Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Abstract
During the last decades the need for a better definition of the central concepts of
management control has been claimed repeatedly by several authors in their work. The
lack of clarity in this matter is an essential problem for the development and maturity of a
sound theory of management control. The diversity of theories and approaches has
contributed to the understanding of this complex phenomenon, although these
contributions could have been more fruitful if they had shared a conceptual framework.
The aim of this paper is to identify the central concepts in need of a higher degree of
consensus and find out whether recent contributions have brought some insight on them.
In addition, it is also expected to explore and find opportunities for future research in the
same field of study. After making a review of seminal and recent contributions, it is inferred
that the conceptualization on the field of management control has achieved some degree
of success at sharing the understanding of specific aspects, while at the same time has
blurred the understanding of others. Then it is concluded that researchers on management
control still need to improve their degree of agreement on three central concepts: the
management control problem, the definition and description of management control
mechanisms, and the scope and boundaries of management control systems. Several
research paths are identified and proposed.
Resumo
Abstract
Information from the project managers of the organizations was collected, and
complemented by a literature review. We analyzed the correlation between the variables
that determine the adoption, and the criteria that determine project success. The positive
effect of project management adoption in the performance of cooperation projects is
demonstrated, in spite of a low use of methodologies, techniques and tools within the
sector.
The article shows the importance of project management in cooperation and aid projects,
with the purpose of increasing researchers’ awareness about the field as applicable
knowledge and about the benefits of its use in the sector. The paper shows that project
management can improve project efficiency and accountability in other sectors.
Resumo
Abstract: In line with the Resource-based view, intangibles have become the key resource
for generating competitive advantages in a firm. This is particularly significant in the case
of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), whose competitive advantage is frequently
based on intangible resources. However, there has been little attempt to assess and
measure the role of intangible resources in firms’ performance, and the motives driving
their valuation process. Besides, most of the studies have been carried out in large firms.
This article, combining theoretical contributions and empirical evidence, aims to analyze
the relationship between the motives, external or internal, driving the valuation process of
intangibles and the performance obtained by SMEs. Considering the recognized
hypotheses and based on a survey of a representative sample of 369 Spanish SMEs’
managers, in addition to the financial data collected from these firms, we explore whether
the different motives driving the companies to perform a financial valuation of their
intangibles are reflected in the business performance, and conditioned by financial
structure and the level of intangibles. Results indicate that SMEs consider important to
report intangibles value to external stakeholders because these depict a higher level of
borrowing as well as a higher level of intangibles accounted in the balance sheet.
Furthermore, SMEs that consider the financial valuation of their intangibles for internal
reasons achieve better performance. The implications of these results are discussed as
well as suggestions for future research.
Resumo