scholarly journals Appearance, Disappearance and Reappearance of Activity Based Costing: A Case Study from a Sri Lankan Manufacturing Firm

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 49-81
Author(s):  
Chamali Wijerathne ◽  
◽  
Tharusha Gooneratne ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Activity Based Costing ◽  
Manufacturing Firm ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
Human Actors

The purpose of this paper was to identify why activity based costing (ABC) implementation in organizations at times do not continue despite their early interest, but later regain importance. Using the qualitative case study approach, the paper explored the reasons for the appearance, disappearance and reappearance of ABC drawing field data from a Sri Lankan porcelain manufacturing firms, called Gamma. Guided by the theoretical underpinnings of the Actor-Network Theory (ANT), and the translation process therein, we follow organizational managers (human actors) and their interactions with various objects and systems (non-human actors) within the particular context of Gamma, during the different phases of the ABC project. Our findings suggest that the appearance, disappearance and reappearance of ABC have been shaped by a network of actors comprising both humans and non-humans, and that the implementation and continuation of ABC is constrained by the interests of these various actors both inside and outside of the firm. While most prior research has focused on a single phase of ABC implementation, such as the success or the failure, this study brings out its reappearance, following a phase of appearance and disappearance, hence it is a useful addition to prior literature. Furthermore, the findings of this research have important implications for practitioners who are striving to revive projects, such as ABC in organizations. Keywords: activity based costing, appearance, disappearance, reappearance, actor-network theory, case study

The implementation of activity-based costing by a local government: an actor-network theory and trial of strength perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurice Gosselin ◽  
Marc Journeault
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Activity Based Costing ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
Human Actors

Purpose Some public sector organizations have decided to implement activity-based costing (ABC), a new cost calculation device and management accounting innovation initially designed for the private sector. The purpose of this study is to better understand the translation of this new calculation device in the context of a local government and to identify the trials of strength that actors faced during the implementation. Design/methodology/approach Building on actor-network theory and the concept of “trial of strength,” this study examines how a major change in a large local government’s structure, the merger of several cities, led to the adoption of ABC. This case study provides a setting for conducting a longitudinal analysis of the translation of a cost management innovation, ABC, in a public sector organization. Findings This study highlights how human and non-human actors interact when implementing a management accounting innovation in a local government and the trials of strength that they face. It also shows that although ABC helped the local government deal with issues such as setting fees, assessing outsourcing opportunities, increasing accountability and improving processes, the oversophistication of the technology used to implement the ABC model and the lack of links between the costing device and the budgeting process provoked a struggle among these two networks, leading actors to choose the budget over ABC. Originality/value This study’s findings extend the work on trials of strength of Christensen et al. (2019) and Laguecir et al. (2020). While those two studies focused on the struggles existing between opposing networks of human actors regarding the strategic orientation or the mission of public sector organizations, this study highlights that trials of strength may also occur when actors agree on the objectives of the new accounting innovation but not on how it is implemented.

scholarly journals Giant World of Monsters

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Mikkel Snorre Wilms Boysen
Keyword(s):  
Creative Process ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Creative Processes ◽  
Creativity Research ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Human Actors

ResuméInden for kreativitetsteori har der i de seneste 10 år været øget opmærksomhed omkring kreativitetens distribuerede og kollaborative aspekter. Først og fremmest har dette været udtryk for en epistemologisk drejning. Fra et fokus på individet har man således i stigende grad interesseret sig for, hvorledes kreativitet opstår som en konsekvens af et sammenspil mellem mennesker, materialer, teknikker, traditioner, m.m. Det nye perspektiv betyder ikke nødvendigvis, at velkendte pædagogiske metoder må forandres. På den anden side, er det oplagt at afsøge, hvilke potentialer denne nye optik kan tilbyde i forhold til at kvalificere pædagogisk rammesatte læringsmiljøer. Dette spørgsmål undersøges i denne artikel med afsæt i et autoetnografisk casestudie, hvor fire SFO børn udvikler et brætspil i sammenspil med en voksen. I casestudiet arbejder den voksne systematisk med at koble børnenes tanker og ideer til eksterne/interne netværk bestående af aktører, traditioner og materialer. Hermed benyttes kreativitetens distribuerede aspekt proaktivt med henblik på at kvalificere den innovative proces. Casestudiet peger på, at en sådan type didaktik er værdifuld i forhold til at fremme kreativitet og skabe nye typer af kollaborative fællesskaber mellem pædagoger og børn. Giant World of MonstersA case study of collaborative creative processes among children and adults promoted and analyzed through the lenses of actor-network theory and distributed creativity.Within the last ten to twenty years of creativity research, the focus on interaction and collaboration has increased. First of all, this development is promoted by a new epistemological approach, according to which creativity is viewed as something that is distributed among people, materials, techniques, traditions, etc. This relatively new perspective does not necessarily have to affect well-known pedagogical methods. On the other hand, it seems relevant to explore the pedagogical potentials, this new perspective might entail. In this article, the potential is explored through an autoethnographic case study, in which four schoolchildren (ages 10 to 11) develop a game in collaboration with an adult. In the process, the adult systematically establishes connections between the children’ ideas and external networks represented by human and non-human actors, such as books, materials, persons, games, etc. Thus, the distributed aspects of creativity are intentionally activated and highlighted in order to strengthen the creative process. The case study indicates that this type of pedagogy might be productive in terms of promoting creativity and establishing new types of relations between children and teachers/pedagogues.

The Iranian Wheat Growers’ Climate Information Use

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Sharifzadeh ◽  
Gholam Zamani ◽  
Ezatollah Hossein Karami ◽  
Davar Khalili ◽  
Arthur Tatnall
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Information Access ◽  
Information Use ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Fars Province ◽  
Climate Information ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Processing Factors

This research project employed an interdisciplinary attempt to study agricultural climate information use, linking sociology of translation (actor-network theory) and actor analysis premises in a qualitative research design. The research method used case study approaches and purposively selected a sample consisting of wheat growers of the Fars province of Iran, who are known as contact farmers. Concepts from actor-network theory (ANT) have been found to provide a useful perspective on the description and analysis of the cases. The data were analyzed using a combination of an actor-network theory (ANT) framework and the dynamic actor-network analysis (DANA) model. The findings revealed socio political (farmers’ awareness, motivation, and trust), and information processing factors (accuracy of information, access to information, and correspondence of information to farmers’ condition) as the key elements in facilitating climate information use in farming practices.

Nonhuman Actors, Hybrid Networks, and Conflicts Over Municipal Waste Incinerators

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Magnani
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Municipal Waste ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Natural Material ◽  
Environmental Conflicts ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Waste Incinerators

This article seeks to make an original contribution to the study of environmental conflicts on waste management infrastructures by applying concepts derived from actor-network theory in an empirical case study. The article is organized into three main parts. The first highlights how the bulk of the literature on the subject has systematically ignored the role of natural/material factors. The second part analyzes the theoretical and methodological contribution of actor-network theory to the analysis of environmental conflicts. Finally, the third part focuses on a case study from northern Italy concerning a conflict over a project for a large-scale municipal waste-to-energy incinerator. The author shows how the outcome of the conflict, namely the failure of the project notwithstanding a convergence of powerful interests, can only be fully understood by adopting a relational definition of agency that sees it as the effect of the process of building associations between humans and nonhumans.

The Impact of Network of Actors on the Information Technology

2011 ◽  
pp. 234-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiko Iyamu ◽  
Arthur Tatnall
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
It Strategy ◽  
Web Portal ◽  
Computing Environment ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Human Actors ◽  
The Impact

Organisations’ reliance on Information Technology (IT) is rapidly increasing. IT strategy is developed and implemented for particular purposes by different organizations. We should therefore expect that there will be network of actors within the computing environment, and that such network of actors will be the key to understanding many otherwise unexpected situations during the development and implementation of IT strategy. This network of actors has aligned interests. Many organizations are developing and implementing their IT strategy, while little is known about the network of actors and their impacts, which this paper reveals. This paper describes how Actor-Network Theory (ANT) was employed to investigate the impact of network of actors on the development and implementation of IT strategy in an organisation. ANT was used as it can provide a useful perspective on the importance of relationships between both human and non-human actors. Another example: design and implementation of a B-B web portal, is offered for comparison.

Technology and Ethical Behavior in Running Sports

2021 ◽  
pp. 534-549
Author(s):  
Norma Smith
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Behavior ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Distance Running ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Wearable Technologies ◽  
Long Distance Running ◽  
The Individual

Wearable technologies' popularity in sporting practices continues to grow. Runners use GPS watches and activity trackers to track steps, log miles, map courses, and monitor heart rates. Likewise, wearables are integrated into long distance running events, with race officials relying on technologies to effectively execute events. However, technologies can also enable and monitor cheating. Many studies focusing on the individual explore why cheaters make unethical decisions. Actor-Network Theory shifts cheating's focus from the individual and moral failings to an assemblage that includes not only the runner, but nonhumans, such as technology, as well. A 2015 Canadian Ironman cheating incident case study illuminates intricate relationships and networks between humans and nonhumans. By examining the intersections of cheating and technology in running sports, the authors see where and how technology works as intended or is repurposed. Whereas a human-centered approach to sport and cheating dismisses wearables' agency, Actor-Network Theory reveals their underexamined, sociotechnical complexities.

Talking about Associations and Descriptions or a Short Story about Associology

2017 ◽  
pp. 220-233
Author(s):  
Beate Ochsner
Keyword(s):  
Short Story ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Bruno Latour ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Human Actors ◽  
Agency And Structure

In 1999, Bruno Latour advocated for “abandoning what was wrong with ANT, that is ‘actor,' ‘network,' ‘theory' without forgetting the hyphen.” However, it seems that the “hyphen,” which brings with it the operation of hyphenating or connecting, was abandoned too quickly. If one investigates what something is by asking what it is meant as well as how it emerges, by (re-)tracing the strategy in materials in situated practices and sets of relations, and, by bypassing the distinction between agency and structure, one shifts from studying “what causes what” to describing “how things happen.” This perspective not only makes it necessary for us to clarify the changing positions and displacements of human and non-human actors in the assemblage, but, also question the role (the enrolment) of the researcher him/herself: What kind of “relation” connects the researcher to his/her research and associates him/her with the subject, how to prevent (or not) his/her own involvement, and, to what degree s/he ignores the relationality of his/her writing in a “sociology of association?”

Actor-Network Theory and the Online Investor

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-31
Author(s):  
Arthur Adamopoulos ◽  
Martin Dick ◽  
Bill Davey
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Human Actors ◽  
Theory Research ◽  
The Way

An actor-network analysis of the way in which online investors use Internet-based services has revealed a phenomenon that is not commonly reported in actor-network theory research. An aspect of the research that emerged from interviews of a wide range of online investors is a peculiar effect of changes in non-human actors on the human actors. In this paper, the authors report on the particular case and postulate that this effect may be found, if looked for, in many other actor-network theory applications.

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