Martin R. W. Hiebl

Johannes Kepler University of Linz | JKU · Institute of Management Control & Consulting

How actors embedded in institutions can change those institutions is known as the paradox of embedded agency. Although academic interest in embedded agency has increased in recent years, what enables actors to engage in embedded agency is still not well understood. One resource that may assist actors in realising embedded agency and overcoming poli...

The survey method is one of the most frequently used quantitative approaches in management accounting research. For research surveys, the number of usable responses is an important feature, and high response rates present one opportunity to achieve large sample sizes. Response rates describe the share of usable received responses compared with the...

Systematic review techniques are about to become the “new normal” in reviews of management research. However, we do not yet have much advice on how to organize the sample selection process as part of such reviews. This paper addresses this void and analyzes this vital part of systematic reviews in more detail. In particular, it offers a critical re...

This paper presents a systematic literature review of 109 empirical articles published between 1977 and 2017 in English and French on management accounting (MA) in Africa. Our main results are synthesized into seven larger themes and an evidence-based explanatory framework regarding MA in Africa. This framework suggests that MA in Africa is subject...

Research on enterprise risk management (ERM) has increased considerably in the past two decades. While management accounting researchers have substantially contributed to these advancements, previous reviews of the ERM literature have not discussed in depth the role of ERM as part of the organizational control package and how management accounting...

Purpose Burns and Scapens (2000) (B&S hereafter) offered a well-cited framework conceptualising management accounting change. This paper aims to provide a systematic review of how B&S has been used to inform management accounting research and presents an updated framework as a point of departure for future work. Design/methodology/approach A syste...

The fundamental role of the banking sector in society and the economy necessitates extensive regulation and supervision. Given that increased risk-taking behavior can undermine the stability of the banking sector, it is crucial to identify the factors affecting banks' risk-taking. This study focuses on the impact of chief executive officer (CEO) ch...

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...

Research based on upper echelons theory has examined characteristics of top managers and their effects on accounting choices. In this paper, we show that management accounting information may influence the relationship between top manager characteristics and organizational outcomes. We draw on the historical case of the Guinness brewing company exp...

Purpose Accountants are portrayed as important advisors of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, increasing numbers of SMEs now use software for their transactional and compliance-related accounting work. This latter work is considered to be the “entry ticket” for accountants serving in advisory roles. This study aims to examine wheth...

Organizational ambidexterity holds significant implications for family firms' performance, growth, and long-term survival. However, allocating roles and responsibilities among family members can precipitate conflicts that impede such ambidexterity. Despite its importance, limited knowledge exists on how these conflicts can be effectively resolved....

The integration of risk into management control has recently received increased attention in the management accounting and control literature. Much of this research has focused on the organizational and individual actor level. However, some studies suggest that the integration of risk into the organizational control package may equally be influence...

Due to their limited resources, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often employ less formalized management control systems compared with larger enterprises. However, SMEs can greatly benefit from management control systems. For instance, such systems can generally support the professionalization and growth of SMEs but can also foster SMEs i...

This systematic literature review synthesizes and maps the existing research on auditing in family firms across multiple areas of study. The review includes 71 systematically selected academic articles published through to 2023. Our findings suggest that many audit-related issues, such as audit fees, audit quality, and auditor choice, differ signif...

Familienunternehmen sind aufgrund der engen Verflechtung von Familie, Eigentum und Management oftmals anfällig für das Auftreten von Konflikten, die sich negativ auf die Unternehmensperformance auswirken können.Wir zeigen anhand einer empirischen Untersuchung von mittelständischen Familienunternehmen, inwiefern effektive Controlling-Systeme ausgewä...

A special issue call for papers on “Systematic literature reviews in Accounting, Finance and Governance” with a final submission date of 31 May 2024.

Family business research indicates that digital transformation may lead to substantial conflicts. However, little is known about how conflict management strategies address such conflicts. We thus mobilize conflict theory and empirically examine the impact of these strategies on the level of family business digitalization and whether such strategies...

Purpose This study aims to examine interactions between multiple management accounting routines in integrating a new management accounting routine into a routine cluster. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a theoretical framework based on routine clusters, including routine complementarities. The authors use an in-depth case study to expl...

With reference to recent debate about the increasing "an A is an A" mentality at business schools, I provide evidence on the prevalence of this mentality in North America versus other regions of the world (RoW). The evidence presented is derived from the data selection procedures employed in conducting systematic reviews of management research sinc...

Purpose Several conceptual works suggest that more digitalized information systems in management accounting have the potential to make this corporate function more effective. Against this backdrop, this study aims to investigate the impact of information systems quality in management accounting on the effectiveness of management control systems. Ad...

Purpose This paper aims to identify specific challenges and opportunities when crafting literature reviews of qualitative accounting research. In addition, it offers potential remedies to frequent challenges when conducting such reviews. Design/methodology/approach This piece is based on recent methodological advice on conducting literature review...

While previous entrepreneurship research has only seldom drawn on organizational ambidexterity, the analysis of the important contemporary tensions among entrepreneurship, innovation management and strategic management issues may be facilitated by more closely analysing organizational ambidexterity in entrepreneurial settings. In this paper, we fol...

Existing research on the relationship between big data and organizational decision quality is still few and far between, and what does exist often assumes direct effects of big data on decision quality. More recent research indicates that such direct effects may be too simplistic, and in particular, an organization’s overall human skills are often...

While stressing the relevance of context, the organizational resilience literature has so far not extensively examined resilience in times of healthcare crises such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Parasite Stress Theory of Values suggests that such pandemic crises have detrimental impacts on entrepreneurial activity due to social distancing a...

Siemens Healthineers ist seit 2018 ein eigenständig börsennotiertes Unternehmen, mit zirka 69.500 Mitarbeitenden weltweit und einem Umsatz von EUR 21‘7 MRD im Geschäftsjahr 2022, das medizinische Technologien und Dienstleistungen anbietet. Siemens Healthineers entwickelt und produziert unter anderem bildgebende Systeme, Laborautomationssysteme, Dia...

This chapter aims to assess and illustrate the relevance of coding skills, and associated challenges, for individuals working in the accounting profession. Due to a dearth of research looking specifically into the relevance of coding skills for contemporary accountants, we aim to address our aims for this chapter with the help of examples from and...

Familienunternehmen gelten international, und insbesondere auch im deutschsprachigen Raum, als das Rückgrat vieler Volkswirtschaften: Familienunternehmen erbringen in vielen Ländern große Teile der nationalen Wirtschaftsleistung, beschäftigen häufig den Großteil der Arbeitnehmer in einem Land und stellen allgemein die Mehrheit aller Unternehmen in...

Purpose Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) carry huge economic importance worldwide. At the same time, SMEs face specific challenges, some of which may be alleviated by employing accountants. However, research on the role and impact of accountants in SMEs has long remained fragmented and scarce. This paper aims to encourage more research on...

Stable relationships with suppliers have been portrayed in the literature as having several economic and sustainability benefits. However, while a buyer firm’s transformational leadership can be theorized to improve stable supplier relations, recent global business trends such as automation and globalization may endanger this stability. In this stu...

This study investigates whether employees' psychological ownership results in stewardship behavior and whether this relationship is affected by an employee's perception of the organization's agency culture. A survey of the financial managers of 129 firms in Germany generally confirms these expectations. In addition, and surprisingly, our findings s...

Relying on the upper-echelons perspective, this paper investigates the effect of financial managers' characteristics on the level of organizational ambidexterity reached in German Mittelstand firms. These firms are often depicted as highly innovative and able to compete on worldwide markets despite significant resource constraints. We theorize that...

Bislang deuten vor allem qualitative Forschungsarbeiten an, dass Controller in den letzten Jahren verstärkt in die Strategieentwicklung verschiedener Organisationen eingebunden werden. Dies scheint insbesondere dann der Fall zu sein, wenn Topmanager eine derartige Einbindung fördern. Gleichzeitig bestehen nur wenige großzahlige empirische Studien z...

Bislang ist bekannt, dass Familienunternehmen seltener als Nicht-Familienunternehmen eine Balanced-Scorecard (BSC) einsetzen. Gleichwohl bietet die BSC gerade für Familienunternehmen mitunter spezifische Vorteile. Wir untersuchen daher in diesem Beitrag, inwieweit Familienunternehmen diese Vorteile bereits nutzen und wie die Ausgestaltung der BSC s...

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.

Ziel der vorliegenden Studie ist es, die Ausgestaltung der Stakeholder-Beziehungen mittelständischer Unternehmen unter Berücksichtigung von zentralen Kontextfaktoren wie Digitalisierung und Globalisierung zu untersuchen. Bisherige Studien zeigen, dass die Berücksichtigung solcher Kontextfaktoren eine hohe Relevanz für die Ausgestaltung der Stakehol...

In this paper, we aim to examine the responses of individual actors to the use of management controls during the hybridization of public-sector organizations. We draw on an institutional logics perspective and the literature regarding the role of management controls in hybridizing organizations to analyze findings derived from a single case study o...

The enterprise risk management (ERM) approach promises to manage corporate risks holistically, as opposed to the silo perspective in traditional risk management frameworks. There is evidence that different economic and regulatory environments profoundly shape the implementation of ERM in different countries. To understand better the specific situat...

Currently, digitalization is a hot topic in popular media. While family firms represent most firms worldwide, their specific opportunities and challenges in digitalization have not yet received much research attention. As will be argued in this chapter, such research would however be necessary to advance our understanding of contemporary family fir...

In recent years, non-family managers (NFMs) in family firms have received increased scholarly attention, and numerous papers related to this topic have been published. Since the last academic review of NFMs in family firms (Klein and Bell 2007) was published a decade ago, an increasing number of relevant papers have been published. However, an inte...

Purpose – This paper examines the current practice of reporting on translation issues in qualitative, interdisciplinary accounting research. Based on an analysis of the methodological consideration of the translation of quotations from non-English interviews and additional interviews with experienced researchers, we aim to develop recommendations f...

Although family business survey research is growing in volume and publication in highly regarded management journals, we do not yet have evidence on the usual response rates in this research and on the factors that impact these response rates. This paper addresses these voids and finds that the average response rates of family business survey studi...

Purpose: This paper draws on a family business perspective to explore the historic accounting records of an Italian liquorice juice business. The applicability of the three-circle model of family business systems to such an historic context is examined. Design/Methodology/Approach: Using archival records, the Cassa accounting book of the business i...

Structured Abstract Purpose: This guest editorial introduces the special issue on theoretically framing and empirically testing risk governance. It provides an overview of the papers included in this issue and sketches important avenues for further research on risk governance. Design/methodology/approach: I first discuss the relevance of the indivi...

Literature on the professionalization of management accounting in family firms has extensively focused on non-family experts, such as controllers or CFOs, as drivers of this process, a somewhat one-sided view. The present study therefore aims to explore how family managers may contribute to the professionalization of management accounting in family...

Familienunternehmen gelten international, und insbesondere auch im deutschsprachigen Raum, als das Rückgrat vieler Volkswirtschaften: Familienunternehmen erbringen in vielen Ländern große Teile der nationalen Wirtschaftsleistung, beschäftigen häufig den Großteil der Arbeitnehmer in einem Land und stellen allgemein die Mehrheit aller Unternehmen in...

Purpose: It is difficult to develop an overall picture of the practice of management accounting in farms and farm enterprises because little research has been published on the topic, and these studies are mostly discrete and unconnected to the others. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the available research, develop an explanat...

Purpose: Family firms are the most prevalent type of firm worldwide. Nevertheless, the existent enterprise risk management (ERM) literature is silent on the adoption of ERM in family firms. Family firms exhibit specifics likely to influence the adoption of ERM. Most importantly, they often feature lower levels of agency conflicts, which should make...

Purpose: This guest editorial highlights the importance of examining roles and actors for a closer understanding of dynamics and developments in risk governance. We also introduce the papers included in this special issue. Design/methodology/approach: We discuss the relevance of the papers included in this special issue for ongoing research on ris...

Purpose Recent research provides useful insights on management accounting routines, yet little is written on their foundations. In particular, factors which may contribute to eventual management accounting routines have not been detailed in terms of the process of routinization. Thus, this paper aims to provide an initial theory-based understanding...

Purpose: Beyond budgeting has received an increased amount of scholarly attention in recent years. However, because most of the published research is discrete and unconnected, an overall picture of what is known about beyond budgeting has not evolved. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the available research on beyond...

In contemporary research, the introduction of new technology is viewed as often leading to organisational improvements and advantages. To gain such benefits, it seems essential for organisations to adapt such technology and to adapt to such technology (Orlikowski, 1993; Szulanski, 2000). Such adaption processes seem challenging since organisations...

While research on management accounting and control in family firms has increased considerably in recent years, the attributes of these numerically dominant firms in all economies that differentiate them from non-family firms have yet to feature in general management accounting and control research. Despite this recent increased interest there are...

Viele empirische Studien belegen die enorme volkswirtschaftliche Bedeutung von Klein- und Mittelunternehmen (KMU). Diese Bedeutung spiegelt sich sowohl in der Tatsache wider, dass KMU den Großteil aller Unternehmen vieler Volkswirtschaften ausmachen als auch der Tatsache, dass ein Großteil der Wirtschaftsleistung dieser Volkswirtschaften in KMU erw...

Research on family business internationalization has so far mainly adopted stepwise models of internationalization. However, there is recent evidence that family businesses may also adopt more rapid internationalization pathways, such as the born-again global pathway. Generational change has been found to be a prime trigger for this pathway, but ex...

Purpose: This paper analyzes the role of management accounting in international entrepreneurship. Its role, thus far, has been a neglected topic in research on accounting and international entrepreneurship, although some quantitative findings indicate the positive influence of management accounting on internationalization capability. Design/methodo...

Objektivität und Unabhängigkeit sind nach den nationalen und internationalen Berufsstandards Kernelemente einer effektiven Internen Revisionsfunktion. Jedoch sind Interne Revisoren diversen Interessen ausgesetzt, die zu einer Beeinträchtigung der Effektivität der Internen Revisionsfunktion führen können. Einflüsse, die die Objektivität und sogar di...

Purpose: Informed by upper echelons theory, this paper aims to synthesize the current knowledge on finance managers in family firms and to suggest valuable future research avenues. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is organized as a theory-informed literature review. Based on a keyword search in electronic databases, 17 journal articles that d...

Purpose: This paper examines the relationship between characteristics of chief financial officers (CFOs) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system adoption. Following upper echelons theory, we theorize that CFO age, education, tenure, and recruitment influence ERP system adoption and that this relationship is moderated by the CFO being responsi...

Häufig ist im Mittelstand keine exakte Planung möglich. Stattdessen werden die vorhandenen Ressourcen sinnvoll kombiniert und gewinnbringend genutzt, um innovative Produkte und Dienstleistungen zu kreieren. Diese als Effektuierung bezeichnete Vorgehensweise stellt Controller vor besondere Herausforderungen.

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...

Contemporary studies of Chief Financial Officers (CFO) paint a picture of the role pre-1960 as being reflective of a more transactional one. Historical research sheds some doubt on this, and tends not to separate the role from its occupier. We provide an analysis of such a role in a large brewery from about 1920-1945. Drawing on the concept of posi...

In recent years, numerous studies have investigated whether individual executives and their characteristics relate to financial reporting choices. In this article, we review archival, experimental and survey research on the influence of individual executives on corporate financial reporting and use upper echelons theory as our organizing framework....

In recent years, the management literature has increasingly investigated organizational ambidexterity—the ability to balance exploitative and explorative activities—as an important antecedent to firm survival and performance. Some recent studies indicate that management control systems may be able to foster organizational ambidexterity. The aim of...

Neben dem Einfluss von organisationalen und externen Faktoren wurde in jüngerer Zeit vermehrt auch der Einfluss von Top-Management-Mitgliedern auf die Ausgestaltung von Controlling-Systemen erforscht. Aufgrund der häufigen Funktionsverantwortung für Controlling scheint dabei der Einfluss von Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) besonders hoch zu sein. D...

Structured Abstract Purpose: Academic interest in the field of management accounting and control in family businesses has increased considerably during the last decade. Family businesses constitute a unique organisational form that apparently faces a lower degree of information asymmetry compared to non-family businesses. In turn, this may limit th...

Mit zunehmendem Unternehmensalter und -größe binden Familienunternehmen häufig auch familienfremde ManagerInnen in das Unternehmen ein – auch in die strategische Planung. Diese Einbindung von FremdmanagerInnen ist jedoch mit gewissen Herausforderungen verbunden. In diesem Beitrag werden daher auf Basis von aktuellen Forschungsergebnissen Erfolgsfak...

Contemporary studies on the role of Chief Financial Officers (CFO) create a picture that a radical change in the 1960s created such a role. Predecessor-positions were more focused on transaction-processing aspects of accounting. While historical accounting publications shed some doubt on this assumption, they lack detail on the roles and tasks of s...

Contingency-based research has revealed numerous contextual factors that influence the organization of a firm’s management accounting (MA) system. Despite the vast economic importance of family firms in most Western countries, family influence has not been considered as a contingency variable for MA systems. In this paper, we seek to partially clos...

Purpose – How family businesses (FBs) manage to survive in the long term is still not well understood in FB research. A promising concept to explain survivability, that is currently heavily discussed in the management literature is organizational ambidexterity (OA) – the ability to balance exploring and exploiting activities at the same time. Howev...

See http://aaajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.2308/jmar-50915 Management accounting in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been an issue of growing interest in the management accounting literature in recent years. However, published research is fragmented, spanning various fields such as accounting, small business and entrepreneurship, general ma...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic literature review of available research evidence on risk management in SMEs. We aim to reveal ambiguities, gaps and contradictions in the literature, and to sketch avenues for further research. Design/methodology/approach: We follow the tenets of Tranfield et al. (2003) for conducting a...

Purpose: The present paper explores the application of the four-eyes principle (4EP) to management decisions in large family firms in the manufacturing sector, a heretofore neglected area of business and management research. Design/methodology/approach: A theoretical analysis was first conducted of the 4EP in general and its application in family f...

Family business (FB) scholars often criticize the fact that FB research has not yet developed a commonly accepted definition of what constitutes an FB. At the same time, the literature lacks empirical evidence for this claim. Hence, we collected all empirical FB research articles published between 2002 and 2011 in the five leading FB research journ...