Management Accounting Research
Management Accounting Research 21 (2010) 83–94
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Management Accounting Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/mar
Knowledge creation for practice in public sector management accounting by consultants and academics: Preliminary findings and directions for future research
G. Jan van Helden a,∗ , Harrie Aardema b , Henk J. ter Bogt c , Tom L.C.M. Groot d a b c d
University of Groningen, the Netherlands, PO Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands Open University, Heerlen and consultancy firm BMC, the Netherlands, Valkenburgerweg 177, 6419 AT Heerlen, The Netherlands University of Groningen, the Netherlands, PO Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
a r t i c l e
i n f o
a b s t r a c t
This study is about knowledge creation for practice in public sector management accounting by consultants and academics. It shows that researchers emphasize the importance of practice, but worry about the prospects of a successful cross-fertilization between practice and research, because of the pressure they feel to publish in international research journals. Their contacts with consultants are limited. Consultants have limited access to academic research, because of pressures from their daily work. Knowledge created by consultants is initiated by problems coming from practice; it has to be ready-made for application in practice, and is often a combination of explicit and tacit knowledge. However, our interviews with researchers show a more diffuse picture; the knowledge created by some of them is disciplinary-driven and fundamental, whereas the research of others is more problemdriven and applied. Our study hints at two intermediary groups, i.e. consultant-researchers and consultants working in the expertise centres of their firms, both of which can potentially overcome hindrances in the communication between
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Management Accounting Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/mar
Knowledge creation for practice in public sector management accounting by consultants and academics: Preliminary findings and directions for future research
G. Jan van Helden a,∗ , Harrie Aardema b , Henk J. ter Bogt c , Tom L.C.M. Groot d a b c d
University of Groningen, the Netherlands, PO Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands Open University, Heerlen and consultancy firm BMC, the Netherlands, Valkenburgerweg 177, 6419 AT Heerlen, The Netherlands University of Groningen, the Netherlands, PO Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
a r t i c l e
i n f o
a b s t r a c t
This study is about knowledge creation for practice in public sector management accounting by consultants and academics. It shows that researchers emphasize the importance of practice, but worry about the prospects of a successful cross-fertilization between practice and research, because of the pressure they feel to publish in international research journals. Their contacts with consultants are limited. Consultants have limited access to academic research, because of pressures from their daily work. Knowledge created by consultants is initiated by problems coming from practice; it has to be ready-made for application in practice, and is often a combination of explicit and tacit knowledge. However, our interviews with researchers show a more diffuse picture; the knowledge created by some of them is disciplinary-driven and fundamental, whereas the research of others is more problemdriven and applied. Our study hints at two intermediary groups, i.e. consultant-researchers and consultants working in the expertise centres of their firms, both of which can potentially overcome hindrances in the communication between