IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/bracre/v51y2019i3p241-258.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An ethnographic study of culture and performance in the UK lingerie industry

Author

Listed:
  • Smith, Julia A.
  • England, Claire

Abstract

This paper examines a particular case of organizational culture, its nature within the work environment, the impact it has on motivation and its interaction with a novel framework of performance measurement. It extends the extant empirical domain of such studies to include a retail unit in the UK lingerie industry. The work is an ethnographic study, and uses participant-observation to focus on the performance framework used and the culture in the unit examined. The evidence shows that a strong culture, in tandem with the innovative package of performance measures in this organization, together lead to enhanced performance. The paper makes an empirical contribution to the literature by using ethnographical evidence on accounting practice, as moderated by organizational culture in this unique setting. From a practical standpoint, it proposes that managers pay more attention to the influence of accounting on organizational culture (and vice versa), when setting performance targets and goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Smith, Julia A. & England, Claire, 2019. "An ethnographic study of culture and performance in the UK lingerie industry," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 241-258.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:51:y:2019:i:3:p:241-258
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2019.02.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890838919300216
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.bar.2019.02.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Trevor Hopper & Andrew Powell, 1985. "Making Sense Of Research Into The Organizational And Social Aspects Of Management Accounting: A Review Of Its Underlying Assumptions [1]," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 429-465, September.
    2. Ittner, CD & Larcker, DF, 1998. "Are nonfinancial measures leading indicators of financial performance? An analysis of customer satisfaction," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36, pages 1-35.
    3. Dent, Jeremy F., 1991. "Accounting and organizational cultures: A field study of the emergence of a new organizational reality," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 16(8), pages 705-732.
    4. George G. Gordon & Nancy DiTomaso, 1992. "Predicting Corporate Performance From Organizational Culture," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 783-798, November.
    5. Ittner, Christopher D. & Larcker, David F. & Randall, Taylor, 2003. "Performance implications of strategic performance measurement in financial services firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(7-8), pages 715-741.
    6. Grafton, Jennifer & Lillis, Anne M. & Widener, Sally K., 2010. "The role of performance measurement and evaluation in building organizational capabilities and performance," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 689-706, October.
    7. Scott, Thomas W. & Tiessen, P., 1999. "Performance measurement and managerial teams," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 263-285, April.
    8. Artz, Martin & Homburg, Christian & Rajab, Thomas, 2012. "Performance-measurement system design and functional strategic decision influence: The role of performance-measure properties," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(7), pages 445-460.
    9. Cristiano Busco & Robert W. Scapens, 2011. "Management accounting systems and organisational culture," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(4), pages 320-357, November.
    10. Ahrens, Thomas & Mollona, Massimiliano, 2007. "Organisational control as cultural practice--A shop floor ethnography of a Sheffield steel mill," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(4-5), pages 305-331.
    11. Henri, Jean-Francois, 2006. "Organizational culture and performance measurement systems," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 77-103, January.
    12. Adebayo Agbejule, 2011. "Organizational culture and performance: the role of management accounting system," Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(1), pages 74-89, May.
    13. Bryer, Alice Rose, 2011. "Accounting as learnt social practice: The case of the empresas recuperadas in Argentina," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 478-493.
    14. Morales, Jérémy & Lambert, Caroline, 2013. "Dirty work and the construction of identity. An ethnographic study of management accounting practices," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 228-244.
    15. Jérémy Morales & Caroline Virginie Lambert, 2013. "Dirty work and the construction of identity. An ethnographic study of management accounting practices," Post-Print hal-01097571, HAL.
    16. Margaret A. Abernethy & Wai Fong Chua, 1996. "A Field Study of Control System “Redesign†: The Impact of Institutional Processes on Strategic Choice," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(2), pages 569-606, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Haishi Li & Youxue Jiang & Anam Ashiq & Asma Salman & Mohammad Haseeb & Malik Shahzad Shabbir, 2023. "The role of technological innovation, strategy, firms performance, and firms size and their aggregate impact on organizational structure," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(4), pages 2010-2020, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nguyen, Thi Thu & Mia, Lokman & Winata, Lanita & Chong, Vincent K., 2017. "Effect of transformational-leadership style and management control system on managerial performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 202-213.
    2. Ben Khaled, Wafa & Gérard, Benoît & Farjaudon, Anne-Laure, 2022. "Analysis of the political and identity dynamics of a dominant mode of control: The case of business ethics control and its legalization," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. Henri, Jean-Francois, 2006. "Organizational culture and performance measurement systems," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 77-103, January.
    4. M. Frigotto & Graziano Coller & Paolo Collini, 2013. "The Strategy and Management Control Systems relationship as emerging dynamic process," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(3), pages 631-656, August.
    5. Cooper, Christine, 2015. "Entrepreneurs of the self: The development of management control since 1976," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 14-24.
    6. repec:dau:papers:123456789/14570 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Berry, A.J. & Coad, A.F. & Harris, E.P. & Otley, D.T. & Stringer, C., 2009. "Emerging themes in management control: A review of recent literature," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 2-20.
    8. Schönefeld, Carsten & Möller, Klaus & Engelhardt, Philipp, 2015. "Erfolgstreiber Innovationskennzahlen," Die Unternehmung - Swiss Journal of Business Research and Practice, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 69(3), pages 322-350.
    9. Bedford, David S. & Malmi, Teemu & Sandelin, Mikko, 2016. "Management control effectiveness and strategy: An empirical analysis of packages and systems," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 12-28.
    10. Chenhall, Robert H., 2008. "Accounting for the horizontal organization: A review essay," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(4-5), pages 517-550.
    11. Timur Pasch, 2019. "Strategy and innovation: the mediating role of management accountants and management accounting systems’ use," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 213-246, July.
    12. Vollmer, Hendrik, 2019. "Accounting for tacit coordination: The passing of accounts and the broader case for accounting theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 15-34.
    13. Wai Fong Chua, 2022. "Matters of concern and engaged research," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(4), pages 4615-4627, December.
    14. Guénin-Paracini, Henri & Malsch, Bertrand & Paillé, Anne Marché, 2014. "Fear and risk in the audit process," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 264-288.
    15. Hall, Matthew, 2010. "Accounting information and managerial work," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 28539, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    16. Jan Bouwens & Laurence Van Lent, 2007. "Assessing the Performance of Business Unit Managers," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(4), pages 667-697, September.
    17. Peters, Matt D. & Wieder, Bernhard & Sutton, Steve G. & Wakefield, James, 2016. "Business intelligence systems use in performance measurement capabilities: Implications for enhanced competitive advantage," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 1-17.
    18. Thi Cam Tu Luong & Ann Jorissen & Ine Paeleman, 2019. "Performance Measurement for Sustainability: Does Firm Ownership Matter," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-35, August.
    19. Vassili Joannides, 2011. "Apports De L'Ethnicite A La Culture En Sciences De Gestion," Post-Print hal-00676555, HAL.
    20. Hall, Matthew, 2008. "The effect of comprehensive performance measurement systems on role clarity, psychological empowerment and managerial performance," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(2-3), pages 141-163.
    21. Cheng-Tsung Lu & Yeun-Wen Chang, 2016. "A Study on the Relationship between the Typology of Knowledge-Intensive Businesses (KIBs) and Performance Measurement Systems (PMS): Evidence from Taiwan," Accounting and Finance Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 5(4), pages 1-89, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:51:y:2019:i:3:p:241-258. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/the-british-accounting-review .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.