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Lundh, S., Seger, K., Frostenson, M. & Helin, S. (2023). Accounting as a means to legitimacy: The case of internally generated intangibles. Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management/Emerald
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Accounting as a means to legitimacy: The case of internally generated intangibles
2023 (English)In: Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management/Emerald, ISSN 1176-6093, E-ISSN 1758-7654Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the norms that underlie and condition the decisions made by preparers of financial reports.

Design/methodology/approach: This interview-based study illustrates how financial report preparers engage in behaviors linked to the perception of recognition and measurement of internally generated intangible assets by important stakeholders. All of the companies included in the study adhere to International Financial Reporting Standards when creating their consolidated financial statements. The participants selected for the study are involved in accounting decisions related to research and developmentin accordance with International Accounting Standard (IAS) 38.

Findings: The authors identify the normative assumptions underlying the recognition and measurement of internally generated intangibles, which are based on concerns of consistency, credibility and reasonableness. The authors find that the normative basis for legitimacy in financial accounting is primarily related to cognitive legitimacy and is not of a moral or pragmatic nature.

Originality/value: The study reveals that recognition and measurement of internally generated intangibles in financial accounting relate to legitimacy. The authors identify specific norms that form the basis of this legitimacy, namely, consistency, credibility and reasonableness. These identified norms serve as constraints, mitigating the risk of judgment misuse within the IAS 38 framework for earnings management.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2023
Keywords
IAS 38, Intangibles, Legitimacy, R&D, Recognition, Measurement
National Category
Business Administration
Research subject
Business Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-110124 (URN)10.1108/qram-04-2021-0075 (DOI)001113090700001 ()
Funder
The Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation, P2017-0076:1
Available from: 2023-12-10 Created: 2023-12-10 Last updated: 2023-12-15Bibliographically approved
Borglund, T., Frostenson, M., Helin, S. & Arbin, K. (2023). The Professional Logic of Sustainability Managers: Finding Underlying Dynamics. Journal of Business Ethics, 182(1), 59-76
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The Professional Logic of Sustainability Managers: Finding Underlying Dynamics
2023 (English)In: Journal of Business Ethics, ISSN 0167-4544, E-ISSN 1573-0697, Vol. 182, no 1, p. 59-76Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The role of the Sustainability Manager (SM) is expanding. Whether SMs are turning into a new profession is under debate. Pointing to the need for a distinct professional logic to qualify as a profession, we identify what is contained within a professional logic of SMs. Through analyzing ambiguities present in the role of the SMs, we show that there is no specific distinct professional logic of SMs, but rather a meta-construct building on market, bureaucratic, and sustainability logics. In addition, we point to the complex configurations of and relationships between these underlying logics. The complexities also explain why the SMs differ from traditional professions and why it is problematic to talk about a ‘SM profession’. Rather, SMs are ‘organizational professionals’. The article builds on 21 interviews with SMs working for Swedish companies.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2023
Keywords
Institutional logics, Profession, Sustainability, Sustainability manager, Sweden
National Category
Business Administration
Research subject
Business Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-96149 (URN)10.1007/s10551-021-05000-1 (DOI)000734184000001 ()2-s2.0-85121630404 (Scopus ID)
Funder
The Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation, P2017-0086:1
Note

Funding agency:

Örebro University

Available from: 2021-12-27 Created: 2021-12-27 Last updated: 2023-12-08Bibliographically approved
Frostenson, M., Helin, S. & Arbin, K. (2022). Organizational sustainability identity: Constructing oneself as sustainable. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 38(3), Article ID 101229.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Organizational sustainability identity: Constructing oneself as sustainable
2022 (English)In: Scandinavian Journal of Management, ISSN 0956-5221, E-ISSN 1873-3387, Vol. 38, no 3, article id 101229Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In the literature, organizational sustainability identity tends to be treated as something that is ‘engineered’ within business organizations through control, reporting, target setting, strategic communication, and other instruments. Through a case study of a company mainly active within the recycling industry, an alternative understanding is given. A distinct organizational sustainability identity is, rather, a social construct based on perceptions of the core operations as “sustainable in themselves” and collaborative work with customers that is perceived as entailing sustainable solutions. Understood in this way, organizational sustainability identity has relatively little to do with formal controls such as codes, policies, reports used by management to position the company as sustainable. Rather, for organizational members, the process of constructing oneself as sustainable builds on convictions about the core operations and the possession of specific capabilities manifested in customer relations. The article adds to current literature through its constructivistic approach and through identifying underlying beliefs that condition the process of forming an organizational sustainability identity.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2022
Keywords
Core operations, Customer relations, Identity, Organization, Sustainability, Sweden
National Category
Business Administration
Research subject
Business Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-100216 (URN)10.1016/j.scaman.2022.101229 (DOI)000831021600001 ()2-s2.0-85134490800 (Scopus ID)
Funder
The Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation, P2017-0086:1
Available from: 2022-07-25 Created: 2022-07-25 Last updated: 2022-08-04Bibliographically approved
Babri, M., Davidson, B. & Helin, S. (2021). An Updated Inquiry into the Study of Corporate Codes of Ethics: 2005–2016. Journal of Business Ethics, 168(1), 71-108
Open this publication in new window or tab >>An Updated Inquiry into the Study of Corporate Codes of Ethics: 2005–2016
2021 (English)In: Journal of Business Ethics, ISSN 0167-4544, E-ISSN 1573-0697, Vol. 168, no 1, p. 71-108Article, review/survey (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This paper presents a review of 100 empirical papers studying corporate codes of ethics (CCEs) in business organizations from the time period mid-2005 until mid-2016, following approximately an 11-year time period after the previous review of the literature. The reviewed papers are broadly categorized as content-oriented, output-oriented, or transformation-oriented. The review sheds light on empirical focus, context, questions addressed, methods, findings and theory. The findings are discussed in terms of the three categories as well as the aggregate, stock of empirical CCE studies in comparison with previous reviews, answering the question “where are we now?” Content and output studies still stand for the majority of the studies, whereas the transformation studies are fewer. Within these areas, two new trends are found to have emerged: discursive analyses and a focus on labor conditions. The review finds that (a) the content of CCEs is still predominantly self-defensive, (b) that CCEs are insufficient in themselves in terms of protecting workers’ rights, (c) that CCEs are likely to encounter tensions when implemented across national and organizational boundaries, and (d) that while perception of CCEs is generally positive, CCEs may lead to both positive and negative outcomes. Based on these findings, potential areas for further exploration in the area of CCE research are suggested.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2021
Keywords
Code of ethics, Code of conduct, Literature review, Empirical, Business, Corporate
National Category
Business Administration
Research subject
Ethics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-75697 (URN)10.1007/s10551-019-04192-x (DOI)000608733900007 ()2-s2.0-85067846554 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2019-08-11 Created: 2019-08-11 Last updated: 2021-02-19Bibliographically approved
Karlsson, F., Hedström, K., Frostenson, M., Prenkert, F., Kolkowska, E. & Helin, S. (2021). Attempts to share information between public sector organisations over time: A case-based exploration of value conflicts. Information Polity, 26(3), 289-310
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Attempts to share information between public sector organisations over time: A case-based exploration of value conflicts
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2021 (English)In: Information Polity, ISSN 1570-1255, E-ISSN 1875-8754, Vol. 26, no 3, p. 289-310Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Despite the importance of inter-organisational information sharing (IOIS) in the public sector, such endeavours often fail. Existing research has shown that the values held by collaborating organisations are one important factor affecting these kinds of initiatives. However, research has sought only to a limited extent to address how value conflicts come into play over time. Therefore, this paper aims to explore how conflicting values shape an inter-organisational information-sharing practice in the public sector over time. Using the local/global network framework, we analyse four years’ worth of information sharing in an inter-organisational advisory group in the context of Swedish nuclear waste management. We conclude that different value conflicts are emphasised to different extents at different points in time. That is, values do not uniformly affect IOIS activities, and such conflicts over time reduce the set of potential IOIS activities. We also conclude that when IOIS activities are driven by an individual organisation’s values, individual value rational activities may co-exist with a dysfunctional long-term IOIS practice.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
IOS Press, 2021
Keywords
Inter-organisational information sharing, public sector, value conflicts, conflicting interests, trajectory
National Category
Business Administration
Research subject
Business Studies; Informatics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-89863 (URN)10.3233/IP-200234 (DOI)000691112500006 ()2-s2.0-85114008024 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency
Available from: 2021-02-24 Created: 2021-02-24 Last updated: 2021-09-07Bibliographically approved
Arbin, K., Frostenson, M., Helin, S. & Borglund, T. (2021). Explaining workers’ resistance against a health and safety programme: An understanding based on hierarchical and social accountability. Safety Science, 136, Article ID 105131.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Explaining workers’ resistance against a health and safety programme: An understanding based on hierarchical and social accountability
2021 (English)In: Safety Science, ISSN 0925-7535, E-ISSN 1879-1042, Vol. 136, article id 105131Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The seemingly paradoxical phenomenon of workers’ resistance to health and safety measures has been explained in various ways, for example through production or efficiency pressure, risk-taking behaviours or problematic safety cultures. This article addresses resistance but analyses it through the lens of hierarchical and social accountability. In a case study of a Swedish paper mill, a health and safety programme is resisted by workers even though it enjoys support from the local trade union. Explanations for this is found in the socialising form of accountability that conditions how workers perceive of work-related health and safety. The aspects of work identity, facilitation and visibility are identified and understood in terms of accountability. Who you are, how you perform work, and what is visualised is filtered and evaluated through horizontal relationships rather than in terms of hierarchical accountability to the company.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2021
Keywords
Accountability, Employee, Health, Resistance, Paper mill, Safety, Safety culture, Sweden
National Category
Business Administration
Research subject
Business Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-88454 (URN)10.1016/j.ssci.2020.105131 (DOI)000648734200005 ()2-s2.0-85099069010 (Scopus ID)
Funder
The Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation, P2017-0086:1
Available from: 2021-01-11 Created: 2021-01-11 Last updated: 2021-06-02Bibliographically approved
Alexandersson, Ö., Helin, S., Seger, K. & Uhman, B. (2020). Noas nävertråd AB: ett praktikfall i externredovisning (2ed.). Lund: Studentlitteratur AB
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Noas nävertråd AB: ett praktikfall i externredovisning
2020 (Swedish)Book (Other academic)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Lund: Studentlitteratur AB, 2020. p. 94 Edition: 2
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-88955 (URN)9789144140919 (ISBN)
Available from: 2021-01-26 Created: 2021-01-26 Last updated: 2021-01-28Bibliographically approved
Alexandersson, Ö., Helin, S., Seger, K. & Uhman, B. (2020). Wai-King Trading AB: ett praktikfall i externredovisning (4ed.). Lund: Studentlitteratur AB
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Wai-King Trading AB: ett praktikfall i externredovisning
2020 (Swedish)Book (Other academic)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Lund: Studentlitteratur AB, 2020. p. 199 Edition: 4
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-88953 (URN)9789144140780 (ISBN)
Available from: 2021-01-26 Created: 2021-01-26 Last updated: 2021-01-28Bibliographically approved
Lundh, S., Seger, K., Frostenson, M. & Helin, S. (2019). Appearing to others: On the relevance of the external image to internal accounting choices. In: : . Paper presented at Nationella Redovisningskonferensen 2019, Linköping, Sweden, November 7-8, 2019 (pp. 1-4).
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Appearing to others: On the relevance of the external image to internal accounting choices
2019 (English)Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Other academic)
National Category
Business Administration
Research subject
Business Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-76926 (URN)
Conference
Nationella Redovisningskonferensen 2019, Linköping, Sweden, November 7-8, 2019
Funder
The Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation, P2017-0076:1
Available from: 2019-10-01 Created: 2019-10-01 Last updated: 2020-02-03Bibliographically approved
Borglund, T., Prenkert, F., Frostenson, M., Helin, S. & Du Rietz, S. (2019). External facilitators as ‘Legitimizers’ in designing a master's program in sustainable business at a Swedish business school: A typology of industry collaborator roles in RME. The International Journal of Management Education, 17(3), Article ID 100315.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>External facilitators as ‘Legitimizers’ in designing a master's program in sustainable business at a Swedish business school: A typology of industry collaborator roles in RME
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2019 (English)In: The International Journal of Management Education, ISSN 1472-8117, E-ISSN 2352-3565, Vol. 17, no 3, article id 100315Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article offers new knowledge on the role of industry as external facilitators in the case of designing responsible management education (RME). Drawing on a case of a Swedish business school that developed a two year master's profile in sustainable business, we find that industry partners acted as external facilitators in the form of ‘Legitimizers’. This type of external facilitator, Legitimizer, complements Vazquez-Brust and Yakovleva’s (2017) existing categories: ‘Guides’, ‘Monitors’, ‘Enablers’, and ‘Networkers’. Based on the findings, we propose that business can take on four types of legitimizing roles in academia – business collaboration: The Visitor, The Planner, The Co-operator, and The Co-educator. We further identify various forms of legitimacy, particularly cognitive and pragmatic, that the corporate activities and interactions generate. Interestingly, in the case of RME, companies are instrumental to legitimizing the education, rather than being the ones seeking legitimacy.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2019
Keywords
Education, Industry-academia collaboration, Legitimacy, RME, Sustainability
National Category
Business Administration
Research subject
Business Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-76404 (URN)10.1016/j.ijme.2019.100315 (DOI)000493924300007 ()2-s2.0-85072012438 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2019-09-20 Created: 2019-09-20 Last updated: 2019-11-22Bibliographically approved
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-0708-509X

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