Christine Mitter, Michaela Walcher, Stefan Mayr and Christine Duller
Family firms strive for transgenerational survivability. Thus, bankruptcy is a daunting event. Whether family firms fail for other causes than non-family firms has been scarcely…
Abstract
Purpose
Family firms strive for transgenerational survivability. Thus, bankruptcy is a daunting event. Whether family firms fail for other causes than non-family firms has been scarcely researched and is investigated in this study.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on a sample of 459 Austrian bankruptcy cases to examine the effects of the distinct characteristics of family firms on failure causes.
Findings
Our results indicate that family firm characteristics impact their failure, as bankruptcy causes differ from non-family firms. While family firms fail less often than non-family firms due to unqualified management and poor business-economic competencies, external bankruptcy causes, in particular bad debt and economic slowdown, are more widespread.
Practical implications
As our findings suggest that the close social bonds of family firms may become a burden in crisis situations and make them especially prone to external bankruptcy causes, owner-managers should pay more attention to the dependencies, deficiencies and risks that come with their binding social ties. Moreover, they should rely on external advice and appropriate management tools to better recognize and fend off the resulting risks.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that quantitatively examines differences in bankruptcy causes between family and non-family firms.
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Martin R.W. Hiebl, Bernhard Gärtner and Christine Duller
This paper aims to examine the relationship between characteristics of chief financial officers (CFOs) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) system adoption. Following upper…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the relationship between characteristics of chief financial officers (CFOs) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) system adoption. Following upper echelons theory, the authors theorize that CFO age, education, tenure and recruitment influence ERP system adoption, and that this relationship is moderated by the CFO being responsible for firm-wide information technology (IT) functions.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis is based on a survey of 296 large and medium-sized Austrian firms. Logistic regression analyses were used to test the association between CFO characteristics and ERP system adoption.
Findings
The authors find that firms with externally recruited CFOs have adopted ERP systems significantly more often than firms with internally promoted CFOs. Surprisingly, the results indicate that firms with less educated CFOs more often adopted an ERP system, and that the relationship between CFO characteristics and ERP system adoption is not moderated by the CFO being responsible for IT.
Research limitations/implications
This paper adds to the literature by corroborating case-based evidence that CFOs and their characteristics influence ERP system adoption. Extending previous research which indicates that CFO characteristics influence accounting practices, the authors show that CFO characteristics also influence technological innovation such as the adoption of ERP systems. Future research on technological innovation may therefore pay closer attention to the influence of CFOs.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to quantitatively test the influence of CFO characteristics on ERP system adoption.
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Michael Kuttner, Stefan Mayr, Christine Mitter and Christine Duller
Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often lack adequate accounting systems and may even fail because of accounting inefficiencies. Indeed, accounting can mitigate the…
Abstract
Purpose
Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often lack adequate accounting systems and may even fail because of accounting inefficiencies. Indeed, accounting can mitigate the course of a crisis and support a troubled SME’s turnaround. Its impact on reorganization success, however, has scarcely been researched so far. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the effects of several accounting parameters, namely, the quality of accounting systems, quality of early warning systems, formal planning, the standard of financial accounting and reorganization planning on the short- and long-term success of court-supervised reorganization.
Design/methodology/approach
The impact of accounting on reorganization success is investigated in a sample of all SME bankruptcy cases with ten or more employees (n = 117) in Upper Austria in 2012 including data for short-term survival (in 2016) and long-term survival (in 2019).
Findings
This study found evidence that the general quality of accounting systems, the quality of early warning systems and written reorganization plans positively influence the outcomes of the analyzed court-supervised reorganizations of SMEs. In particular, the existence of a reorganization plan significantly increases the short- and long-term reorganization success by ensuring the efficient and effective use of resources in the reorganization process.
Practical implications
This study should increase the awareness of SMEs’ owner managers, consultants, creditors and legislators for the importance of accounting in the context of reorganization. The fact that the effect of accounting on reorganization success is less pronounced in the long-term view indicates the necessity of increasing the strategic focus in SMEs’ accounting instruments.
Originality/value
This study provides new evidence on the impact of specific accounting parameters on the short- and long-term success of the court-supervised reorganization of SMEs. Furthermore, this study points out the high relevance of reorganization plans for SMEs.
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Johannes Thaller, Christine Duller, Birgit Feldbauer-Durstmüller and Bernhard Gärtner
Due to globalization and digitalization, the world of work is undergoing comprehensive change. These trends are challenging management accounting (MA) and pressuring individuals…
Abstract
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 flexibility. However, the state of the art on careers in MA lacks empirical evidence and has disparate research interests.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the authors investigate the status quo of careers in MA, key influencing factors and assumed change in such careers. To do so, the authors conducted a quantitative empirical study, based primarily on the careers of 83 graduates of a department offering a MA major at a German-speaking university. Nine qualitative empirical interviews supplement the quantitative findings.
Findings
The authors’ findings indicate that while MA careers are changing, the characteristics of the profession are continuing to concur with the traditional organizational understanding of careers. Accumulated professional experience is the key factor to achieving a management position although management accountants tend to become more dynamic in terms of career paths and career understanding. Thus, employment in various functional areas opens new career paths in MA.
Research limitations/implications
The methodology of analysing quantitative and empirical cross-sectional data and the resulting final sample size is too small to guarantee robust statistical inference. Moreover, further interviews would lead to greater data saturation.
Practical implications
The study sheds light on the under-researched question of how careers in MA proceed and develop. This could be of interest for practitioners working with management accountants such as personnel consultants.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the field through its comprehensive consideration of careers in MA in this changed context, thus providing new insights for academia and business practice.
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Martin R.W. Hiebl, Christine Duller and Herbert Neubauer
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…
Abstract
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 them less prone to invest in mechanisms to control such problems. Consequently, it is expected that family firms are less prone to invest in ERM. This paper aims to explore this basic expectation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on a survey of 430 firms from Austria and Germany.
Findings
It is observed that family firms show a lower adoption of ERM, especially in family firms where there is a family CEO.
Research limitations/implications
The results suggest that future empirical ERM research should more closely analyze or at least control for family influence.
Originality/value
This study is among the first to analyze ERM adoption in family firms.
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Martin R.W. Hiebl, Birgit Feldbauer‐Durstmüller and Christine Duller
The purpose of the present paper is to investigate whether the transition from a family business to a non‐family business affects the institutionalisation of management accounting.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the present paper is to investigate whether the transition from a family business to a non‐family business affects the institutionalisation of management accounting.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on an online survey among all large and medium‐sized Austrian firms. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were used to test the impact of the level of family influence on aspects of the institutionalisation of management accounting. Firm size is included as the main control variable.
Findings
A lower level of influence from the controlling family was found to be correlated with the institutionalisation and intensification of management accounting in medium‐sized firms. For large firms, such a linear relationship could not be drawn. The level of education of management accountants was inversely correlated with the level of family influence in both large and medium‐sized firms.
Research limitations/implications
Further research into the reasons, underlying drivers and inter‐organisational promoters of management accounting change in family businesses is needed. Furthermore, the organisational impacts of the transition from family businesses to non‐family businesses deserve further investigation.
Originality/value
A framework for assessing the organisational effects of the transition from family businesses to non‐family businesses is provided. The empirical results on the impact of the transition on the institutionalisation of management accounting are presented. The level of family influence was found to act as a significant contextual factor for the organisation of management accounting in medium‐sized firms.
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Vivianna Fang He and Gregor Krähenmann
The pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities is not always successful. On the one hand, entrepreneurial failure offers an invaluable opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn about…
Abstract
The pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities is not always successful. On the one hand, entrepreneurial failure offers an invaluable opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn about their ventures and themselves. On the other hand, entrepreneurial failure is associated with substantial financial, psychological, and social costs. When entrepreneurs fail to learn from failure, the potential value of this experience is not fully utilized and these costs will have been incurred in vain. In this chapter, the authors investigate how the stigma of failure exacerbates the various costs of failure, thereby making learning from failure much more difficult. The authors combine an analysis of interviews of 20 entrepreneurs (who had, at the time of interview, experienced failure) with an examination of archival data reflecting the legal and cultural environment around their ventures. The authors find that stigma worsens the entrepreneurs’ experience of failure, hinders their transformation of failure experience, and eventually prevents them from utilizing the lessons learnt from failure in their future entrepreneurial activities. The authors discuss the implications of the findings for the entrepreneurship research and economic policies.
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This article focuses on one court case concerning the regulation of Anti-Abortion protesting and asks: (1) Do the various actors involved in this case recognize a tension between…
Abstract
This article focuses on one court case concerning the regulation of Anti-Abortion protesting and asks: (1) Do the various actors involved in this case recognize a tension between their actions and their broader beliefs concerning the regulation of political protests? (2) If this tension is recognized, how do the actors resolve it, and if it is not recognized, why is it not? While concerned with legal consciousness and cognitive dissonance, the article is framed by broader questions concerning tolerance and the interaction of law and political passions.