Big data and decision quality: the role of management accountants’ data analytics skills

Purpose

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 not considered sufficiently. Inspired by the knowledge-based view, we therefore propose that interactions between three aspects of big data usage and management accountants’ data analytics skills may be key to reaching high-quality decisions. The purpose of this study is to test these predictions based on a survey of US firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw on survey data from 140 US firms. This survey has been conducted via MTurk in 2020.

Findings

The results of the study show that the quality of big data sources is associated with higher perceived levels of decision quality. However, according to the results, the breadth of big data sources and a data-driven culture only improve decision quality if management accountants’ data analytics skills are highly developed. These results point to the important, but so far unexamined role of an organization’s management accountants and their skills for translating big data into high-quality decisions.

Practical implications

The present study highlights the importance of an organization’s human skills in creating value out of big data. In particular, the findings imply that management accountants may need to increasingly draw on data analytics skills to make the most out of big data for their employers.

Originality/value

This study is among the first, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to provide empirical proof of the relevance of an organization’s management accountants and their data analytics skills for reaching desirable firm-level outcomes. In addition, this study thus adds to the further advancement of the knowledge-based view by providing evidence that in contemporary big-data environments, interactions between tacit and explicit knowledge seem crucial for driving desirable firm-level outcomes.

Finance managers in family firms: an upper-echelons view

Purpose

Informed by upper echelons theory, the purpose of this paper is 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 deal with finance managers in family firms were identified. In light of upper echelons theory, the results of these articles were analyzed and future research needs were identified.

Findings

Overall, the current knowledge on finance managers in family firms is scant and fragmented. At the same time, this paper’s review findings indicate that finance managers can play decisive roles in family firms, which is why we need further research on their roles. Upper echelons theory is suggested in this paper as a theoretical framework that is well suited to guide such further research.

Originality/value

This is the first review of the academic literature on finance managers in family firms. Its main value lies in providing a theory-informed synthesis of current research on this topic and highlighting fruitful future research avenues.

Enabling factors that contribute to women reaching leadership positions in business organizations

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 contrast, is to identify factors that support the advancement of those female executives who have reached a leadership position. Further, this paper highlights the self-reported obstacles and difficulties faced by respondents in reaching their current positions.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face with ten female executives in the management accounting departments of Austrian firms. The interview transcripts were analyzed by using the general inductive approach.

Findings

The results of the study show that most women classified their social skills and professional expertise as the key factors leading to their successful advancement; however, they also highlighted that ambition and luck played important roles. The authors found that support from both life partners and superiors was essential for these women in reaching their current positions and in handling difficulties when in a leadership position. Further difficulties include working time, work-life balance and motherhood.

Research limitations/implications

As the findings are based on interviews conducted with female Austrian executives in large (more than 250 employees) manufacturing- or service-sector firms, they are not readily generalizable.

Practical implications

This study identifies factors that may help prospective female management accounting executives reach leadership positions. Furthermore, less senior female management accountants may learn from this paper that women who have already reached leadership positions in management accounting may have had to cope with problems similar to those that younger and less senior female management accountants currently experience.

Originality/value

This paper is among the first to address gender in the field of management accounting.