Roberto Del Gobbo

Accounting Information Systems and Knowledge Management Systems: An Integrated Approach for Strategic Control

The aim of this chapter is to highlight the potential role of integration of Accounting Information System (AIS) and Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) for strategic control. The benefits of this integration can be expressed in terms of better support to knowledge conversions and enhanced access to knowledge embedded in tacit models by applying knowledge discovery techniques for model externalization. We propose a modified version of PROFSET model as a tool for realizing the integration: combining elements from AIS (to calculate product profitability) and KMS (to discover regularities in the purchase behaviour of customer), the PROFSET model can enhance the quality of support provided to decision makers and produce benefits that cannot be realized with any one system.

Strategic mapping: relationships that count

The purpose of this paper is to study how the design of a strategy map can be supported by measures expressing the customers’ perceptions about strategic factors and their related determinants. In particular, managers are provided with a fact-based test useful to revise prior knowledge and beliefs.,A case study is used to describe the adoption of the partial least squares path modelling (PLS-PM) approach to structural equation modelling in order to compare competing strategy maps and select the one that best fits customer perceptions. A focus group was organised to design the strategy maps, which were tested through a survey of 600 randomly selected resellers.,The empirical-based validation of a causal map by using PLS-PM may effectively stimulate a revision of managers’ collective perceptions about a phenomenon characterised by implicit knowledge, as in the case of customer needs.,The case-study company operates in a business-to-business environment, and thus only the needs of direct customers have been included in the analysis. Final users’ needs should also be considered, even if different solutions are required for data collection.,The proposed approach provides a set of indicators which allow managers to identify strategic priorities, thus facilitating decision making and strategic planning.,In the strategic management literature, few attempts have been made to operationalise the complex and multidimensional latent constructs of a strategy map combining managers’ implicit knowledge and empirical validation in a “holistic” manner. The adoption of PLS-PM is relatively new in testing the accuracy of causal maps.

Data-Mining Tools for Business Model Design: The Impact of Organizational Heterogeneity

Business models may be considered as “cognitive” devices since a deep level of knowledge about customers, suppliers, and competitors is needed for their development. Recent studies show that data-mining tools produce a positive interaction with business models, empowering the strategic performance capabilities that drive the achievement of competitive advantage.

Performance Measurement of Advertising Actions: Can Web-Metrics Improve Management Control Processes?

The aim of the paper is to describe, through a preliminary case study, how to measure the outcomes of a traditional advertising campaign through web-metrics, which are usually adopted to evaluate the success of the company communication via the Internet. The results clearly show that web-metrics (compared to traditional thought-recall/listing measures), allow wider and multi-faceted insights about the customer response to advertising. Furthermore, web-metrics overcome the traditional measures in terms of timeliness of information, and for what concern the time and costs needed for data gathering and elaboration.