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Article
Publication date: 27 April 2023

Nizar Mohammad Alsharari

This paper aims to discuss the interplay between strategic management accounting (SMA) and three organizational change configurations: strategy, structure and restructuring. This…

1020

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss the interplay between strategic management accounting (SMA) and three organizational change configurations: strategy, structure and restructuring. This explication occurs within a context that is characterized by organization restructuring and corporate strategy changes within Jordan Customs Organization (JCO).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a qualitative research approach and presents an interpretive case study of the JCO public sector organization. To collect data, it uses methodological triangulation, which includes interviews, historical and statistical analyses, documents and archival records. It is informed by the theoretical lens of configurational theory and strategic typologies to interpret the influences of organizational change configurations on SMA as it relates to the interplay of strategy, structure and restructuring.

Findings

The study findings agree with the related literature that SMA practices have developed management accounting from important operational transactions to gain a more strategic orientation through integrating customers, human resources, processes and financial departments. This paper concludes that specific SMA techniques have been used for strategizing by organizations in the public sector, providing a valuable counterpoint to the private sector adaptation that has dominated SMA research. This study finds that organizational restructuring has also contributed to decentralization and delegation, which has led to the distribution of tasks and specialization in accounting departments. It also concludes that SMA may facilitate or delay organizational change configurations in JCO. SMA can play a significant role in ensuring that the institution learns in response to organizational changes. On the contrary, this paper also concludes that organizational practices led to changes in SMA rules and routines.

Research limitations/implications

A general criticism of case-study methods is that they lack rigor and provide little basis for generalization. First, case studies tend to be specific and individual, posing significant issues regarding generalization. Therefore, several comparative case studies involving various organizations should be conducted to ascertain if these practices have become more commonplace, especially in the public sector. Second, considering the nature of a government entity and the sensitivity of the information that required confidentiality, certain strategizing imperatives could not be directly examined, such as meetings between top management to make important decisions of strategic significance. This paper has important implications because it highlights the shortcomings of a supercilious singular relationship between strategic choices and the design of SMA practices.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the growing literature by focusing on the relationship between SMA and three organizational change configurations: strategy, structure and restructuring. This paper is informed by the configuration theory perspective commonly used in accounting research. The empirical evidence in this study is provided in an SMA field, where empirical research is needed to be comparable with traditional accounting practices.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1832-5912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2005

Rishma Vedd and Reza Kouhy

The objective of this research project was to ascertain the role of management accountants in relation to strategic human resource management (SHRM) and the information provided…

1332

Abstract

The objective of this research project was to ascertain the role of management accountants in relation to strategic human resource management (SHRM) and the information provided for SHRM. To achieve this objective four case studies (two UK and two Canadian organisations) were conducted using a grounded theory approach. The two most important HR strategies in these cases were training and leadership development, which were linked to the overall goals of each organisation. Management accountants played a key role in providing information for the SHRM planning process in all four cases. The role of management accountants during the strategic planning process was very much as integral team members with a facilitating role. In all four cases management accountants provided HR managers with information for decision making.

Details

Journal of Applied Accounting Research, vol. 7 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0967-5426

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 March 2010

Michael Brandau and Andreas H. Hoffjan

The paper seeks to explore the extent of involvement of management accounting in strategic inter‐organizational decisions and control in the context of offshoring of services.

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Abstract

Purpose

The paper seeks to explore the extent of involvement of management accounting in strategic inter‐organizational decisions and control in the context of offshoring of services.

Design/methodology/approach

For the present study, a multiple case study field research design was selected. A data‐bank media search identified companies actually offshoring their services. In total, 17 semi‐structured interviews with management accountants/managers were conducted in 14 of the identified companies. The interviews were analyzed using content analysis techniques.

Findings

Management accounting is involved in offshoring activities to a much lower extent than expected. The reasons range from contractual agreements between the different parties, which substitute in part for management accounting interventions, to competence problems in accounting departments. Therefore, management accounting often fails to provide support for strategic planning and coordination.

Research limitations/implications

The data obtained through the qualitative research approach have a low‐scaling level, which limits subsequent analysis to descriptive statistics only.

Practical implications

The paper identifies risks and actual problems associated with offshoring, which indicate an increased need for coordinated planning and information processing. Furthermore, it raises the question of how management accounting can overcome existing competence problems with respect to the support of strategic decision making, in order to fulfil its function within the company more efficiently.

Originality/value

Literature does not provide convincing evidence of the practical significance of management accounting in the context of strategic decisions and inter‐organizational relations. This paper shows that management accounting currently remains far removed from its function as a developer of strategic decisions and as a support function for corporate planning and coordination processes.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1832-5912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 June 2019

Khaled Hutaibat

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a field study, investigating accounting, strategising and accounting for strategic management and power structures in the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a field study, investigating accounting, strategising and accounting for strategic management and power structures in the Jordanian higher education (HE) sector on the basis of Bourdieu’s theory of practice.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts an interpretive stance, seeking to investigate the perceptions of actors in the field, with regard to accounting, strategising and accounting for strategic management in HE. The adopted methodology is adapted grounded theory, as this study assumes a prior theoretical stance of Bourdieu’s theoretical concepts. Data were collected through participant observation in meetings, at the workplace, interviews and documentation.

Findings

The main findings of this paper reflect how strategising and accounting in practice manifest themselves in the Jordanian HE sector. Bourdieu’s theory of practice sets the meta-theoretical context of the current study, with field setting the scene, and habitus being represented in the strategising mind-set participants adopt. The mind-set determines how strategic management accounting is perceived and dealt with. Strategic management accounting takes place at varying degrees. The power structures that influence and determine strategising and accounting in support thereof are researched on the basis of Bourdieu’s forms of capital. Different forms of capital matter in the HE sector determined by fields’ doxa.

Research limitations/implications

The researcher is a part of the field, the Jordanian HE sector; thus, their habitus has been exposed to its characteristics and features. Thus, certain internalised structures and experiences needed to be challenged for this analysis, which was not an easy task.

Originality/value

This study investigates accounting, strategic management and power structures in HE, and it highlights the different power structures, using Bourdieu’s forms of capital, which offers a great insight into how different cultures approach similar issues.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1832-5912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2011

Khaled Hutaibat, Larissa von Alberti‐Alhtaybat and Khaldoon Al‐Htaybat

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of strategic management accounting (SMA) in an English university. It is in search of and investigates SMA practices and…

2099

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of strategic management accounting (SMA) in an English university. It is in search of and investigates SMA practices and processes, and their meaning to participants in an English university context. The higher education (HE) institution under research had gone through a major change a couple of years prior to this study, including implementation of new strategic management and management accounting practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach taken is an interpretive one and the adopted methodology is grounded theory according to Glaser's evolved approach. Data collection took place largely through interviews and, where possible, participant observation.

Findings

The main findings of the research concern the core concept of the strategising mindset, which encapsulates the institutional, divisional and individual stance towards strategy and SMA. The strategising mindset is understood as the belief system that is adopted with regard to SMA, which is divided into a bureaucratic and an entrepreneurial mindset. According to the respective mindset, accounting for strategic management is dealt with and institutional members' perceptions of SMA are shaped. The particular mindset adopted depends on the context members were and are functioning, which reflects Bourdieu's theory of practice.

Originality/value

The main contributions are the emergent theoretical framework on SMA in HE, the concept of the strategising mindset and resulting views and conclusions on what SMA actually means in practice. To the authors' knowledge, no such theoretical framework has been published to date.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 7 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1832-5912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 February 2008

Kim Langfield‐Smith

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the origins of strategic management accounting and to assess the extent of adoption and “success” of strategic management…

38921

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the origins of strategic management accounting and to assess the extent of adoption and “success” of strategic management accounting (SMA).

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical papers which have directly researched SMA and prior review papers of the adoption and implementation of SMA or SMA techniques are reviewed. As well as assessing the extent of adoption of SMA and the reasons underlying an apparent low adoption rate, the role of accountants in adopting and implementing SMA is considered. Finally, the success or otherwise of SMA is discussed.

Findings

SMA or SMA techniques have not been adopted widely, nor is the term SMA widely understood or used. However, aspects of SMA have had an impact, influencing the thinking and language of business, and the way in which we undertake various business processes. These issues cut across the wider domain of management, and are not just the province of management accountants.

Research limitations/implications

There is limited value in conducting future surveys of the adoption and implementation of SMA or SMA techniques. Rather, the focus should be on how SMA‐inspired techniques and processes diffuse into general practice within organizations.

Originality/value

Twenty‐five years after the term strategic management accounting was first introduced in the literature, this paper brings together disparate literature and provides a broad assessment of the “state‐of‐the‐art” of strategic management accounting to inform researchers and practitioners.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 21 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 May 2008

Lee D. Parker

This paper sets out to investigate and critique the corpus of recent research into gender dimensions of strategic management and accounting processes with a view to establishing…

6252

Abstract

Purpose

This paper sets out to investigate and critique the corpus of recent research into gender dimensions of strategic management and accounting processes with a view to establishing the current state of knowledge and offering both future research and policy implications.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature‐based analysis and critique are employed. This is constructed from a social constructionist perspective, drawing on concepts of the variably gendered identity of discourse and of process, and a theory of absence.

Findings

The study uncovers major gaps in research attention and consequent knowledge concerning gendered characteristics of managers' and accountants' approaches to, and involvement in, strategic management and accounting processes. Evidence suggests that in these processes both feminine and masculine features constitute important but at present inadequately researched and understood modes of operation.

Research limitations/implications

This research suggests opportunities for androgynous strategic management and accounting processes that draw on characteristics from both feminine and masculine perspectives. Also identified are a significant array of knowledge absences and related further research questions to be addressed.

Originality/value

The study opens up an area of significant research neglect, particularly in accounting. It offers theoretical and methodological paths for moving this research agenda forward.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 21 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 August 2014

Abeer Abdelmoneim Mohamed and Tracy Jones

The purpose of this study is to propose a comprehensive strategic model to manage profitability. Strategic management accounting concepts and tools are adopted to explore and…

4827

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to propose a comprehensive strategic model to manage profitability. Strategic management accounting concepts and tools are adopted to explore and manage the main profitability drivers (cost, assets, and revenue).

Design/methodology/approach

A deductive approach is used to identify the variables of the profitability model. Phase one of this study rely on reviewing prior literature in the field in order to identify the key profitability drivers that uses in managing profitability (costs, assets and revenue).Phase two of the research focuses on testing the perceptions of the managers of Egyptian “Information and communications technology” sector, the relative merits of such a model.

Findings

The most important finding in the current study, which has not been investigated in previous studies, is that the proposed comprehensive profitability model which contains cost, the assets and revenue techniques was a better predictor of profitability than the alternative models, which contain a combination of two variables.

Originality/value

As the first study of its kind, this model contributes to the theoretical literature in the field. It is also a practical contribution in managing profitability of the Egyptian “Information and communications technology” sector.

Article
Publication date: 30 November 2018

Ahmad Mohammed Alamri

The purpose of this paper is to develop an extensive conceptualization of strategic management accounting (SMA) facets, as well as to explore the impact of these facets on both…

1762

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop an extensive conceptualization of strategic management accounting (SMA) facets, as well as to explore the impact of these facets on both financial and non-financial measures of organizational performance (OP).

Design/methodology/approach

Data are collected from 435 accounting managers working in Saudi companies listed in the Saudi Stock Exchange. The study applies hierarchical regression analysis to test the association between SMA facets and OP.

Findings

The results show that SMA facets significantly affect OP, assessed in the two major categories of financial and non-financial performance.

Research limitations/implications

The dominance of companies listed in the Saudi Stock Exchange in the data set limits the generalizability of the findings.

Practical implications

The present study supports the idea that companies can enhance their OP by adopting some facets of SMA such as the availability of appropriate structural arrangements, supportive resources, adequate information types and usages and good organizational climate.

Originality/value

The current study expands the conceptualization of SMA in light of organizational context as a set of facets to overcome the polarization found in the existing literature and explores their impact on OP, including non-financial performance, for which empirical evidence is still scant.

Details

Baltic Journal of Management, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5265

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2013

Maik Lachmann, Thorsten Knauer and Rouven Trapp

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the use of strategic management accounting (SMA) techniques in hospitals under competitive market environments. The paper…

3570

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the use of strategic management accounting (SMA) techniques in hospitals under competitive market environments. The paper analyses the dissemination of SMA techniques in consideration of structural characteristics and perform a cluster analysis in order to investigate performance differences between various groups of hospitals.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper collected empirical data in a nationwide survey of German general hospitals. Analyses are based on questionnaires from 116 hospitals.

Findings

Results show that strategies are applied and regularly adjusted in most hospitals. However, SMA techniques are not in widespread use. The paper explores performance differences between the clusters comprised. The paper finds evidence that the use of SMA techniques varies among hospitals based on their structural characteristics.

Research limitations/implications

The authors' exploratory analysis suggest that further study exploring both the determinants and effects of the use of SMA techniques in hospitals represents an interesting path for future research. This study is subject to limitations, particularly concerning the limited number of contextual variables and performance measures taken into consideration.

Practical implications

Considering the limited use of SMA techniques, this paper conclude that hospitals should consider the adoption of additional practices. The paper identifies particular potential for development in the areas of risk management and capital budgeting methods.

Originality/value

This study provides the first comprehensive overview of SMA techniques used in hospitals and advances the literature, which primarily includes case study evidence on single SMA techniques or analyses of the impact of strategies and health reforms on “conventional” management accounting practices. This paper, then, constitutes a useful starting point for further research on SMA practices in hospitals.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1832-5912

Keywords

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