Open AccessBudget-Related Behavior: Resolving A Portion Of The Performance Puzzle In The Management Accounting System
Author(s) -
Alfred E. Seaman,
Raymond Landry,
John Joseph Williams
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
the review of business information systems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2157-9547
pISSN - 1534-665X
DOI - 10.19030/rbis.v4i1.5389
Subject(s) - task (project management) , contingency , work (physics) , set (abstract data type) , identification (biology) , computer science , component (thermodynamics) , linkage (software) , contingency management , operations research , accounting , process management , business , engineering , systems engineering , psychology , mechanical engineering , philosophy , linguistics , botany , physics , biochemistry , chemistry , psychiatry , gene , biology , programming language , intervention (counseling) , thermodynamics
An integral component of the management accounting system in large organizations is the budgeting system. Multiple budget-related behaviors (BRBs) characterize what man-agers do in overseeing the work task environment of various departmental units to achieve performance goals. However, just as a four-wheel drive vehicle comes as a com-plete system, not all of its operating components are activated simultaneously under all conditions. In the BRB/performance linkage, uncertainties in the work task environment critically determine which BRBs must be emphasized or de-emphasized for optimal per-formance. This paper uses a structural equation approach to model this uncertainty contingency and ferret-out the appropriate set of significant BRBs. This identification, in turn, helps to resolve part of the performance puzzle.