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Papers by Deryl Northcott
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2008
Health Policy and High-Tech Industrial Development
By weaving together the fields of health economics, industrial organisation and industrial develo... more By weaving together the fields of health economics, industrial organisation and industrial development, this book describes the benefits of promoting a country’s health industry as a way of stimulating its high-technology industrial capacity. The authors illustrate that the development of a country’s health industry not only improves the country’s health status, but also promotes an industry with relatively stable, high-wage employment, creates the potential for exporting goods and services, and produces scientific spillovers that will favourably impact other high-technology industries.
In 1998, the UK government introduced the National Reference Costing Exercise (NRCE) to benchmark... more In 1998, the UK government introduced the National Reference Costing Exercise (NRCE) to benchmark hospital costs. Benchmarking is usually associated with ‘‘excellence’’; the government emphasised the raising of standards in the 1997 White Paper ‘‘The New NHS: Modern, Dependable’’ that heralded the NRCE. This paper argues that the UK ‘‘New Labour’’ government’s introduction of, and increasing reliance on, hospital cost benchmarking is promoting ‘‘averageness’’. Average hospitals will be cheaper to run and easier to control than highly differentiated ones; they may also score more highly on certain measures of service improvement. The paper aims, through empirical investigation, both to demonstrate how the activities and processes of hospital life ‘‘become average’’ as they are transformed to comply with the cost accounting average and to indicate how the ‘‘average’’ is being promoted as the norm for hospitals to aspire to. To benchmark to average costs, comparisons are necessary. To ...
Financial Accountability & Management, 2021
Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, 2018
International Journal of Public Sector Management, 2002
Recent developments in performance measurement and reporting systems in the UK National Health Se... more Recent developments in performance measurement and reporting systems in the UK National Health Service (NHS) have created new challenges in costing health care services. In particular, the introduction of the “National Reference Costing Exercise” (NRCE) has substantively changed the way in which health care cost information is reported and used. While the outputs of the NRCE are intended to support hospital management and control by facilitating cost benchmarking, the usefulness of NRCE data depends on the comparability of cost information across hospitals. This paper draws on questionnaire results to explore the challenges in standardising health care cost information, as perceived by those closest to the costing exercise. The results reveal several problems in costing practice, all of which contribute to high variability in the costs reported by hospitals. Until these problems are recognised and addressed, they present a barrier to the effective use of comparative cost data for th...
Financial Accountability & Management, 2017
ABSTRACT Purpose ‐ This paper aims to examine the relationship between key contextual factors (ty... more ABSTRACT Purpose ‐ This paper aims to examine the relationship between key contextual factors (type of strategic investment decision-making (SIDM), decision uncertainty, organizational goals, financial and non-financial corporate performance, firm size, and decision-maker background) and three significant dimensions of SIDM processes (procedural rationality, strategy formulation and political behaviour). Design/methodology/approach ‐ A survey was mailed to the financial directors of manufacturing companies selected from the UK Financial Analysis Made Easy database. Factor analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the survey results. Findings ‐ The findings reveal that SIDM is more complex and less systematic than the normative literature suggests, with a combination of contextual factors influencing the decision-making process. Further, the regression results suggest that SIDM is shaped by the interplay of procedural rationality, strategy formulation and political behaviour and that none of these on its own can sufficiently explain SIDM practice. Research limitations/implications ‐ The survey data are drawn from UK manufacturing companies, so the findings may not be generalisable beyond that context. Practical implications ‐ The findings suggest a need for firms to recognise that strategy formulation and political aspects of decision-making are as important as "rational" financial analysis in SIDM practice. Further, since SIDM practice is shaped by a combination of contextual factors, a comprehensive overview of these factors is necessary to direct SIDM outcomes. Originality/value ‐ This study adds to the limited prior research examining the links between contextual factors and SIDM processes. Prior studies have tended to focus on only one dimension, or on limited factors, and have reported inconsistent findings. This paper provides a broader view of the complex nature of SIDM processes.
Purpose – This paper introduces a novel theoretical approach to conceptualising performance in go... more Purpose – This paper introduces a novel theoretical approach to conceptualising performance in government departments, with wider applicability to other parts of government. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on identified gaps in notions of performance in the accounting literature and interview data from three New Zealand central government departments, the paper introduces Alexander’s (2003, 2006, 2011) theory of performance. This theory has the potential to enhance conceptualisations of performance and enrich research on performance management systems. Findings –By introducing a performative theory, which differs from previously used Latourian performative theory, this paper highlights new avenues for research into performance management. It illustrates the application of Alexander’s theory of performance via an examination of how public servants construct the “flesh and blood” (Alexander, 2006, p. 33) of their performance in the absence of visible and tangible measures such a...
Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management, 2018
Purpose – Performance measurement systems (PMSs) are at the heart of most organisations. The obje... more Purpose – Performance measurement systems (PMSs) are at the heart of most organisations. The objective of this study is to examine the attitudes of top-level managers towards the incompleteness of PMSs. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on an in-depth field study conducted in an energy and environmental services provider based in New Zealand. The data obtained from twenty semi-structured interviews was triangulated against on-site observations and company documents. Findings – The findings suggest that whether the incompleteness of a PMS is considered problematic or non-problematic depends on the role that the PMS plays in implementing a firm’s strategy. We show that when the PMS is mainly used to trigger improvement activities on and around strategic objectives, and managers perceive adequate improvement activities to exist, they consider the incompleteness of the PMS in relation to these strategic objectives non-problematic. In contrast, managers are concerned about t...
Springer Texts in Business and Economics, 2015
Uncertainty plays a significant role in all investment decision-making. In the previous chapter t... more Uncertainty plays a significant role in all investment decision-making. In the previous chapter the analysis of single investment projects under conditions of uncertainty was discussed. This chapter now expands to methods and models for analysing investment programmes in such environments. When investment programmes are planned, often many (or even an infinite number of) investment alternatives exist, considerably complicating analytical models and/or evaluations that attempt to take account of uncertainty. Limitations on the ranges of uncertain conditions or investment alternatives then become necessary. The chapter includes a description of portfolio selection and of flexible planning.
Public Money & Management
Government and philanthropic funders are key charity stakeholders, yet we know little about their... more Government and philanthropic funders are key charity stakeholders, yet we know little about their accountability information needs. This New Zealand study captures these stakeholders’ perceptions of the background, financial and non-financial performance information they need from charities. It also reveals how, in addition to imposing reporting requirements, these key funders engage in ‘institutional work’ to ensure they receive appropriate accountability information.
Public Money & Management
Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and articulate concepts and approaches to qual... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and articulate concepts and approaches to qualitative generalisation that will offer qualitative accounting researchers avenues for enhancing and justifying the general applicability of their research findings and conclusions. Design/methodology/approach – The study and arguments draw from multidisciplinary approaches to this issue. The analysis and theorising is based on published qualitative research literatures from the fields of education, health sciences, sociology, information systems, management and marketing, as well as accounting. Findings – The paper develops two overarching generalisation concepts for application by qualitative accounting researchers. These are built upon a number of qualitative generalisation concepts that have emerged in the multidisciplinary literatures. It also articulates strategies for enhancing the generalisability of qualitative accounting research findings. Research limitations/implications – The...
Corporate Ownership and Control
This paper examines how social (ethnic and gender) diversity influences board effectiveness and i... more This paper examines how social (ethnic and gender) diversity influences board effectiveness and impacts the role of the chair. It draws on semi-structured interviews with New Zealand board members from two company types - stated-owned enterprises (SOEs) and public listed companies (PLCs) - where the former has greater social diversity around the board table. Few prior studies of board effectiveness have accessed the views of board members via interviews, or compared directors’ perspectives from companies of similar size but differing board diversity. The findings reveal that members of SOE boards, where there is greater social diversity, saw negative director characteristics (character and attitude) and weak board relationships as strongly negative influences on board effectiveness. This group also identified poor boardroom practice (i.e. failing to achieve a boardroom atmosphere that fosters quality debate and effective decision making) as having a significant, negative impact on b...
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2008
Health Policy and High-Tech Industrial Development
By weaving together the fields of health economics, industrial organisation and industrial develo... more By weaving together the fields of health economics, industrial organisation and industrial development, this book describes the benefits of promoting a country’s health industry as a way of stimulating its high-technology industrial capacity. The authors illustrate that the development of a country’s health industry not only improves the country’s health status, but also promotes an industry with relatively stable, high-wage employment, creates the potential for exporting goods and services, and produces scientific spillovers that will favourably impact other high-technology industries.
In 1998, the UK government introduced the National Reference Costing Exercise (NRCE) to benchmark... more In 1998, the UK government introduced the National Reference Costing Exercise (NRCE) to benchmark hospital costs. Benchmarking is usually associated with ‘‘excellence’’; the government emphasised the raising of standards in the 1997 White Paper ‘‘The New NHS: Modern, Dependable’’ that heralded the NRCE. This paper argues that the UK ‘‘New Labour’’ government’s introduction of, and increasing reliance on, hospital cost benchmarking is promoting ‘‘averageness’’. Average hospitals will be cheaper to run and easier to control than highly differentiated ones; they may also score more highly on certain measures of service improvement. The paper aims, through empirical investigation, both to demonstrate how the activities and processes of hospital life ‘‘become average’’ as they are transformed to comply with the cost accounting average and to indicate how the ‘‘average’’ is being promoted as the norm for hospitals to aspire to. To benchmark to average costs, comparisons are necessary. To ...
Financial Accountability & Management, 2021
Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, 2018
International Journal of Public Sector Management, 2002
Recent developments in performance measurement and reporting systems in the UK National Health Se... more Recent developments in performance measurement and reporting systems in the UK National Health Service (NHS) have created new challenges in costing health care services. In particular, the introduction of the “National Reference Costing Exercise” (NRCE) has substantively changed the way in which health care cost information is reported and used. While the outputs of the NRCE are intended to support hospital management and control by facilitating cost benchmarking, the usefulness of NRCE data depends on the comparability of cost information across hospitals. This paper draws on questionnaire results to explore the challenges in standardising health care cost information, as perceived by those closest to the costing exercise. The results reveal several problems in costing practice, all of which contribute to high variability in the costs reported by hospitals. Until these problems are recognised and addressed, they present a barrier to the effective use of comparative cost data for th...
Financial Accountability & Management, 2017
ABSTRACT Purpose ‐ This paper aims to examine the relationship between key contextual factors (ty... more ABSTRACT Purpose ‐ This paper aims to examine the relationship between key contextual factors (type of strategic investment decision-making (SIDM), decision uncertainty, organizational goals, financial and non-financial corporate performance, firm size, and decision-maker background) and three significant dimensions of SIDM processes (procedural rationality, strategy formulation and political behaviour). Design/methodology/approach ‐ A survey was mailed to the financial directors of manufacturing companies selected from the UK Financial Analysis Made Easy database. Factor analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the survey results. Findings ‐ The findings reveal that SIDM is more complex and less systematic than the normative literature suggests, with a combination of contextual factors influencing the decision-making process. Further, the regression results suggest that SIDM is shaped by the interplay of procedural rationality, strategy formulation and political behaviour and that none of these on its own can sufficiently explain SIDM practice. Research limitations/implications ‐ The survey data are drawn from UK manufacturing companies, so the findings may not be generalisable beyond that context. Practical implications ‐ The findings suggest a need for firms to recognise that strategy formulation and political aspects of decision-making are as important as "rational" financial analysis in SIDM practice. Further, since SIDM practice is shaped by a combination of contextual factors, a comprehensive overview of these factors is necessary to direct SIDM outcomes. Originality/value ‐ This study adds to the limited prior research examining the links between contextual factors and SIDM processes. Prior studies have tended to focus on only one dimension, or on limited factors, and have reported inconsistent findings. This paper provides a broader view of the complex nature of SIDM processes.
Purpose – This paper introduces a novel theoretical approach to conceptualising performance in go... more Purpose – This paper introduces a novel theoretical approach to conceptualising performance in government departments, with wider applicability to other parts of government. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on identified gaps in notions of performance in the accounting literature and interview data from three New Zealand central government departments, the paper introduces Alexander’s (2003, 2006, 2011) theory of performance. This theory has the potential to enhance conceptualisations of performance and enrich research on performance management systems. Findings –By introducing a performative theory, which differs from previously used Latourian performative theory, this paper highlights new avenues for research into performance management. It illustrates the application of Alexander’s theory of performance via an examination of how public servants construct the “flesh and blood” (Alexander, 2006, p. 33) of their performance in the absence of visible and tangible measures such a...
Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management, 2018
Purpose – Performance measurement systems (PMSs) are at the heart of most organisations. The obje... more Purpose – Performance measurement systems (PMSs) are at the heart of most organisations. The objective of this study is to examine the attitudes of top-level managers towards the incompleteness of PMSs. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on an in-depth field study conducted in an energy and environmental services provider based in New Zealand. The data obtained from twenty semi-structured interviews was triangulated against on-site observations and company documents. Findings – The findings suggest that whether the incompleteness of a PMS is considered problematic or non-problematic depends on the role that the PMS plays in implementing a firm’s strategy. We show that when the PMS is mainly used to trigger improvement activities on and around strategic objectives, and managers perceive adequate improvement activities to exist, they consider the incompleteness of the PMS in relation to these strategic objectives non-problematic. In contrast, managers are concerned about t...
Springer Texts in Business and Economics, 2015
Uncertainty plays a significant role in all investment decision-making. In the previous chapter t... more Uncertainty plays a significant role in all investment decision-making. In the previous chapter the analysis of single investment projects under conditions of uncertainty was discussed. This chapter now expands to methods and models for analysing investment programmes in such environments. When investment programmes are planned, often many (or even an infinite number of) investment alternatives exist, considerably complicating analytical models and/or evaluations that attempt to take account of uncertainty. Limitations on the ranges of uncertain conditions or investment alternatives then become necessary. The chapter includes a description of portfolio selection and of flexible planning.
Public Money & Management
Government and philanthropic funders are key charity stakeholders, yet we know little about their... more Government and philanthropic funders are key charity stakeholders, yet we know little about their accountability information needs. This New Zealand study captures these stakeholders’ perceptions of the background, financial and non-financial performance information they need from charities. It also reveals how, in addition to imposing reporting requirements, these key funders engage in ‘institutional work’ to ensure they receive appropriate accountability information.
Public Money & Management
Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and articulate concepts and approaches to qual... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and articulate concepts and approaches to qualitative generalisation that will offer qualitative accounting researchers avenues for enhancing and justifying the general applicability of their research findings and conclusions. Design/methodology/approach – The study and arguments draw from multidisciplinary approaches to this issue. The analysis and theorising is based on published qualitative research literatures from the fields of education, health sciences, sociology, information systems, management and marketing, as well as accounting. Findings – The paper develops two overarching generalisation concepts for application by qualitative accounting researchers. These are built upon a number of qualitative generalisation concepts that have emerged in the multidisciplinary literatures. It also articulates strategies for enhancing the generalisability of qualitative accounting research findings. Research limitations/implications – The...
Corporate Ownership and Control
This paper examines how social (ethnic and gender) diversity influences board effectiveness and i... more This paper examines how social (ethnic and gender) diversity influences board effectiveness and impacts the role of the chair. It draws on semi-structured interviews with New Zealand board members from two company types - stated-owned enterprises (SOEs) and public listed companies (PLCs) - where the former has greater social diversity around the board table. Few prior studies of board effectiveness have accessed the views of board members via interviews, or compared directors’ perspectives from companies of similar size but differing board diversity. The findings reveal that members of SOE boards, where there is greater social diversity, saw negative director characteristics (character and attitude) and weak board relationships as strongly negative influences on board effectiveness. This group also identified poor boardroom practice (i.e. failing to achieve a boardroom atmosphere that fosters quality debate and effective decision making) as having a significant, negative impact on b...