Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T18:34:28.802Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Technology Policy, Task Uncertainty and Organisational Performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

Alan S. Dunk
Affiliation:
School of Accounting, University of Western Sydney, Nepean, PO Box 10 Kingswood NSW 2747, Tel: +61 2 9685 9216, Email: [email protected]
Saeed J. Roohani
Affiliation:
Department of Accounting, Bryant College, 1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield RI 02917-1284, USA Tel: 1 401 232 6168, Email: [email protected]

Abstract

Factors influencing organisational performance have attracted attention, both in the literature and in practice, as a means of responding to increasing market competition. One factor that may enhance performance is a technology policy and a number of organisations have implemented such policies. Technology policy proponents argue that a society's capacity for sustained technological innovation is crucial to its economic well being. The primary purpose of the present paper is to investigate the extent to which organisational performance is influenced by the use of a technology policy. Since the literature suggests that task difficulty and task variability may influence this relationship, the paper also examines these relationships. The results suggest there is an association between technology policy and performance and that this relation is influenced by task difficulty, but not task variability. The relationship between technology policy and performance seems to greater when task difficulty is high than it is when task difficulty is low.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Alexander, JW and Randolph, WA (1985) ‘The Fit Between Technology and Structure As A Predictor of Performance in Nursing SubunitsAcademy of Management Journal Vol 28 No 4 pp 844859Google ScholarPubMed
Allison, PD (1977) ‘Testing for Interaction in Multiple RegressionAmerican Journal of Sociology 07 pp 144153CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andros, DP, Cherrington, JO and Denna, EL (1992) ‘Reengineering Your Accounting, the IBM WayFinancial Executive 07/August pp 2831Google Scholar
Anthony, RA, Dearden, JD and Bedford, NT (1984) Management Control Systems Homewood: IrwinGoogle Scholar
Bernstein, JI and Nadiri, MI (1989) ‘Research and Development and Intra-industry Spillovers: An Empirical Application of Dynamic DualityReview of Economic Studies Vol 56 pp 249269CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bohn, RE (1994) ‘Measuring and Managing Technological KnowledgeSloan Management Review Fall pp 6173Google Scholar
Branscomb, LM (1992) ‘Does America Need A Technology Policy?Harvard Business Review 03/April pp 2431Google Scholar
Bromwich, M (1990) ‘The Case for Strategic Management Accounting: The Role of Accounting Information for Strategy in Competitive MarketsAccounting, Organizations and Society Vol 15 No 1/2 pp 2746CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brownell, P and Dunk, AS (1991) ‘Task Uncertainty and its Interaction with Budgetary Participation and Budget Emphasis: Some Methodological Issues and Empirical InvestigationAccounting, Organizations and Society Vol 16 No 8 pp 693703CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carmines, EG and Zeller, RA (1982) Reliability and Validity Assessment Beverly Hills: SageGoogle Scholar
Cockburn, I and Griliches, Z (1988) ‘Industry Effects and Appropriability Measures in the Stock Market's Valuation of R&D and PatentsAmerican Economic Review Vol 78 No 2 pp 410423Google Scholar
Coy, P (1992) ‘The New Realism in Office Systems: Computers Can't Take the Place of Good Management — But They HelpBusiness Week 06 15 pp 128133Google Scholar
Cronbach, LJ (1951) ‘Coefficient Alpha and the Internal Structure of TestsPsychometrika Vol 16 pp 297334CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daft, RL (1978) ‘A Dual-core Model of Organizational InnovationAcademy of Management Journal 06 pp 193210Google Scholar
Daft, RL (1983) Organization Theory and Design St Paul: WestGoogle Scholar
Daft, RL and Macintosh, NB (1981) ‘A Tentative Exploration Into the Amount and Equivocality of Information Processing in Organizational Work UnitsAdministrative Science Quarterly Vol 26 pp 207224CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, LE (19831984) ‘Workers and Technology: The Necessary Joint Basis for Organizational Effectiveness' National Productivity Review Winter pp 714Google Scholar
Ettlie, JE (1983a) ‘Organizational Policy and Innovation Among Suppliers to the Food Processing SectorAcademy of Management Journal Vol 26 No 1 pp 2744Google Scholar
Ettlie, JE (1983b) ‘Performance Gap Theories of InnovationIEEE Transactions on Engineering Management 05 pp 3952Google Scholar
Ettlie, JE and Bridges, WP (1982) ‘Environmental Uncertainty and Organizational Technology PolicyIEEE Transactions on Engineering Management 02 pp 210Google Scholar
Galbraith, JR (1982) ‘Designing the Innovating Organizations' Organizational Dynamics Winter pp 324Google Scholar
Glaser, B and Strauss, A (1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research Hawthorn NY: AldineGoogle Scholar
Gold, B (1982) ‘Robotics, Programmable Automation, and International Competitiveness' IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management 11 pp 135146Google Scholar
Govindarajan, V and Gupta, AK (1985) ‘Linking Control Systems to Business Unit Strategy: Impact on PerformanceAccounting, Organizations and Society Vol 10 No 1 pp 5166CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graen, G and Hui, C (1996) ‘Managing Changes in Globalizing Business: How to Manage Cross-cultural Business PartnersJournal of Change Management Vol 9 No 3 pp 6272CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, C and Ruhleder, K (1996) ‘Globalization, Borderless Worlds, and the Tower of Babel: Metaphors Gone AwryJournal of Change Management Vol 8 No 4 pp 5568CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gupta, AK & Wilemon, DL (1990) ‘Accelerating the Development of Technology-based New Products' California Management Review Winter pp 2444Google Scholar
Harris, RG and Mowery, DC (1990) ‘Strategies for Innovation: An OverviewCalifornia Management Review Spring pp 716Google Scholar
Hayes, RH and Abernathy, WJ (1980) ‘Managing Our Way to Economic DeclineHarvard Business Review 07-August pp 6777Google Scholar
Hayes, RH and Jaikumar, R (1988) ‘Manufacturing's Crisis: New Technologies, Obsolete Organizations' Harvard Business Review 09-October pp 7785Google Scholar
Hirst, MK (1983) ‘Reliance on Accounting Performance Measures, Task Uncertainty, and Dysfunctional Behavior: Some ExtensionsJournal of Accounting Research Autumn pp 596605CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaplan, RS (1983) ‘Measuring Manufacturing Performance: A New Challenge for Managerial Accounting ResearchThe Accounting Review 10 pp 686705Google Scholar
Kaplan, RS (1986) ‘Accounting Lag: The Obsolescence of Cost Accounting SystemsCalifornia Management Review Winter pp 174199Google Scholar
Kim, J-O and Mueller, CW (1983) Factor Analysis: Statistical Methods and Practical Issues Beverly Hills CA: SageGoogle Scholar
Klus, JP (1993) ‘New and Emerging Technologies: A Competitive Edge for National SuccessInternational Journal of Technology Management Vol 8 Nos 6/7/8 pp 454464Google Scholar
Kompass Australia (1989) Prahran: Peter IsaacsonGoogle Scholar
Macintosh, NB (1981) ‘A Contextual Model of Information SystemsAccounting, Organizations and Society Vol 6 pp 3953CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macintosh, NB (1985) The Social Software of Accounting and Information Systems Chichester: WileyGoogle Scholar
Maidique, MA and Patch, P (1982) ‘Corporate Strategy and Technology Policy’ in Tushman, ML and Moore, WL (eds) Readings in the Management of Innovation Marshfield: PitmanGoogle Scholar
Mansfield, E (1982) ‘How Economists See R&DResearch Management Vol 25 No 1 pp 2329CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCutcheon, DM, Raturi, AS and Meredith, JR (1994) ‘The Customization—Responsiveness SqueezeSloan Management Review Winter pp 8999Google Scholar
Merchant, KA (1984) ‘Influences on Departmental Budgeting: An Empirical Examination of A Contingency ModelAccounting, Organizations and Society Vol 9 No 3/4 pp 291307CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neter, J, Wasserman, W and Kutner, MH (1985) Applied Linear Statistical Models Homewood Illinois: IrwinGoogle Scholar
Nunnally, JC (1967) Psychometric Theory New York: McGraw-HillGoogle Scholar
Nunnally, JC (1981) Psychometric Theory New Delhi: Tata McGraw-HillGoogle Scholar
Oldham, GR and Hackman, JR (1980) ‘Work Design in the Organizational Context’ in Staw, BM and Cummings, LL (eds) Research in Organizational Behavior Greenwich: JAI PressGoogle Scholar
Pavitt, K (1990) ‘What We Know About the Strategic Management of TechnologyCalifornia Management Review Spring pp 1726Google Scholar
Perrow, C (1967) ‘A Framework for the Comparative Analysis of OrganizationsAmerican Sociological Review Vol 32 pp 194208CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perrow, C (1970) Organizational Analysis: A Sociological View Belmont CA: WadsworthGoogle Scholar
Perry, JL and Kraemer, KL (1980) ‘Chief Executive Support and Innovation AdoptionAdministration and Society 08 pp 158177Google Scholar
Pfeffer, J (1994) ‘Competitive Advantage Through PeopleCalifornia Management Review Winter pp 928Google Scholar
Reimann, BC (1982) ‘Organizational Competence As A Predictor of Long Run Survival and GrowthAcademy of Management Journal Vol 25 No 2 pp 323334Google Scholar
Rothwell, R (1983) ‘Innovation and Firm Size: A Case for Dynamic Complementarity; Or, is Small Really So Beautiful?Journal of General Management Vol 8 pp 525CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rothwell, R (1984) ‘The Role of Small Firms in the Emergence of New TechnologiesOMEGA Vol 12 No 1 pp 1929CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rothwell, R (1985) ‘Venture Finance, Small Firms and Public Policy in the UKResearch Policy Vol 14 pp 253265CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rothwell, R (1992) ‘Successful Industrial Innovation: Critical Factors for the 1990sR&D Management Vol 22 No 3 pp 221239Google Scholar
Rothwell, R (1994) ‘Issues in User-Producer Relations in the Innovation Process: The Role of GovernmentInternational Journal of Technology Management Vol 9 Nos 5/6/7 pp 629649Google Scholar
Rothwell, R and Dodgson, M (1991) ‘External Linkages and Innovation in Small and Medium-size EnterprisesR&D Management Vol 21 No 2 pp 125136Google Scholar
Russell, G, Antill, J and Cunningham, J (1978) ‘The Measurement of Masculinity and Androgyny: A Reply to Rowland (1977)Australian Psychologist 03 pp 4150Google Scholar
Safizadeh, MH (1991) ‘The Case of Workgroups in Manufacturing OperationsCalifornia Management Review Summer pp 6182Google Scholar
Sharp, M (1989) ‘Corporate Strategies and Collaboration in the Case of Esprit and European Electronics' in Dodgson, M (ed) Technology Strategy and the Firm: Management and Public Policy New York: LongmanGoogle Scholar
Sims, HP, Szilagyi, AD and Keller, RT (1976) ‘The Measurement of Job Characteristics' Academy of Management Journal Vol 19 pp 195212Google Scholar
Solomons, D (1965) Divisional Performance: Measurement and Control Homewood: IrwinGoogle Scholar
Southwood, KE (1978) ‘Substantive Theory and Statistical Interaction: Five ModelsAmerican Journal of Sociology 03 pp 11541203CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teece, DJ (1986) ‘Profiting from Technological Innovation: Implications for Integration, Collaboration, Licensing and Public PolicyResearch Policy Vol 15 pp 285305CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, AB (1988) ‘Does Leadership Make A Difference to Organizational Performance?Administrative Science Quarterly Vol 33 pp 388400CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tiedman, HR (1972) Fundamentals of Psychological and Educational Measurement Springfield: ThomasGoogle Scholar
Tsui, AS and Barry, B (1986) ‘Interpersonal Affect and Rating Errors' Academy of Management Journal 09 pp 586599Google Scholar
Tushman, ML (1979) ‘Work Characteristics and Subunit Communication Structure: A Contingency AnalysisAdministrative Science Quarterly 03 pp 8297Google Scholar
Umanath, NS and Kim, KK (1992) ‘Task Structure Relationship of Information Systems Development Subunit: A Congruence PerspectiveDecision Sciences Journal Vol 23 No 4 pp 819838CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van de Ven, AH (1986) ‘Central Problems in the Management of InnovationManagement Science 05 pp 590607Google Scholar
Van de Ven, AH (1993) ‘A Community Perspective on the Emergence of InnovationsJournal of Engineering and Technology Management Vol 10 pp 2351CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van de Ven, AH and Delbecq, AL (1974) ‘A Task Contingent Model of Work-unit StructureAdministrative Science Quarterly 06 pp 183–97Google Scholar
Van De Ven, AH, Delbecq, AL and Koenig, R Jr, (1976) ‘Determinants of Coordination Modes Within OrganizationsAmerican Sociological Review 04 pp 322338Google Scholar
Venkatraman, N and Ramanujam, V (1986) ‘Measurement of Business Performance in Strategy Research: A Comparison of ApproachesAcademy of Management Review Vol 11 No 4 pp 801814CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Venkatraman, N and Ramanujam, V (1987) ‘Measurement of Business Economic Performance: An Examination of Method ConvergenceJournal of Management Spring pp 109122CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitman, M (1992) ‘Technology Policy: Is America on the Right Track?Harvard Business Review 05/June pp 140156Google Scholar
Williams, JJ, Macintosh, NB and Moore, JC (1990) ‘Budget-related Behavior in Public Sector Organizations: Some Empirical EvienceAccounting, Organizations and Society Vol 15 No 3 pp 221246CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Withey, M, Daft, RL and Cooper, WH (1983) ‘Measures of Perrow's Work Unit Technology: An Empirical Assessment and A New ScaleAcademy of Management Journal Vol 26 No 1 pp 4563Google Scholar
Zahra, SA and Covin, JG (1993) ‘Business Strategy, Technology Policy and Firm PerformanceStrategic Management Journal Vol 14 pp 451478CrossRefGoogle Scholar