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Performance management change in archaeological sites: The case of Herculaneum Conservation Project

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Abstract

This study focuses on the issues relating to the implementation of management accounting systems in complex settings such as archeological sites. The aim is to understand the conditions under which the implementation of performance management systems (PMS) may enable cultural organizations to fulfil their multiple objectives and the factors which play a crucial role in such dynamics. Focusing on the Herculaneum Conservation Project (HCP) the study explains how PMS came to be implemented having been made acceptable to all parties involved. The Middle Range Theory as developed by Broadbent and Laughlin (Accounting control and controlling accounting: interdisciplinary and critical perspectives, Bingley, Emerald, 2013) was utilized to explore how the PMS change took place in the HCP, and focus on the factors influencing this process. The findings reveal that the change in the PMS benefited from the involvement of a multidisciplinary Specialist Work Group. This involvement reduced the natural tendency to resist the forces of change and increased the commitment of the various groups of stakeholders to the new culture. The findings reveal how PMS were developed in the context of a multifaceted approach to change, allowing us to draw both theoretical and practical lessons that may be brought to bear in other complex contexts.

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Notes

  1. For the purposes of the paper we rely upon the conceptualisation of performance management systems suggested by Ferreira and Otley (2009). Their studies supersede the fragmentation of previous work on management accounting and management control, proposing an integrated non-normative framework that takes into account the interdependency between different elements within organisations as well as coherence of control models.

  2. More specifically, Broadbent and Laughlin (2013) adopt the term design archetypes from Greenwood and Hinings (1988) explaining that these are compositions of structures and systems given coherence and orientation by an underlying set of value and beliefs that the authors define as interpretive schemes.

  3. Ferreira and Otley (2009) list 12 key questions intended as a heuristic tool to facilitate the description of PMS They include questions about organisational vision, mission and goals as well as the processes, and the design of the PMS.

  4. The GIS is “a geodatabase that ensures the indexation of the entities and the topographical relationships between them. The development environment (MicrosoftTM SQL Server) has allowed the creation of a robust database structure that guarantees the integrity of the data as it is entered, the archiving of historical data, and complex querying of attributes, geographical and topographical locations”. (Brizzi et al. 2005, 5).

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution from participants to the 37th EGPA Annual Conference in Toulouse. Special thanks go to Professor Robert Scapens for his comments, as well as for our challenging debates on the first version. We are also grateful to the editor and the anonymous reviewers: their comments encouraged us in improving the research. The responsibility for the work is in any case only attributable to the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Salerno, Via Ponte don Melillo, 84084, Fisciano, SA, Italy

    Francesca Manes-Rossi

  2. Federico II University, Via Cinthia Monte Sant’Angelo, 80126, Naples, Italy

    Alessandra Allini & Rosanna Spanò

  3. University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Corso Gran Priorato di Malta, 81043, Capua, Italy

    Riccardo Macchioni

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  1. Francesca Manes-Rossi
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Correspondence to Francesca Manes-Rossi.

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Manes-Rossi, F., Allini, A., Spanò, R. et al. Performance management change in archaeological sites: The case of Herculaneum Conservation Project. J Manag Gov 22, 947–979 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10997-018-9416-x

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