Vicki Baard

A critical review of interventionist research

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to further develop the epistemological base of interventionist research (IR) as a valid accounting and management research methodology, through the identification of intervention theory and an IR framework derived from social sciences. Moreover, this paper seeks to contribute to empirical knowledge of IR through a critical review of limited empirical evidence relating to intervention theory and the extant IR frameworks derived from action research. Design/methodology/approach - Texts and academic journal papers that judiciously review intervention theory, intervention research frameworks were identified systematically; along with empirical research addressing theoretical and methodological deficiencies of IR and, providing evidence to inform practical considerations when undertaking IR. Findings - The key findings include rare empirical evidence addressing theoretical shortcomings and application of intervention theory, an IR framework derived from social sciences with extremely limited use in accounting and management research, deficiencies in action research oriented frameworks labelled as alternative forms of IR, an alternate perspective to positivistic validity and reliability issues and other practical considerations to facilitate the conducting of IR. Originality/value - The novelty of this paper lies in the diminution of the fragmented nature of IR that undermines its scientific value through the identification of an intervention theory and IR framework experiencing extremely limited use in accounting and management research, with the exception of a cross-disciplinary (management accounting and information systems) doctoral study, optimising IR utilisation with greater degrees of validity and reliability and, finally, a proposed alternative research design for utilisation in IR.

Structural limits of capacity and implications for visibility

Purpose – Two reasons are identified for studying the impact of capacity measurements on organizations. First, firms which make the best use of their resources can be expected to outperform their competitors. The second arises from the potential structuration effect of capacity metrics. Such an investigation makes capacity a visible, and hence an actionable, construct. This paper aims to address these issues.Design/methodology/approach – To explore these issues, a combination of analytics and qualitative field research methodology was used. The measurement dimensions were developed by analyzing the different reports, baseline measures, and metrics included in the various capacity models as suggested by the literature. These analytics were enriched with observations obtained from field research.Findings – Maximizing the value created within an organization starts with understanding the nature and capability of all the companys resources. The outcome is the identification of capacity systems specifically s...

Improving productive potential in the airline industry by exploring the productive limits of capacity

This paper fills the gap between defining and measuring the productive limits of a service or system and the impact of various assumptions about the productive potential of the nature and informativeness of capacity cost management systems for the service industry. The focus rests on the various ways in which multidimensional limits (for example, time, space, volume and/or value-creating ability) can be used to define productive capacity. This research suggests that the limits used in establishing the capacity cost management system restricts the amount and nature of the information the system is capable of providing to management. The methodology used was a combination of analytics and qualitative field research. The outcome is the identification of capacity systems specifically suited for service operations. Such a framework allows the organisation to develop economies, make visible the drivers of waste and productivity and to identify the primary assumptions and implications of capacity limits.