IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/fan/macoma/vhtml10.3280-maco2023-002-s1003.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do electric and gas utilities use regulatory information for decision-making and control? An exploratory study from Italy

Author

Listed:
  • Shekerta Aliu

Abstract

The aim of this paper is two-fold. First, it examines whether electric and gas utilities use regulatory information for internal decision-making and control. Second, it adopts an institutional lens to explore the extent to which the regulatory infor-mation imposed by the Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks, and Environment (ARERA) and used for decision-making and control influence the management control systems (MCS) of electric and gas utilities. Based on data from 33 questionnaires and eight complementary interviews with Italian electric and gas utilities, findings reveal different behaviors according to the size and operating activity of the firms. Large utilities and energy distributors use regulatory information for performance monitoring, benchmarking analysis, and investment prioritization strategies. On the contrary, small utilities and energy trad-ers produce the information solely for regulatory compliance and do not use it in their day-to-day activities. Additionally, this study reveals that coercive pressure stemming from the regulatory environment affected the MCS of energy utilities either radically or incrementally. The findings underline the role of ARERA as a driver for controlling and improving performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Shekerta Aliu, 2023. "Do electric and gas utilities use regulatory information for decision-making and control? An exploratory study from Italy," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2023(2 Suppl.), pages 37-64.
  • Handle: RePEc:fan:macoma:v:html10.3280/maco2023-002-s1003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=74055&Tipo=ArticoloPDF
    Download Restriction: Single articles can be downloaded buying download credits, for info: https://www.francoangeli.it/DownloadCredit
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Trevor Hopper & Andrew Powell, 1985. "Making Sense Of Research Into The Organizational And Social Aspects Of Management Accounting: A Review Of Its Underlying Assumptions [1]," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 429-465, September.
    2. Francesca Francioli & Alberto Quagli, 2021. "Management accounting change and the rise of Vespa (1884-1965)," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2021(suppl. 2), pages 313-338.
    3. Luciano Marchi, 2015. "Editoriale. Nuove prospettive di ricerca sulle tematiche di Management Control," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(3), pages 5-8.
    4. Claudia Barrios Álvarez & Pawan Adhikari & Alina Gómez Mejía, 2021. "Management accounting practices and efficiency in a Colombian multi-utility conglomerate," Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(5), pages 714-734, February.
    5. Gordon, Lawrence A. & Narayanan, V. K., 1984. "Management accounting systems, perceived environmental uncertainty and organization structure: An empirical investigation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 33-47, January.
    6. Silvia Macchia, 2021. "Are we ready to change? A case study of Management Accounting Change (MAC) in an Italian Co-operative," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2021(suppl. 1), pages 141-164.
    7. Cadez, Simon & Guilding, Chris, 2008. "An exploratory investigation of an integrated contingency model of strategic management accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(7-8), pages 836-863.
    8. Hall, Matthew, 2010. "Accounting information and managerial work," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 301-315, April.
    9. Daniela Mancini, 2016. "Accounting Information Systems in an Open Society. Emerging Trends and Issues," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(1), pages 5-16.
    10. Ahrens, Thomas & Chapman, Christopher S., 2007. "Management accounting as practice," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-2), pages 1-27.
    11. Scapens, Robert W., 2006. "Understanding management accounting practices: A personal journey," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 1-30.
    12. Barone, Elisabetta & Ranamagar, Nathan & Solomon, Jill F., 2013. "A Habermasian model of stakeholder (non)engagement and corporate (ir)responsibility reporting," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 163-181.
    13. Federica Farneti & James Guthrie, 2009. "Sustainability reporting by Australian public sector organisations: Why they report," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(2), pages 89-98, June.
    14. Chenhall, R. H. & Langfield-Smith, K., 1998. "The relationship between strategic priorities, management techniques and management accounting: an empirical investigation using a systems approach," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 243-264, April.
    15. Farneti, Federica & Guthrie, James, 2009. "Sustainability reporting by Australian public sector organisations: Why they report," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 89-98.
    16. Lino Cinquini & Paolo Collini & Alessandro Marelli & Andrea Tenucci, 2015. "Change in the relevance of cost information and costing systems: evidence from two Italian surveys," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 19(3), pages 557-587, August.
    17. Christine Oliver, 1997. "Sustainable competitive advantage: combining institutional and resource‐based views," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(9), pages 697-713, October.
    18. Abernethy, Margaret A. & Brownell, Peter, 1997. "Management control systems in research and development organizations: The role of accounting, behavior and personnel controls," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 22(3-4), pages 233-248.
    19. Elisabetta Barone & Nathan Ranamagar & Jill F. Solomon, 2013. "A Habermasian model of stakeholder (non)engagement and corporate (ir)responsibility reporting," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 163-181, September.
    20. Francesca Culasso & Laura Broccardo & Luca Maria Manzi & Elisa Truant, 2016. "Management accounting and enterprise risk management. A potential integration as a new change in managerial systems," Global Business and Economics Review, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 18(3/4), pages 344-370.
    21. Stephen Gates & Pascal Langevin, 2010. "Human capital measures, strategy and performance: HR managers' perceptions," Post-Print hal-00771144, HAL.
    22. Mia, Lokman & Chenhall, Robert H., 1994. "The usefulness of management accounting systems, functional differentiation and managerial effectiveness," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 1-13, January.
    23. Kari Lukka & Markus Granlund, 1996. "Cost accounting in Finland: current practice and trends of development," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 1-28.
    24. Claudia Presti & Nicola Castellano & Luciano Marchi, 2021. "L?utilizzo dei dati contabili per la pianificazione economico-finanziaria: sviluppo della conoscenza e supporto decisionale," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2021(3), pages 16-40.
    25. Guido Migliaccio & Maria Fulvia Arena, 2021. "Il benchmarking per il controllo della performance: esiti di una ricerca nei distretti conciari italiani," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2021(3), pages 87-110.
    26. Stephen Gates & Pascal Langevin, 2010. "Human capital measures, strategy, and performance: HR managers' perceptions," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 23(1), pages 111-132, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cooper, Christine, 2015. "Entrepreneurs of the self: The development of management control since 1976," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 14-24.
    2. Granlund, Markus & Lukka, Kari, 2017. "Investigating highly established research paradigms: Reviving contextuality in contingency theory based management accounting research," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 63-80.
    3. Chenhall, Robert H., 2003. "Management control systems design within its organizational context: findings from contingency-based research and directions for the future," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(2-3), pages 127-168.
    4. Gerdin, Jonas, 2005. "Management accounting system design in manufacturing departments: an empirical investigation using a multiple contingencies approach," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 99-126, February.
    5. Barone, Elisabetta & Ranamagar, Nathan & Solomon, Jill F., 2013. "A Habermasian model of stakeholder (non)engagement and corporate (ir)responsibility reporting," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 163-181.
    6. Federica Palazzi & Massimo Ciambotti & Lorenzo Gelsomini, 2019. "L?adozione dell?Activity-Based Costing nelle PMI: analisi di un caso," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2019(1), pages 97-122.
    7. Ittner, Christopher D. & Larcker, David F., 2001. "Assessing empirical research in managerial accounting: a value-based management perspective," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-3), pages 349-410, December.
    8. Franco Cescon & Antonio Costantini & Luca Grassetti, 2019. "Strategic choices and strategic management accounting in large manufacturing firms," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 23(3), pages 605-636, September.
    9. Berry, A.J. & Coad, A.F. & Harris, E.P. & Otley, D.T. & Stringer, C., 2009. "Emerging themes in management control: A review of recent literature," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 2-20.
    10. Erhart, Raphaela & Mahlendorf, Matthias D. & Reimer, Marko & Schäffer, Utz, 2017. "Theorizing and testing bidirectional effects: The relationship between strategy formation and involvement of controllers," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 36-52.
    11. Odysseas Pavlatos, 2018. "Strategic Cost Management, Contingent Factors and Performance in Services," Journal of Accounting and Management Information Systems, Faculty of Accounting and Management Information Systems, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 17(2), pages 215-233, June.
    12. Ellen Haustein & Robert Luther & Peter Schuster, 2014. "Management control systems in innovation companies: a literature based framework," Metrika: International Journal for Theoretical and Applied Statistics, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 343-382, February.
    13. Luft, Joan & Shields, Michael D., 2003. "Mapping management accounting: graphics and guidelines for theory-consistent empirical research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(2-3), pages 169-249.
    14. M. Frigotto & Graziano Coller & Paolo Collini, 2013. "The Strategy and Management Control Systems relationship as emerging dynamic process," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(3), pages 631-656, August.
    15. Bedford, David S. & Malmi, Teemu & Sandelin, Mikko, 2016. "Management control effectiveness and strategy: An empirical analysis of packages and systems," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 12-28.
    16. Paolo Perego & Frank Hartmann, 2009. "Aligning Performance Measurement Systems With Strategy: The Case of Environmental Strategy," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 45(4), pages 397-428, December.
    17. Timur Pasch, 2019. "Strategy and innovation: the mediating role of management accountants and management accounting systems’ use," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 213-246, July.
    18. Englund, Hans & Gerdin, Jonas & Burns, John, 2011. "25 Years of Giddens in accounting research: Achievements, limitations and the future," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 494-513.
    19. Cadez, Simon & Guilding, Chris, 2008. "An exploratory investigation of an integrated contingency model of strategic management accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(7-8), pages 836-863.
    20. Mostafa Jazayeri & Danture Wickramsinghe & Tharusha Gooneratne, 2011. "Convergence versus divergence of performance measurement systems," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(3), pages 292-314, August.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:fan:macoma:v:html10.3280/maco2023-002-s1003. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Stefania Rosato (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/sommario.aspx?IDRivista=166 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.