Transcript Slide 2

The role of narrative in developing
management control knowledge
from fieldwork: a pragmatic
constructivist perspective
W.Seal and R.Mattimoe
Origins of research:
CIMA funded Project: management accounting practices in UK hospitality industry
Actors:
Financial
managers;
researchers
Empirical context:
3 family/small
business owned
hotel sites
Research aims:
1. How is management
control knowledge
created by managers
and researchers?
2. Discover/report
(new) management
control practices/
knowledge
Research
methodologies:
Pragmatic
Constructivism
Abduction
Narrative
Competing or
Complementary?
Figure 1. The research design of the paper: actors, scenes and plots
Logics/
possibilities
Facts
Fieldwork
In hotels
Abductive use of
mainstream hospitality
theories: Neoclassical
price theory; contingency
theory
Reality:
Researchers integrated field
Texts: numbers, words, images
Communication
Identify and create
Management control
knowledge
Values
Claims for PC
• Model can be applied to individual actors and
organizations (management control topos)
• Confronts illusion of management control
(Dermer and Lucas) by emphasing dialogue
between managers and all other organizational
actors/avoiding mechanical/top down control
models
• Actors (individuals/organizations) can achieve
goals because they are realistic
• Realism based on integration of four
dimensions: facts; values; logics/possibilities;
communication
Claims for narrative
• People make sense through stories (Weick)
• Stories have plots, characters, emotions,
surprises (novelty)
• Narratives part of managerial strategising
(Llewellyn)
• Leaders create illusion of control through
narrative: leaders who cannot create illusion of
control lose followers (Czarniawska)
• Drama - narrative links action, control and
leadership themes
Control philosophies (Czarniawska, 1997, p. 39)
Environment as determining factor:
Scene – action – actor
Coastal
Agency as determining factor:
actor – action - scene
entrepreneurship theory
Riverside
actor – scene - action
leadership theory
Constructionist model:
action - scene
- actor -
Countryhouse
Pragmatic constructivist
model
Aspects of narrative
Negotiated
Reality;
Illusion of
control
Narrative
as
Positioning/
strategising
Organizational
Topos;
Communication;
Possibilities;
Actor driven
organizational
Stories;
Narrative as
communication
and sensemaking;
Possibilities
Bottom-up
co-authorship
Facts=
things+
actor
Practical
validity
Logics/
possibilities
Facts
Spectacular coastal
site
Well established family
holiday business
Conscious innovation
culture led by
accountant
Brand maintenance
Coastal: management
control topos
Values
Communication
Internal: communication based on
reporting systems
External: engagement with industry
bodies such as BAHA
Hospitality
background of
Owners/
Profit plus long term
sustainability
agenda
Coastal: insights from narrative
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lack of drama
Lack of novelty
No issues about sensemaking
Control philosophy –
Scene – action - actor
Boring story?
Logic
Facts
Diversification from
weddings
Revenue
Management/
accounting innovation
in reporting
Spectacular riverside
Site/well established wedding
business
New facilities (spa,etc)
Riverside: management
control topos
Values
Communication
Timely revenue and cost reports
Profit orientation
Hospitality
background of
owners
Riverside: insights from
narrative
• Tensions between new FC and general
management- business more complex
needing better accounting
• Positioning and lack of experience of
hospitality industry taking personal toll on
FC
• Story engaging due to emotional impact of
key informant
• Romantic genre with uncertain outcome
Logic
Facts
Learning mode
Lack of data
Diversification from
weddings
Semi-rural/
Country house
Ex-conference
centre
Countryhouse: management
control topos
Values
Communication
Evolving from owners
management methods
Talking to other hotels and
Tourist board
Profit orientation
Non-hospitality
Background of
owners
Countryhouse: insights from
narrative
• Strong element of sensemaking
• Novelty of situation part of the plot
• Strong need to communicate with external
players
• co-authorship and a shared narrative
• ‘View from somewhere’
• action-scene-actor - staff created order
through a presumption of rationality
(Swieringa and Weick, 1987).
Professional
background
Previous
Employment
experience
Owners’
knowledge
Management control topoi
Other practitioners
consultants
Facts
Logics
Values
communication
Researchers
Concepts:
Facts;values
Logics;
communications
For narrative:
• More natural way of recording interviews
• Better take on individual sense making
• Potentially better read- more emotion, plot,
character
Against narrative
• May alienate audience who prefer more
rationalistic approach
• Difficult to integrate theory and data
• Researcher as literary critic- may be a
self-indulgent, lazy form of research with
no need to leave desk!
• Research as media studies