Creating a global network of shared service centres for accounting

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the practice of IT‐enabled management control change, in particular how IT‐driven change is made possible from a practical perspective in a global context. It does so by investigating the redesign of the telecommunications company Ericsson's global finance and accounting function from an independent structure of numerous national chief financial officer units into one interdependent global network of shared service centres.Design/methodology/approachEricsson's transformation was followed by drawing mainly on interviews and documents. The data were analysed using narrative and temporal bracketing strategies for theorising from process data.FindingsThe paper illustrates how IT‐enabled management control change unfolds as a continuous interaction between a dynamic organisational structure (social dimension) and a less, but still, dynamic IT (material dimension) across time. The study also highlights how such a process is metaphorically similar to the form of a hermeneutic spiral rather than the common perspective of an arrow from the present to the future.Research limitations/implicationsThe focus of the paper is on positive organisational change and how transformation is possible from a strategic and managerial point of view. Hence, less focus is placed on the employee perspective.Practical implicationsThis paper stresses the importance of pre‐understanding, an openness to trials and learning, and a dynami stance towards the moving targets of IT and organisation.Originality/valueThe paper provides rich empirical material. The analysis includes contemporary issues, and the practice of IT‐enabled management control change.