Financialization as a strategy of workplace control in professional service firms
(2012) In Critical Perspectives on Accounting 23(497-510).- Abstract
- Recently, there has been an increased focus on finance as a form of control in corporations. In this paper, we explore financialization as an employee control strategy in a Big Four accountancy firm, and more specifically how it affects the everyday lives of the professionals within the firm. We found financialization involved attempts to transform employees work- ing lives into an investment activity where work was experienced as ‘billable hours’ that are ‘invested’ in the hope of a high future pay-off. Employees sought to increase the value of their investment by skilful manipulation. If wisely managed, this investment could yield significant benefits in the future. We argue that financialization involves active employee participation... (More)
- Recently, there has been an increased focus on finance as a form of control in corporations. In this paper, we explore financialization as an employee control strategy in a Big Four accountancy firm, and more specifically how it affects the everyday lives of the professionals within the firm. We found financialization involved attempts to transform employees work- ing lives into an investment activity where work was experienced as ‘billable hours’ that are ‘invested’ in the hope of a high future pay-off. Employees sought to increase the value of their investment by skilful manipulation. If wisely managed, this investment could yield significant benefits in the future. We argue that financialization involves active employee participation and is a way of binding other forms of control together. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/3053355
- author
- Alvehus, Johan LU and Spicer, André
- organization
- publishing date
- 2012
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Professional control Financialization Performance management Professional service firm
- in
- Critical Perspectives on Accounting
- volume
- 23
- issue
- 497-510
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:84869870657
- ISSN
- 1045-2354
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 43280fa5-cd38-4deb-8495-79eab984f5dd (old id 3053355)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 06:59:17
- date last changed
- 2022-12-20 19:25:13
@article{43280fa5-cd38-4deb-8495-79eab984f5dd, abstract = {{Recently, there has been an increased focus on finance as a form of control in corporations. In this paper, we explore financialization as an employee control strategy in a Big Four accountancy firm, and more specifically how it affects the everyday lives of the professionals within the firm. We found financialization involved attempts to transform employees work- ing lives into an investment activity where work was experienced as ‘billable hours’ that are ‘invested’ in the hope of a high future pay-off. Employees sought to increase the value of their investment by skilful manipulation. If wisely managed, this investment could yield significant benefits in the future. We argue that financialization involves active employee participation and is a way of binding other forms of control together.}}, author = {{Alvehus, Johan and Spicer, André}}, issn = {{1045-2354}}, keywords = {{Professional control Financialization Performance management Professional service firm}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{497-510}}, publisher = {{Elsevier}}, series = {{Critical Perspectives on Accounting}}, title = {{Financialization as a strategy of workplace control in professional service firms}}, volume = {{23}}, year = {{2012}}, }