Contenu du sommaire : Varia

Embedded Inter-organizational Governance and Customer-orientation StrategyThis paper presents the findings of a qualitative study on the governance to adopt in implementing a customer-oriented strategy. Our case study of a company in the aeronautics industry highlights the specific features of « embedded governance » designed to structure long-term relationships with suppliers. Such inter-organizational governance is grounded first in a hierarchical structure in which purchasing managers holding positions at middle-management level play a pivotal role. Second, it requires that suppliers' control devices be adapted to each stage of the relationship. Finally, even though embedded governance meets the needs of a customer-oriented strategy, our study also suggests that its virtuous effects can only be sustained if strong inter-organizational trust builds between exchange partners at every level.

Audit Quality Attributes : The Preparers' PerceptionThis study analyses the attributes that influence audit quality. It uses a theoretical framework that takes three aspects of the audit process into account : the mission, the team/audit firm, and the regulation. 55 audit quality attributes have thus been evaluated by 131 French preparers of financial information. The results reveal that preparers take all those attributes into consideration, but with particular significance for the audit mission's and the audit regulation's attributes. Our study also identifies two groups of preparers with different perceptions : those who practice in large companies base their perception on a limited number of attributes (essentially the size of the audit firm and the management of the audit team), while those who practice in smaller companies develop a wide cognitive scheme which integrates all aspects of the audit quality.

Service industry management control : a reflexion about its essence and toolsCharacteristics of service activities are reviewed and a unified conceptual framework of reference is developed. The main considerations of service industry management control derived from it, as well as associated practices and tools, are discussed : efficiency assessment of network units, standardization of production processes, delivery and waiting time management, yield and capacity management, service quality measurement, organization stretch of service company. Recent researches regarding management in service activities are then considered to understand how previously identified practices and tools are integrated in global performance management systems of companies dedicated to those activities.

Value Relevance of Financial Statements under IFRS versus Local GAAP : Evidence from FranceThis paper compares the value relevance of financial statements for a sample of French firms pre and post IFRS adoption. First, results show that book values are closer to stock market values under IFRS than under French GAAP. Second, abnormal accruals appear to be more valued under IFRS. This is consistent with the view that earnings management is more likely to provide a credible signal about future cash flows under IFRS than under French GAAP. Finally, earnings under IFRS are more predictable by stock market under IFRS than under French GAAP.

Budgetary participation and managerial performance : Non significant link and contingenciesThrough a combination of three meta-analyses this paper aims at studying the link between budgetary participation and managerial performance. It will make use of some recommendations suggested during the 1994 Potsdam International Congress on meta-analysis, in the field of management control. After an overview of the methods used for meta-analyses and a review of the literature, three meta-analyses studying the link between budgetary participation and managerial performance were carried out. Following Slavin's (1995) suggestions, we have implemented the “best evidence synthesis” method that appears to be the most relevant. It allows us to conclude, on the whole, that budgetary participation has no significant impact on managerial performance. Finally cultural and temporal contingencies have also been discussed so as to explain the heterogeneity resulting from these different studies.