguished from traditional buyer-supplier relationships by their unique characteristics. These unique characteristics have implications for accounting theory and practice. Motivated by the uniqueness and growing significance of CSRs, the paucity of empirical studies of the role of accounting in such relationships, and the inability of existing organisations and management literature to explain their emergence and stabilisation, this thesis investigated the role of financial and nonfinancial information in the constitution and stabilisation of these relationships. In doing so, CSRs were viewed as patterned networks of relationships between actors with multiple, ambiguous and dynamic "interests". To be able to study the role of financial and non-financial information in the dynamic processes of such networks, an analytical framework was developed from the actor-network theory notion of sociotechnical networks. Focusing on the relationality and performative character of CSRs, this framework allowed for the investigation of: (a) the processes by which actors enrolled each other into the CSRs they were constituting; (b) the manner in which these actors stabilised their relationships; and (c) the circuits through which financial and non-financial information came to be implicated in these processes. Field studies of three groups of CSRs were undertaken. The major conclusions from these field studies are that: (i) organisational norms rather than contract characteristics have the greatest influence on the constitution of CSRs; (ii) the constitution and mobilisation of CSRs is achieved through three key intermediaries - inscriptions, talk and corporate allies; (iii) the role of financial and non-financial information in the constitution and stabilisation of CSRs depends on both technical/economic and social factors; (iv) the definition of a "relevant" cost is not merely a technical but a social act; (v) the use of financial and non-financial performance standards can be highly problematic in the dynamic processes of CSRs stabilisation; and (vi) the struggles to stabilise CSRs are moderated by the "trust" actors have in each other's behaviour and intentions.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Chua, Wai Fung and Briers, Mike |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | industrial procurement; strategic alliances |
| Index terms: | actor-network theory, intermediary, social factor, investigation, stabilization, organizational management, analytical framework, emergence, empirical study, financial performance, strategic alliance, accounting, field study, norms |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, business analysis, research methods, systems engineering, data analysis and analytics, theoretical framing, business, economic analysis, sociology, partnership management |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Business Strategy, Stakeholder Management, Engineering Principles, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here