INSTITUTIONALISATION OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING IN FAMILY BUSINESSES — EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM AUSTRIA AND GERMANY

Martin R. W. Hiebl (), Birgit Feldbauer-Durstmüller (), Christine Duller () and Herbert Neubauer ()
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Martin R. W. Hiebl: Institute of Management Control and Consulting, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Straße 69, 4040 Linz, Austria
Birgit Feldbauer-Durstmüller: Institute of Management Control and Consulting, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Straße 69, 4040 Linz, Austria
Christine Duller: Institute of Applied Statistics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Straße 69, 4040 Linz, Austria
Herbert Neubauer: Institute of Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Augasse 2-6, 1090 Vienna, Austria

Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), 2012, vol. 20, issue 04, 405-436

Abstract: This study investigates whether family businesses (FBs) differ from non-family businesses (NFBs) regarding the institutionalisation of management accounting. Furthermore, it analyses whether FB-specific contextual factors such as the existence of non-family management and the level of family influence affect the establishment of discrete management accounting departments. Six hypotheses are formulated and tested based on survey results from 479 firms from Austria and 418 firms from Germany. Our results indicate that FBs establish fewer management accounting departments than NFBs do and that the heads of management accounting in FBs are less likely to hold a university degree compared with their counterparts in NFBs. Moreover, within FBs, larger firm size and the existence of non-family management are positively correlated with the establishment of management accounting departments, where firm size acts as the strongest predictor. As firm type (FB vs. NFB) emerged as a significant contextual factor for the institutionalisation of management accounting, this factor should be included in future studies of the organisation and set-up of the corporate management accounting function. Moreover, deeper investigation into the drivers and outcomes of FB-specific management accounting institutionalisation is needed.

Keywords: Management accounting; management accounting department; management accountant; Family business; agency theory; stewardship theory; resource-based view of the firm theory; Austria; Germany (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1142/S0218495812500173

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