Birgit Feldbauer-Durstmüller

• Professor
• Head of Department at Johannes Kepler University of Linz

Current challenges are jeopardising the centuries-long stability of Benedictine monasteries, whose resilience is now being put to the test. The lack of young people, the aging of the convents, decrease in the returns on the substance economy as well as the need for renovation of old buildings require new strategies to compensate for the resulting l...

Family firms (FFs) are characterized by their unique emphasis on specific beliefs and values (BaV). Although literature acknowledges the significance of BaV for firm behavior and management decisions, little is known about their religious and secular sources. Following secularization theory and post-secular society, the impact of religion in develo...

Religiosity holds significant influence over organizational and entrepreneurial decision-making processes, yet its impact remains scarcely researched in existing business research. By conducting a qualitative field study involving 23 family firms we aim to investigate how religiosity shapes the ethical behavior of family firms towards their employe...

Purpose - The unique dynamics of family firms (FFs) shape the management of financial crises. Religious and secular reasons, as a defining characteristic of this type of firm, provide a reference system for key management decisions. This paper aims to explore the under-researched topic of differences in FFs' crisis management between religious and...

The aim of this contribution is to examine the relationship between values, religious imprinting and entrepreneurial activity in more detail and to sensitise people to a differentiated approach to religiously imprinted value attitudes. A qualitative- empirical research approach, in which semi- structured interviews were conducted with managing Chri...

Values are considered as a typical characteristic of family firms (FFs), significantly influence their organizational behavior and managerial decisions. Although academic interest in this field of research is growing, the state of the art shows a heterogeneous picture and values are often studied in a one-sided manner. The aim of this study is to p...

Bei der Bewältigung einer Unternehmenskrise ist eine eng aufeinander abgestimmte Zusammenarbeit zwischen Sanierungsmanagement und -controlling erforderlich. Das Controlling sorgt dabei für die notwendige Koordination innerhalb des Sanierungsprozesses. In diesem Kontext lassen sich durch den Beitrag wesentliche Faktoren für eine langfristige Krisenb...

Purpose - Due to globalization and digitalization, the world of work is undergoing comprehensive change. These trends are challenging management accounting (MA) and pressuring individuals and organizations to change. The literature postulates a replacement of traditional organizational careers by “new” career models characterized by dynamism and fl...

As spirituality provides people with meaning in life and informs their sense of val-ues and ethics, there is increasing interest among management scholars concerning this research field. People are characterised by an innate need to find meaning in their lives and work. Consequently, management theory and practice are challenged to address such top...

Combining Schlenker et al.’s (1994) accountability pyramid with the accountability framework formulated by Joannidés (2012), we conduct a qualitative study of a Benedictine community to better understand the nature of accountability in the non-English speaking context and investigate informal accountability practices that helped to sustain Benedict...

Die in diesem Band vorgelegten Beiträge verorten das Controlling im Spannungsfeld von Digitalisierung und Nachhaltigkeit aus konzeptioneller und empirischer Perspektive: In Anbetracht aktueller weitreichender Veränderungen sieht sich das Controlling mit einer Vielzahl von Anwendungsfeldern konfrontiert, die nicht nur die Controller-Rolle maßgeblich...

Die Arbeitswelt befindet sich in einem umfassenden Wandel. Unter dem Einfluss von Globalisierung, Ökonomisierung, technischem Fortschritt sowie dem demografischen Wandel und der strukturellen Veränderung hin zur Dienstleistungs- und Wissensgesellschaft sind Arbeitsverhältnisse und Karrieren mehr denn je geprägt durch Komplexität und Dynamik. Deutli...

Familienunternehmen (FU) sind das Rückgrat vieler Volkswirtschaften der Welt und zeichen sich durch spezifische Werte-Systeme aus, die das unternehmerische Handeln maßgeblich beeinflussen. Diese Werte fußen auf den säkularen oder religiösen Überzeugungen und Werten der Eigentümerfamilie, die im aktuellen gesellschaftlichen Diskurs aufgrund von, z.B...

Religiöse Werthaltungen prägen das unternehmerische Verhalten, wobei sich insbesondere Familienunternehmen (FU) durch spezifische Wertesysteme auszeichnen. Religion stellt in diesem Zusammenhang eine Quelle für Wertvorstellungen dar, die in der weiteren Folge Managemententscheidungen beeinflussen kann. Allerdings wird die Bedeutung von Religion inn...

The influence of religion in the context of entrepreneurial activity is often demonstrated by the presence of specific - often religiously influenced - value attitudes. In this sense, religion represents a central source of values that can subsequently influence management decisions. The presence of value systems is a key characteristic of family b...

Die zentralen Kompetenzen der Controller waren und sind im Krisenmanagement der Covid-19 Pandemie ganz besonders gefragt. Dazu zählen die Bereitstellung eines zeitnahen Reportings oder die Liquiditätssicherung durch Cash Management. Der vorliegende Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Frage, inwieweit die Covid-19 Pandemie Auswirkungen auf das Rollenbi...

Workplace chaplaincy, a concrete manifestation of workplace spirituality, is defined as pastoral care serving the specific needs of people in workplaces. While scientific publications have so far emphasized its beneficial implications, scrutiny of the possible instrumentalization of workplace chaplaincy by the management has been neglected. Workpla...

Due to globalization, economization, and digital transformation, the world of work is currently undergoing a comprehensive change. Further, these trends are challenging management accounting and creating great pressure for change on individuals and organizations. The literature postulates a replacement of traditional-organizational careers by new c...

Der vorliegende Beitrag versucht zu eruieren, wie Controlling-Leiter in der Praxis die zukünftige Zusammenarbeit mit Data Scientists einschätzen und welche Fähigkeiten in diesem Zusammenhang künftig für Controller relevant sein werden.

One of the concerns in modern organizations is ethics, where few institutions are unaffected by scandals or abuse of power. Thus, we look for inspiration in difficult times to offer leaders and managers strategies to mitigate or prevent ethical challenges. This symposium brings together various values-driven leadership approaches to managing organi...

Familienunternehmen sind in vielen Wirtschaftssystemen der Welt von zentraler Bedeutung. Dabei belegen schon frühe Quellen die Relevanz von Religion für Volkswirtschaften, indem sie deren Auswirkung auf die wirtschaftliche Einstellung der Akteure zeigen. Religiöse oder säkulare Prägungen von Unternehmensgründern beeinflussen direkt oder indirekt di...

Due to their specific characteristics, family firms (FFs) are considered to be especially vulnerable to crises and are associated with particularities in dealing with crises. However, a crisis situation does not necessarily lead to business failure, but often also serves as an opportunity for new growth after a successful reorganization. Nonetheles...

A defining characteristic of family firms (FFs) is the emphasis on a specific value-system, which serves as a reference point for expected social behaviour and practices. In line with previous studies, we assume that religious and secular beliefs influence the values in FFs and, subsequently, shape their most important managerial decisions. However...

Familienunternehmen (FU) weisen hinsichtlich Krisen einen ambivalenten Charakter auf. Einerseits gelten Probleme im familiären Umfeld und eine mangelnde Innovationsfähigkeit als Krisenursache, andererseits werden flexiblen Entscheidungswegen und familiärem Commitment positive Auswirkungen auf den Krisenverlauf attestiert. Dieser Beitrag analysiert...

Purpose This paper provides a comprehensive view about corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Austrian family firms. In detail, the conceptual understanding, motives for, institutionalisation, planning and the outcomes of CSR are investigated. The authors refer to socioemotional wealth and stewardship aspects as explanation approaches for CSR in...

Familienunternehmen (FU) sind das Rückgrat vieler Wirtschaftssysteme der Welt. Ein Charakteristikum von FU ist die Prägung durch ein spezifisches Wertesystem und die Wirkung familiärer Werte auf die Unternehmenswerte, die die Unternehmenskultur sowie das unternehmerische Handeln beeinflussen. Bereits frühe Quellen belegen die Relevanz von Religion...

Familienunternehmen (FU) sind hinsichtlich Krisen durch Ambivalenz gekennzeichnet. Demnach gelten FU aufgrund ihrer Charakteristika als vergleichsweise krisengefährdet (z.B. Probleme im familiären Umfeld), werden jedoch gleichzeitig mit für die Krisenbewältigung förderlichen Faktoren verbunden (z.B. flexible Entscheidungswege). Der Beitrag analysie...

Die wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen der COVID-19-Krise werden aktuell sehr vielschichtig diskutiert. Dieser Beitrag gibt die Ergebnisse einer Diskussionsrunde mit den Vertretern der Gläubigerschutzverbände wieder und stellt die aktuelle Diskussionslage zu geplanten Änderungen im Insolvenzrecht dar.

Die Internationalisierung von Unternehmen stellt besondere Anforderungen an das Controlling. Anhand der Prinzipal-Agenten-Theorie und Kontingenztheorie werden Effekte der Internationalisierung auf Controllingfunktionen und Anforderungen untersucht. Die Analyse von 247 Stellenanzeigen zeigt den Einfluss von Internationalisierung, Länderspezifika und...

Purpose - Academic interest in role changes of management accountants (MAs) has increased during the past two decades. Role changes imply identity reconstructions as they do not only require an external legitimacy, but professionals have to internalize a new role script. Thus, this paper aims to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the on...

Theories of organizational failure predict that reasons for corporate demise may differ by firm age and life cycle stage. However, large-scale empirical studies that investigate the relationship between firm characteristics and specific causes of failure are scarce. This study therefore aims to shed light on firm mortality and firm age by analyzing...

Academic interest in the role change of management accountants has increased considerably during the past two decades. However, the abundant literature about the roles of management accountants has paid only im-plicitly attention to aspects of identity—only a few authors thematise the identity concept directly. Considering that role change implies...

Executing management control across borders is crucial for multinational companies (MNCs). Various management control mechanisms serve to align foreign subsidiaries with corporate goals. Management control at MNCs has been subject of numerous studies in the past 25 years, thus highlighting the relevance of the topic. To provide a comprehensive over...

The aim of the article is to analyze the importance of the bank in court supervised reorganization in Austria. The results show that banks generally support promising reorganizations. The findings indicate that the support of the bank in reorganization is closely linked to the ability and willingness of the business-owner to provide a financial con...

Academic interest in the changing role of management accountants and controllers has increased considerably during the past two decades. However, the abundant literature about the roles of management accountants and controllers has paid only partial attention to aspects of identity. Therefore, this paper reviews current literature about the changin...

Academic interest in the changing role of management accountants and controllers has increased considerably during the past two decades. However, the abundant literature about the roles of management accountants and controllers has paid only partial attention to aspects of identity. Therefore, this paper reviews current literature about the changin...

Die Arbeitswelt befindet sich in einem umfassenden Wandel. Unter dem Einfluss von Globalisierung, Ökonomisierung, technischem Fortschritt sowie dem demographischen Wandel und der strukturellen Veränderung hin zur Dienstleistungs- und Wissensgesellschaft sind Arbeitsverhältnisse und Karrieren mehr denn je geprägt durch Komplexität und Dynamik. Deutl...

Die in diesem Band vorgelegten Beiträge verorten das Controlling im Spannungsfeld von Digitalisierung und Nachhaltigkeit aus konzeptioneller und empirischer Perspektive: In Anbetracht aktueller weitreichender Veränderungen sieht sich das Controlling mit einer Vielzahl von Anwendungsfeldern konfrontiert, die nicht nur die Controller-Rolle maßgeblich...

In this chapter the authors take a historical view on the development of the Benedictine Confederation. They use data about the lifespan of Benedictine abbeys and reflect on the reasons why they are such long-lasting and stable institutions, compared for example with the average lifespan of corporations. They ask if there are any unique governance...

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Our study addresses the corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication of medium-sized family firms (FFs), a topic that has gained little attention within academic research up to now. We apply an exploratory multiple case study design, based on qualitative data gained from interviews and an extensive analysis of professional internet presences...

Dieser Sammelband kontrastiert Grundfragen aus Betriebswirtschaftslehre und wirtschaftlicher Praxis mit theologischen Überlegungen und dem klösterlichen Leben, um die Begegnungsebene von Unternehmen und Klöstern aufzuzeigen und einen Austauschprozess anzuregen. Hervorzuheben ist der vielschichtige Zugang, der Beiträge aus Betriebswirtschaft, Theolo...

Im Rahmen eines noch andauernden mehrjährigen Projektes wird in einer Diözesanorganisation der römisch-katholischen Kirche Österreichs ein Umweltmanagementsystem eingeführt, das umfangreiche Änderungen in den strategischen und operativen Zielsetzungen und Abläufen zur Folge hatte. Vision und Projektziele basieren auf dem christlichen „Schöpfungsged...

Workplace Chaplaincy: Technical or Critical Spirituality? ABSTRACT Workplace chaplaincy is an emerging research field within the research area of workplace spirituality. This chaplaincy is regarded as a concrete manifestation of workplace spirituality due to the pastoral care provided by ecclesial institutions, professional chaplaincy associations,...

Motivated by the increased relevance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in family firms (FFs) within recent decades, and the special characteristics of the Austrian economy (large proportion of FFs, the great influence of governmental and non-governmental organizations, and the recently started CSR discussion), we conduct a multiple case stud...

Theories of organizational failure predict that reasons for corporate demise differ by firm age and size. However, the relationship between firm characteristics and specific causes of failure has hardly been empirically investigated. This study therefore aims to shed light on firm mortality by analysing a unique data set of bankrupt small and mediu...

Purpose: Inspired by increasing public interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the intensified focus of research on family firms (FFs) over the past few decades, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the existing literature on CSR in FF through a citation analysis. Design/methodology/approach: This paper overviews the structure of...

ABSTRACT Workplace spirituality is regarded as a fast-growing research area and a possible new paradigm in management theory and practice. The majority of publications emphasize its beneficial implications. As an emerging new paradigm, it is indispensable to scrutinize workplace spirituality regarding its risks and potential for instrumentalization...

Multinational companies (MNCs) apply various control mechanisms to coordinate their subsidiaries and to reduce information asymmetries between headquarters and subsidiaries. A case study in the automobile industry investigates control mechanisms in a multinational sales organization and identifies influencing factors. The strong focus on financial...

In today's challenging economic times, the number of failing firms remains high. Theories of why corporations fail and consequences for organizations and individuals those affected by failure have mainly been examined in a research field traditionally summarized as “organizational failure and decline.” Unfortunately, this research field suffers fro...

Motivated by the high relevance of family firms (FFs) for the economies of almost every country in the world and by the increasing importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR), especially for such firms, we conduct a systematic literature review within the fields of management and business research in order to define current knowledge about...

Unternehmen sind heutzutage vermehrt mit unterschiedlichen sozialen, ökologischen und politischen Problemen konfrontiert, z. B. Fachkräftemangel trotz hoher Arbeitslosenraten, Umweltverschmutzung, Migration aus Kri-sengebieten, gestiegene Anforderungen an die Arbeitsplatzqualität, Urbanisierung. Während in der Vergangen-heit vorwiegend Regierungen...

The special characteristics of family firms, such as the owning family’s involvement and control or its strong identification with the business, make creating and preserving a good reputation desirable. Recent studies confirm the positive influence of a firm’s reputation on organizational success and non-financial goals, such as customer retention...

Die Erwartungen der Sanierungsbeteiligten an das Insolvenzrechtsänderungsgesetz 2010 (IRÄG 2010) waren hoch. Aus betriebswirtschaftlicher Sicht stellt sich nun die Frage, inwieweit die Sanierung insolventer Unter-nehmen, etwa durch eine frühzeitige Insolvenzeröffnung, tatsächlich er-leichtert wurde. Die Befunde einer empirischen Untersuchung zeigen...

Interest in workplace spirituality has risen over the past few decades and it continues to garner increasing attention as evidenced by interdisciplinary scholarship and corporate interest. Workplace chaplaincy can be considered to be a special approach to spirituality in companies and therefore is described as a growing and concrete manifestation o...

Unternehmen sind heutzutage mit globalen Beschaffungs-, Produktions- und Absatzmärkten, weltweiten Standorten und internationaler Verflechtung konfrontiert. Die daraus resultierenden grenzüberschreitenden Aktivitäten bzw. die Internationalisierung wirken sich auf das Handeln der Unternehmen aus bzw. beeinflussen verstärkt die Aktivitäten der Untern...

Executing management control across borders is crucial for multinational companies (MNCs). Various management control mechanisms serve to align foreign subsidiaries with corporate goals; management accounting supports decisions making in line with corporate guidelines. Management control at MNCs has been subject of numerous studies in the past 25 y...

Purpose Although the number of women working in management accounting has increased, the percentage of female executives in this area remains low. Previous studies examining the underrepresentation of women in accounting leadership positions have analyzed factors that hinder women from reaching these positions. The purpose of this paper, by contras...

In today’s difficult economic times, the number of failing firms remains high. Theories of why companies fail have mainly been developed in a research field traditionally summarized as “Organizational Failure and Decline”. Unfortunately, this research field suffers from strong fragmentation and an unclear research agenda. The aim of this study is t...

Benedictine organizations are well known for their achievements in leadership, accounting, and ethics. This paper investigates the meaning of accountability in the monastic context. The results suggest that accountability is a social and inherently ethical process based on the soft factors (values, trust, interpersonal contact, and a sense of commu...

Motivated by the increasing relevance of developing countries (especially China) due to ongoing internationalization, this systematic review analyzes current literature on Management Accounting (MA) in developing countries in order to define what is currently known about and relevant to Comparative Management Accounting (CMA) in developing countrie...

Controlling und Klöster scheinen auf den ersten Blick nichts gemein zu haben. Bei näherer Betrachtung ergibt sich durchaus ein anderes Bild. Besonders die Gemeinschaften der Benediktiner zeichnen sich durch den Anspruch an wirtschaftliche Selbständigkeit zur Sicherung ihrer Unabhängigkeit aus. Handwerkliche Arbeit wurde von Benedikt von Nursia soga...

The financial crisis, recent ethical scandals, and inflated manager compensation demonstrate that current leadership and corporate governance practices fail at preventing the abuse of power and excessive risk taking. This situation provides an invitation to explore an alternative model of leadership and governance: Benedictine monasteries. Having e...

This paper develops a robust theoretical framework for studying leadership in a monastic context. We conceptualize a monk's accountability as an ongoing activity influenced by the interactions between the abbot as an evaluating audience and the elements of the responsibility triangle. Additionally, we conduct a comparative analysis of the entrepren...

This paper develops a theoretical framework for studying leadership in the monastic context. We conceptualise a monk's accountability as an ongoing activity influenced by the interactions between the abbot as an evaluating audience and the elements of the responsibility triangle. Additionally, we conduct a comparative analysis of the entrepreneuria...

Within the past few decades, developing countries such as China, India, and Brazil have increasinglybecome economically important due to ongoing internationalization. To address risingcompetition in the global market, companies in these countriesuse management accounting (MA) as acentral instrument of corporate management. Issues concerning MA are...