ABSTRACT
Inter-organizational relations are of particular importance when firms collaborate. The networks of relations between firms, which are the main axes in the production of products and services (Håkansson & Snehota, 1995), are new domains for accounting-based coordination efforts. In contrast with some theories of coordination (e.g. Anthony & Govindarajan, 2003)—where accounting information is thought to facilitate or influence internal decision-making—inter-organizational relations involve not only the firm’s own but also the external partners’ activities as objects of coordination. Inter-organizational coordination—the qualitative and quantitative matching of plans (Håkansson & Lind, 2004)—is key for the competitiveness of collaborate production. This indicates that adoption of accounting information systems—the systems linking non-financial to financial information—for inter-organizational coordination is not merely an attempt to align partner firms’ existing modes of production. It is also a question of influencing the external partners’ wider coordination efforts in the network.
