This dissertation is composed of three research papers that deal with the topic of “accounting and innovation” and provide evidence for the area of innovation from two accounting perspectives, i.e., the external disclosure perspective and the internal management control system perspective. The disclosure perspective is addressed in the first paper. Using content analysis, it examines the innovation capital disclosure characteristics, i.e., disclosure quantity and quality, in intellectual capital statements of 51 European for-profit firms. Additionally, the relationship between innovation capital disclosure characteristics and industry, firm size, region of domicile, and disclosure guidelines adopted are analyzed. The second and third paper address the management control system perspective. The second paper contributes to the research on management control systems in product development by exploring the performance effects and the interplay of the levers of control, i.e., interactive, diagnostic, beliefs, and boundary control systems, based on data from a survey of 468 senior managers from the manufacturing industry. Therefore, I compare by structural equation modeling a base model of unrelated levers of control (additive model) with (a) a model of mutual association of levers of control (interdependence model), (b) a model of joint use of levers of control (interaction model), and (c) a combined model of mutual association and joint use of levers of control (combined interdependence/interaction model). The best fitting and most parsimonious model is analyzed in terms of the performance effects of the levers of control. Based on the sample of the second paper, the third paper contributes to the recent literature on the relationship between management control systems and innovation by considering how the four levers of control are used as “packages” in product development. I employ cluster analysis to determine how the levers of control are combined, depending on the type of strategy formation (i.e., intended or emergent) and the degree of innovativeness of the firm. Furthermore, I explore which of these combinations are equifinal in terms of product development and organizational performance.

This dissertation is composed of three research papers that deal with the topic of “accounting and innovation” and provide evidence for the area of innovation from two accounting perspectives, i.e., the external disclosure perspective and the internal management control system perspective. The disclosure perspective is addressed in the first paper. Using content analysis, it examines the innovation capital disclosure characteristics, i.e., disclosure quantity and quality, in intellectual capital statements of 51 European for-profit firms. Additionally, the relationship between innovation capital disclosure characteristics and industry, firm size, region of domicile, and disclosure guidelines adopted are analyzed. The second and third paper address the management control system perspective. The second paper contributes to the research on management control systems in product development by exploring the performance effects and the interplay of the levers of control, i.e., interactive, diagnostic, beliefs, and boundary control systems, based on data from a survey of 468 senior managers from the manufacturing industry. Therefore, I compare by structural equation modeling a base model of unrelated levers of control (additive model) with (a) a model of mutual association of levers of control (interdependence model), (b) a model of joint use of levers of control (interaction model), and (c) a combined model of mutual association and joint use of levers of control (combined interdependence/interaction model). The best fitting and most parsimonious model is analyzed in terms of the performance effects of the levers of control. Based on the sample of the second paper, the third paper contributes to the recent literature on the relationship between management control systems and innovation by considering how the four levers of control are used as “packages” in product development. I employ cluster analysis to determine how the levers of control are combined, depending on the type of strategy formation (i.e., intended or emergent) and the degree of innovativeness of the firm. Furthermore, I explore which of these combinations are equifinal in terms of product development and organizational performance.

Bakgrund och problem: Idag ställs det allt högre krav på företag att arbeta med hållbar utveckling och att integrera alla delar av hållbarhet; sociala, miljömässiga och ekonomiska för att överleva på lång sikt. Företag inom bygg- och fastighetsbranschen står inför flera utmaningar när det kommer till hållbarhet och det är av stor betydelse för dem att utveckla sitt arbete med hållbar utveckling. Traditionell ekonomistyrning handlar om att styra företag med hjälp av olika verktyg mot deras ekonomiska mål. Med fler externa krav som lagar och andra påtryckningar kring hållbar utveckling behöver företag ställa om sin interna styrning. Hållbarhetsstyrning kan därför tillämpas där olika styrmedel har en stor betydelse i att arbeta mot hållbarhetsmålen. Med bakgrund av det nämnda, samt att det finns begränsat med forskning finns det ett intresse att studera hur företag inom bygg- och fastighetsbranschen tillämpar hållbarhetsstyrning.  Syfte och frågeställningar: Studien är ämnad att undersöka hur företag i bygg- och fastighetsbranschen arbetar med hållbar utveckling och hållbarhetsstyrning. Med fler externa krav på företag har det blivit intressant att studera hur hållbarhetsstyrning kan användas för att internt arbeta för hållbar utveckling.  Hur används olika styrmedel för att integrera hållbar utveckling för företag i bygg- och fastighetsbranschen? Till vilket syfte används styrmedel i arbetet mot hållbar utveckling?  Metod: Studien utgår från en kvalitativ ansats där en tvärsnittsdesign har använts. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer på två företag i bygg- och fastighetsbranschen. Det gjordes totalt åtta intervjuer där varje intervju var med olika respondenter på de två företagen. Empirin kompletterades med företagens års- och hållbarhetsredovisning samt hållbarhetsrapport. Studien har använt en abduktiv ansats eftersom både induktion och deduktion har tillämpats. Till sist har det empiriska materialet analyserats utifrån den teoretiska referensramen för att finna likheter och skillnader mellan teorin och empirin.  Slutsats: Studiens resultat visar på betydelsen av att tillämpa hållbarhetsstyrning för företag i bygg- och fastighetsbranschen. Med ökade externa krav blir det viktigt att företag internt arbetar med hur de ska redovisa och följa upp sitt hållbarhetsarbete. Företagen tillämpar styrmedel inom Simons (1995) levers of control som; interna sammankomster, intranät, policys, rapportering, KPI:er och kommunikation med intressenter. Resultatet visar på att olika styrmedel är viktiga för att uppnå sina hållbarhetsmål, erhålla legitimitet, säkra sin överlevnad, möta krav från interna och externa intressenter samt styra mer hållbart över tid. / Background and problem: Today, companies are faced with higher requirements to work with sustainable development and to integrate all aspects of sustainability; economic, social, and environmental to be able to survive in the long term. Companies within the construction and real estate industry are faced with several challenges when it comes to sustainability, and it is therefore important for them to upgrade their work with sustainable development. Traditional management accounting is about guiding companies towards their financial goals by using various tools. More external requirements, linked to sustainable development, are forcing companies to adjust their internal control. It could therefore be beneficial to apply sustainability management, since it includes various control systems that are essential for companies to use in their work towards their sustainability goals. In the light of the above, and to the fact that there is a limited amount of research, there is an interest in studying how companies in the construction and real estate industry are applying sustainability management into their businesses.  Purpose and question formulations: This study is intended to investigate how companies are working with sustainable development and sustainability management. More external requirements have made it interesting to study how sustainability management internally can be used to work towards sustainable development. How are different control systems used to integrate sustainable development for companies in the construction and real estate industry? For what purpose are control systems used in the work towards sustainable development? Method: The study is based on a qualitative approach, where a cross-sectional design has been used. The empirical material has been collected through semi-structured interviews with two companies within the construction and real estate industry. The study includes eight interviews, where each interview was conducted with different respondents from each of the two companies. The empirical material was supplemented with the companies´ annual- and sustainability accounting and sustainability reports. The study has used an abductive approach since both induction and deduction have been applied. Finally, the empirical material was analyzed based on the theoretical frame of reference in order to obtain similarities and differences between the theory and the empirical material. Conclusions: The results of the study show the importance of applying sustainability management for companies within the construction and real estate industry. It is also important for companies to work with how to report internally and how to follow up on their sustainability work when external requirements are increasing. The companies apply control systems within Simons (1995) framework, levers of control, such as; internal meetings, intranets, policies, reporting, KPI:s and communication with stakeholders. The results show that different control systems are important for companies to achieve their sustainability goals, to gain legitimacy, to ensure their survival, to meet internal and external stakeholders’ requirements and to be more sustainable over time.