Department of Accounting and Operations Management

Safety Science

Causality is central to accident investigation, shaping how events are reconstructed, accountability is assigned, and systemic improvements are identified. However, conventional investigations often emphasise procedural and technical sequences, overlooking relational and interpretive dynamics crucial for understanding how systems drift towards failure through the gradual erosion of shared understanding. To examine what this framing may overlook, we revisit the 2018 collision between the Norwegian frigate Helge Ingstad and the tanker Sola TS. We first used FRAM to reconstruct Work-as-Imagined (WAI) and then conducted a sensemaking-informed content analysis to examine Work-as-Done (WAD) based on official reports. While FRAM effectively clarified system function coupling and where variability arose, it offered limited insight into how interpretations diverged or why shared understanding was difficult to sustain. This two-stage analysis revealed critical discrepancies between formal expectations and actual meaning-making. These insights, together with theoretical considerations, informed the development of a four-layer maturity model. The four-layer maturity model, consisting of (i) technical causality, (ii) human performance, (iii) socio-technical interdependencies, and (iv) relational sensemaking grounded in Human Readiness Levels (HRL). This model, with its distinctive fourth analytical layer (iv), shifts attention from functional interactions to how coherence forms—or fails—under pressure. The case was then revisited solely to illustrate how the model reveals relational and interpretive dynamics not captured by functional analysis, thereby avoiding methodological circularity. It highlights silence, saturation, and fragmentation as indicators of a system losing its capacity to adapt its understanding, even when information is available and routines continue.

Progress in International Business Research, vol 20 part B

Fagbokforlaget Doi: https://fagbokforlaget.no/produkt/9788245051476-kvalitative-metoder-for-handelshoyskoleutdanningene

Contemporary Accounting Research 42(4) p. 2357-2391 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3846.13060

The Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 158 mandates the recognition of previously disclosed off–balance sheet liabilities (OBLs) for sponsors of defined benefit (DB) retirement plans. This recognition significantly increases reported liabilities, with notable variation across DB plan sponsors. We find that unrated DB plan sponsors reduce financial leverage following OBLs recognition, driven by net debt retirements and net equity issuances. These adjustments appear optimal because they bring firms closer to their estimated leverage targets. In contrast, DB plan sponsors with tight, floating‐GAAP covenants also reduce financial leverage, primarily through net debt retirements. The evidence suggests that on–balance sheet reporting requirements impact capital structure decisions through a rating or a covenant channel.

Waste Management & Research p. 1-11 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242x251385787

Efficient urban waste collection requires solutions that balance environmental performance, economic feasibility and social acceptability while minimizing spatial and ecological impacts. This study assesses the sustainability of vacuum waste collection systems in comparison with underground containers and indoor bins, using data from approximately 2500 households in a Norwegian city. Four waste fractions: plastic, residual and paper/cardboard were analysed across two scenarios: a fully vacuum-based system for all households, and a hybrid solution combining underground containers for 1500 households with indoor bins for 1000. The evaluation integrates three sustainability dimensions: climate impact through life cycle assessment, economic performance through lifecycle cost analysis and social aspects through qualitative assessment. Findings reveal that vacuum systems achieve the lowest climate impact, although the differences between systems are modest. For vacuum systems, emissions are dominated by the construction of pipe networks and terminal facilities; for underground containers, by the number of units and for indoor bins, by transport and operational activities. Economically, vacuum systems incur 22% higher costs than the hybrid solution. However, economies of scale are evident: increasing connected households from 2500 to 3100 reduces costs by 14%, positioning vacuum systems more competitively. Socially, vacuum systems offer notable benefits, including reduced odour and noise, improved traffic safety and decreased physical strain on personnel. Overall, the study concludes that waste collection solutions must be tailored to site-specific conditions but highlights the scalability and social advantages of vacuum systems, which may render them a viable option for sustainable urban waste management when integrated with commercial streams.