The role of management accounting in international entrepreneurship

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze 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/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a multiple case study of Austrian firms and draws on the resource-based view of the firm as well as effectuation/causation logics. Data for this study were collected via semi-structured interviews, press reports, company chronicles, organizational brochures and websites of the analyzed case firms.

Findings

The paper finds that management accounting may indeed serve as a key capability for international entrepreneurship. However, reliance on this capability seems to be contingent on the phase of international entrepreneurship and pathway and mode of internationalization.

Research limitations/implications

The findings add to the accounting literature by showing that the phase as well as the mode and pathway of international entrepreneurship may serve as contingency factors for management accounting, which have been overlooked in the literature. At the same time, they also contribute to the international entrepreneurship literature by offering an initial view on the neglected capability of management accounting.

Originality/value

This is the first study to analyze the role of management accounting in international entrepreneurship.

Citation

Mitter, C. and Hiebl, M.R.W. (2017), "The role of management accounting in international entrepreneurship", Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 381-409. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-02-2016-0006