Ph.D. theses
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Filantropiens gensidighedsrelationer i teori og praksisMahncke, Henrik (Frederiksberg, 2016)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: De almennyttige fonde har gennem de seneste 15 år finansieret en lang række store bygge- og anlægsprojekter for de danske museer. Fondenes position er i denne periode blevet styrket ved en markant øget uddelingskapacitet og nye uddelingsmetoder i kombination med færre offentlige midler til disse byggerier. Det har skabt en ny dynamik på museumsområdet og flyttet rundt på rollefordelingen mellem staten, kommunerne, museerne og fondene. Denne ph.d.-afhandling afdækker disse markante udviklingstræk ved at undersøge de store gaver, som fænomen i et senmoderne samfund. Metaspørgsmålet er, hvordan de store gaver og nye former for uddelingspraksis ændrer den langsigtede relation mellem almennyttige fonde, staten og kommunerne. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/9360 Files in this item: 1
Henrik Mahncke.pdf (4.673Mb) -
Lund Pedersen, Carsten (Frederiksberg, 2016)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The field of strategic management has long alluded to the idea that lower-level employees immersed in the day-to-day business have experiential insights of potential strategic value. This line of thought has predominantly been supported by anecdotal evidence and explored in meticulous case studies to uncover the evolutionary traits of autonomous ventures. In a related vein, studies of ‘strategic issue management’ (SIM) tried to uncover organizational processes to identify emerging issues in volatile environments and devise proper strategic responses. These conceptual models were introduced in the very first volume of ‘Strategic Management Journal’, but little empirical research has since tried to develop the conception of SIM. An underlying research aim of this dissertation is to address and bridge these two literature streams, honing the idea of utilizing the collective wisdom possessed by frontline employees about ongoing changes in the internal and external environments as a unique information source to extend and advance SIM. In view of this, the dissertation tries to answer the following research question: “To what extent can frontline employees and customers predict firm performance – and how can it be utilized in SIM?” In order to answer this question, the dissertation was divided into three different papers, each with a distinct research focus. The first paper is a conceptual study that reviews and builds theory, by arguing that the collective wisdom of frontline employees and customers can be utilized to predict firm performance and identify emerging issues in SIM. The second paper is a qualitative study that looks into how intended and emergent strategy processes interact over time in a particularly hostile industry context. The third paper is a quantitative study that seeks to measure the predictive accuracy, or collective wisdom, of frontline employees and customers in predicting firm performance. The study includes more than 150,000 individual forecasts based on 13,531 survey responses which is subsequently compared to measures of actual firm performance. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/9358 Files in this item: 1
Carsten Lund Pedersen.pdf (3.042Mb) -
Zarzecka, Olga (Frederiksberg, 2016)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Professional networks of senior managers have indisputable value for them as well as for their organizations. In recent years, much attention has been given to the structure of these networks as it reflects senior managers’ opportunity to access valuable resources. Surprisingly, the actual resources that senior managers acquire through their network ties, i.e. the tie content, remain heavily understudied. Hence, the purpose of this dissertation is to answer the following question: What resources flow through informal ties in senior managers’ professional networks, and why? The first chapter introduces the topic of this dissertation as well as the overall research question. The three next chapters are empirical studies of informal ties in professional networks of Danish senior managers, that together attempt to answer the overall research question. Chapter 2 looks into gender differences in resource exchanges and the effect of these differences on the number of, and extent to which, resources are provided by a network tie. Chapter 3 explores how firm underperfomance and social identity with corporate elite alter types of resources a network tie provides. Chapter 4 focuses on a tie’s internal dynamics and studies the effect of friendship on the extent and novelty of professional advice a tie provides. The fifth and final chapter of this dissertation summarizes the findings of the research papers in the light of the overall research question. Essentially, this dissertation suggests that the strategic value of professional informal network ties is contingent on the actual combination of resources these ties provide. Furthermore, this combination depends on micro-level mechanisms that affect three dimensions of tie content: the number of resources, the type of resources and the extent to which these resources are provided by informal network ties. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/9357 Files in this item: 1
Olga Zarzecka.pdf (2.112Mb) -
The role of internal controls and materialityChristensen, Leif (Frederiksberg, 2016)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Accounting and auditing is closely related to the quality of data. Two important elements supporting the quality of information are internal controls and materiality. Inspired by Simons (1994), these elements can be considered “basic building blocks”. Internal controls are perhaps the most important element, as they ensure that information used for management purposes has the required quality (Kinney, 2000). This information can be used as a basis for preparing the external financial reporting (COSO, 2013) and as a prerequisite for establishing information-based management control systems (MCS) (Simons, 1994). When regarding management controls as a package, internal controls are part of the administrative controls and often formalised in policies and procedures (Malmi and Brown, 2008). The level of controls should be guided by the need for reliable information. These considerations are linked to another “basic building block”, namely the concept of materiality. The basic meaning of materiality is “that there is no need to be concerned with what is not important or with what does not matter” (Bernstein, 1967). Gaining an understanding of these concepts is important in order to answer the question “when is enough – enough?” The information should be both reliable and relevant, but there is also the cost to consider, since companies spend considerable resources on the design, implementation and operation of administrative controls and financial reporting (Carney, 2006). It is also important to understand these concepts when performing an audit of the internal controls embedded in the company systems and processes (Kinney et al., 2013), as well as when preparing an annual report. The overall objective of this thesis is to add to the understanding of the role of internal controls and materiality. The three articles included aim at meeting this objective by analysing selected areas within accounting and auditing. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/9353 Files in this item: 1
Leif Christensen.pdf (2.457Mb) -
Weller, Angeli Elizabeth (Frederiksberg, 2016)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: In this dissertation, I explore the practices created to manage business ethics and corporate social responsibility in multinational corporations and the relationship between them across three separate but interrelated articles. The first article suggests that these practices are resident in distinct communities of practice, and therefore there are boundaries in both meaning and identity that make alignment between them problematic. The second article looks at the boundaries between these communities by exploring the history of the professional associations in the business ethics and corporate social responsibility field in the United States, as well as their current articulations of knowledge and competence in their respective fields. The third article is a single case study of a company that purposefully aligned ethics, compliance, corporate social responsibility and sustainability practices and managers, and it explores both the enablers of alignment and the learning stages that transformed them into a single community of practice. Theoretically, this work applies communities of practice, an organizational learning theory, within the business and society field, thereby contributing a helpful lens through which to explore responsible business practices and the practitioners that create and implement them. Leveraging this perspective, this research offers a theoretical explanation about why practices are not currently aligned and illuminates both the barriers and enablers to future alignment. Practically, this work shows that boundaries exist between business ethics and corporate social responsibility practices, and calls on scholars and managers who seek alignment to both build intentional bridges between these communities and consider alternate trajectories for the evolution of these practices. Done well, learning across the boundaries between these communities of practice could in turn catalyze managers’ understanding of ethics and responsibility in business. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/9352 Files in this item: 1
Angeli Wellern.pdf (2.001Mb)
