Per Ståle Knardal is Associate Professor in the Department of Accounting and Operations Management and member of BI Centre for Creative Industries. He received his PhD from NTNU in Management Accounting and Control following a Master of Music in Perormance from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK and a Master of Science in Busienss Administration at NTNU.
Publications
Landrø, Karsten & Knardal, Per Ståle (2025)
Foreldremedvirkning i kulturskolen. Samproduksjon i praksis
This paper explores how a non-governmental organisation, a school band, and the municipal school of music and performing arts (the Kulturskole) collaborate to provide music education. Drawing on the concept of co-production, this paper investigates a case where the Kulturskole and the school band jointly deliver and plan the service of music education. The findings suggest that co-production in this case was perceived to be beneficial in terms of both efficiency and learning. Other broader outcomes were also detected, such as a strengthening of social bonds in the local society. The findings further suggest that in order to make co-production work, it is necessary to establish well-functioning organisational structures and good communication and knowledge transfer between the participants. Hence, the results in this paper inform the development of co-production as a mechanism to bring together a variety of stakeholders in the delivery and planning of arts education.
Solberg, Harry Arne; Becker, Denis Mike, Denstadli, Jon Martin, Heldal, Frode, Knardal, Per Ståle & Thøring, Thor Atle (2021)
Why are major sports events trapped in the winner's curse? A case study of the 2017 World Road Cycling Championship
Purpose – This paper sought to determine how a major sport event can become trapped in a winner’s curse, in
which the fierce competition to host the event forces organisers to spend more on acquiring and hosting it than
what it is worth in economic terms.
Design/methodology/approach – This study used a combination of document analysis and 47 in-depth
interviews with 51 individuals representing various private and public organisations involved in the
implementation of the UCI 2017 Road Cycling World Championship. Snowball sampling and a semi-structured
interview guide were used to ensure coverage of all relevant information.
Findings – The organiser and the host municipal lacked the necessary experience with events of this size and
character. Information from previous championships events was not transferred, and the municipality
administration did not utilise experiences from hosting previous events. Limited financial resources prevented
the organiser from hiring enough employees with the necessary competence. Lack of communication between
the stakeholders who contributed in hosting the event reduced the quality of planning and preparations.
A dubious culture and lack of seriousness within the Norwegian Cycling Federation, which was the owner of
organising company, seemed to have been transferred to organiser.
Originality/value – The research identifies some of the reasons why major sports events so often turns out to
be more problematic than expected in economic terms, not only for the organiser but also for actors in the public
sector in the host city. The novelty is that it goes into depth on the underlying reasons and the dynamic forces
behind these problems.
Knardal, Per Ståle & Burns, John (2020)
The use of accounting in managing the institutional complexities of a festival organisation pursuing financial and social objectives
Festivals are an important part of popular culture and have increased in popularity in recent decades. However, they remain relatively unexplored in the accounting literature, and understanding of the use of management control tools in this context is low. This study aims to investigate the use of budgets in festivals. Informed by upper echelons theory, it investigates how individual and observable characteristics of festival managers are associated with variations in the use of budgets. The study is based on a survey of 61 festival managers from 40 festivals. The findings suggest that festival budgets are particularly important in the planning and coordination process but used less frequently for ex post evaluations. The findings also indicate a positive association between a business educational background and the use of budgets for most purposes, with the exceptions of performance evaluation and reward. This paper contributes to the literature on accounting in popular culture in general and in festivals specifically. Through its application of upper echelons theory, it also contributes to the management accounting and control literature, showing how individual characteristics of managers influence the use of budgets.
Olsen, Anders Berg & Knardal, Per Ståle (2020)
EUs nye retningslinjer for foretaksrapportering av klimarelaterte opplysninger – byggverk på utrygg grunn?
I de siste årene har det i økende grad blitt fokusert på klima og bærekraft. Dette er en utvikling som også har fått økt oppmerksomhet i virksomheters rapportering, og en rekke aktører tar i bruk nye kriterier knyttet til bærekraft i sine retningslinjer og modeller for økonomiske beslutninger. Med utgangspunkt i regnskapsdirektivet har EU-kommisjonen utgitt retningslinjer for rapportering fra store foretak om ikke-finansiell informasjon. I dette kapittelet bygger vi på kunnskap fra utviklingen av finansiell rapportering og kriterier som har blitt utviklet for å forbedre og understøtte denne, og vurderer fundamentet for retningslinjer for rapportering av klimarelaterte opplysninger. Kapittelet bygger på en dokumentanalyse for å belyse grunnleggende forutsetninger om rapporteringsenhet, rapporteringens formål og kvalitetskriterier for ikke-finansiell foretaksrapportering. Dokumentanalysens resultat indikerer at kravene til ikke-finansiell rapportering kan videreutvikles med hensyn til systematikk og konsistens tilsvarende det som er utviklet for finansiell rapportering. Grunnlaget for rapportering av ikke-finansiell informasjon fremstår som uklart med hensyn til rapporteringsenhet, rapporteringens formål og sentrale kvalitetskriterier. Med bakgrunn i analysen foreslås det at det bør utvikles kvalitetskriterier for ikke-finansiell informasjon basert på kvalitetskrav til informasjon IFRS konseptuelt rammeverk for finansiell rapportering. Det er også behov for økt forskning innen ikke-finansiell rapportering.
Ahlgren, Per Christian & Knardal, Per Ståle (2019)
This paper investigates the integration between institutional complexity and performance management in the field of performing arts. Prior research has documented tension related to how performance measures and management tools are used in arts organizations, and the conflict is often explained as being a result of the intrusion of business‐like accounting tools into the exercise of the arts. Drawing on the concept of institutional logics, the findings of the current study suggest that a diversity of logics is salient in this organizational field. The performance measurement system is confronted with multiple logics, and the study shows how the role of performance management is shaped by this institutional complexity.
Knardal, Per Ståle (2017)
Kreativitet og styring. Er festivalbudsjett motpoler eller komplementære verktøy?
Denne artikkelen undersøker hvordan et budsjett kan fungere som et verktøy for å balansere kontroll og kreativitet. Artikkelen bygger på en case-studie av en av de største norske festivalene, Olavsfestdagene i Trondheim, og hvordan utformingen og bruken av budsjettet er tilpasset de spesielle egenskapene festivaler har som økonomiske organisasjoner. Funnene i artikkelen støtter tidligere forskning som legger vekt på viktigheten av å balansere kreativitet og kontroll for å kunne styre festivaler på en vellykket måte. Denne studien gir dermed kunnskap om hvordan ledere bruker budsjetter til å kombinere styring og kontroll med kreativitet og dynamiske tilpasninger.
Knardal, Per Ståle & Pettersen, Inger Johanne (2015)
Creativity and management control – the diversity of festival budgets
