Francesco Giacobbe - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
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Papers by Francesco Giacobbe
Accounting & Finance, 2015
ABSTRACT This paper investigates the management control systems used by multinational corporation... more ABSTRACT This paper investigates the management control systems used by multinational corporation headquarters to control wholly-owned foreign subsidiaries. Our theory development is based on transaction cost economics. First, we conduct a series of exploratory interviews, providing an insight into the context, and second, we provide empirical evidence based on cross-sectional survey data. Our results indicate that activity traits (uncertainty, asset specificity and post hoc information impactedness) have significant implications on control choices, in particular the control archetype combinations chosen by headquarters, although not all results are consistent with theory predictions. Our findings are supported by extensive alternative testing.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
ABSTRACT This paper examines the effect of corporate embeddedness on control choices of a multina... more ABSTRACT This paper examines the effect of corporate embeddedness on control choices of a multinational corporation over a wholly owned foreign subsidiary. Researchers and practitioners recognise that multinational corporation headquarters face significant challenges when controlling wholly owned foreign subsidiary operations due to physical distance and the need to adapt to operating in unfamiliar foreign markets. Despite this recognition limited research is available on this issue. Corporate embeddedness refers to the adaption of a subsidiary to other entities throughout the rest of the multinational corporation in terms of tangible and intangible resource flows. Corporate embeddedness appears a significant factor contributing to the viability and success of a wholly owned foreign subsidiary. Based on the transaction cost economies theory of management control this paper investigates the effect of corporate embeddedness on the headquarters’ choice of controls using Speklé (2001) control archetype framework. Specifically corporate embeddedness is linked to transactional attributes including uncertainty, asset specificity, opportunism and bounded rationality, to explore relationships with control archetype choice. The paper proposes that high corporate embeddedness is related to a machine control archetype. Data gathered from a case study of a highly corporately embedded subsidiary of a multinational corporation operating in a regulated consumer products sector is used to examine the link between corporate embeddedness and each of the transactional attributes, and their relationship with headquarters control choices. The evidence provides support to the proposition that high corporate embeddedness is related to machine control archetype. Although action and result oriented machine control archetypes are described separately by Speklé (2001), the controls used by the headquarters suggest a mix of both archetypes.
Engineering Failure Analysis, 2010
Reformer furnaces are used in petrochemical industry to produce hydrogen. Their most critical com... more Reformer furnaces are used in petrochemical industry to produce hydrogen. Their most critical components are radiant tubes, where extreme temperature and pressure conditions required the deployment of high alloyed austenitic HP grade steels, owing to their superior strength to creep rupture and good corrosion resistance. Nevertheless, these high strength alloys undergo damage when process conditions allow coke deposition and maintenance procedures are not carried properly.
Australian Accounting Review, 2009
International joint ventures (IJVs) are an important modern organisational form, with their compl... more International joint ventures (IJVs) are an important modern organisational form, with their complexity presenting significant management and control issues. Our research uses a cross-sectional survey of Australian parent partners of IJVs to provide insights into the ...
Accounting and Finance, 2004
The present paper examines one set of potential reasons for the paradox as to why so few firms ha... more The present paper examines one set of potential reasons for the paradox as to why so few firms have adopted activity-based costing (ABC) despite the demonstrated benefits of this costing system. A cross-sectional survey of Australian firms is used to examine the influence of seven technological and organizational factors on firms' initial interest in ABC and their decision to adopt it or not. The organizational factors of top management support, the support of an internal champion, and organizational size were shown to be associated with initial interest in ABC. The decision to adopt or reject ABC had one organizational factor associated with it, the support of an internal champion.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
ABSTRACT This paper tests Speklé’s (2001, 2003) transaction cost economics based approach to mana... more ABSTRACT This paper tests Speklé’s (2001, 2003) transaction cost economics based approach to management control system choices in the hierarchal organisational context. To examine this particular context, we have chosen the setting of head office control of wholly owned foreign subsidiaries. The two testable implications which we provide evidence on are (1) that there are a number of distinct management control systems (archetypes) and (2) the choice of management control system is driven by the activity traits of a firm. A series of interviews based on five firms and our survey evidence based on 167 firms, confirms the existence of different management control system archetypes, but we only find limited support for the association between management control system choices and activity traits as predicted by transaction cost economics. Our results are robust based on further testing conducted. The results in this paper are informative concerning the relevance of transaction cost economics theory in management accounting research and provide a platform for future research.
Accounting & Finance, 2015
ABSTRACT This paper investigates the management control systems used by multinational corporation... more ABSTRACT This paper investigates the management control systems used by multinational corporation headquarters to control wholly-owned foreign subsidiaries. Our theory development is based on transaction cost economics. First, we conduct a series of exploratory interviews, providing an insight into the context, and second, we provide empirical evidence based on cross-sectional survey data. Our results indicate that activity traits (uncertainty, asset specificity and post hoc information impactedness) have significant implications on control choices, in particular the control archetype combinations chosen by headquarters, although not all results are consistent with theory predictions. Our findings are supported by extensive alternative testing.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
ABSTRACT This paper examines the effect of corporate embeddedness on control choices of a multina... more ABSTRACT This paper examines the effect of corporate embeddedness on control choices of a multinational corporation over a wholly owned foreign subsidiary. Researchers and practitioners recognise that multinational corporation headquarters face significant challenges when controlling wholly owned foreign subsidiary operations due to physical distance and the need to adapt to operating in unfamiliar foreign markets. Despite this recognition limited research is available on this issue. Corporate embeddedness refers to the adaption of a subsidiary to other entities throughout the rest of the multinational corporation in terms of tangible and intangible resource flows. Corporate embeddedness appears a significant factor contributing to the viability and success of a wholly owned foreign subsidiary. Based on the transaction cost economies theory of management control this paper investigates the effect of corporate embeddedness on the headquarters’ choice of controls using Speklé (2001) control archetype framework. Specifically corporate embeddedness is linked to transactional attributes including uncertainty, asset specificity, opportunism and bounded rationality, to explore relationships with control archetype choice. The paper proposes that high corporate embeddedness is related to a machine control archetype. Data gathered from a case study of a highly corporately embedded subsidiary of a multinational corporation operating in a regulated consumer products sector is used to examine the link between corporate embeddedness and each of the transactional attributes, and their relationship with headquarters control choices. The evidence provides support to the proposition that high corporate embeddedness is related to machine control archetype. Although action and result oriented machine control archetypes are described separately by Speklé (2001), the controls used by the headquarters suggest a mix of both archetypes.
Engineering Failure Analysis, 2010
Reformer furnaces are used in petrochemical industry to produce hydrogen. Their most critical com... more Reformer furnaces are used in petrochemical industry to produce hydrogen. Their most critical components are radiant tubes, where extreme temperature and pressure conditions required the deployment of high alloyed austenitic HP grade steels, owing to their superior strength to creep rupture and good corrosion resistance. Nevertheless, these high strength alloys undergo damage when process conditions allow coke deposition and maintenance procedures are not carried properly.
Australian Accounting Review, 2009
International joint ventures (IJVs) are an important modern organisational form, with their compl... more International joint ventures (IJVs) are an important modern organisational form, with their complexity presenting significant management and control issues. Our research uses a cross-sectional survey of Australian parent partners of IJVs to provide insights into the ...
Accounting and Finance, 2004
The present paper examines one set of potential reasons for the paradox as to why so few firms ha... more The present paper examines one set of potential reasons for the paradox as to why so few firms have adopted activity-based costing (ABC) despite the demonstrated benefits of this costing system. A cross-sectional survey of Australian firms is used to examine the influence of seven technological and organizational factors on firms' initial interest in ABC and their decision to adopt it or not. The organizational factors of top management support, the support of an internal champion, and organizational size were shown to be associated with initial interest in ABC. The decision to adopt or reject ABC had one organizational factor associated with it, the support of an internal champion.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
ABSTRACT This paper tests Speklé’s (2001, 2003) transaction cost economics based approach to mana... more ABSTRACT This paper tests Speklé’s (2001, 2003) transaction cost economics based approach to management control system choices in the hierarchal organisational context. To examine this particular context, we have chosen the setting of head office control of wholly owned foreign subsidiaries. The two testable implications which we provide evidence on are (1) that there are a number of distinct management control systems (archetypes) and (2) the choice of management control system is driven by the activity traits of a firm. A series of interviews based on five firms and our survey evidence based on 167 firms, confirms the existence of different management control system archetypes, but we only find limited support for the association between management control system choices and activity traits as predicted by transaction cost economics. Our results are robust based on further testing conducted. The results in this paper are informative concerning the relevance of transaction cost economics theory in management accounting research and provide a platform for future research.