Date of Award
1-1-1993
Document Type
Thesis
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Master of Business
Faculty
Faculty of Business
First Supervisor
Chong Man Lau
Abstract
This thesis is an empirical examination which links two important areas of management accounting research. The first area relates to the relation between superiors' evaluative styles and the two dependent variables of job related tension and managerial performance. The second area relates to the impact of culture on management accounting system. Two of Hofstede's (1980) dimensions of culture were used in this study. They were power distance and individualism. Two studies, Brownell and Hirst (1986) and Brownell and Dunk (1991), both of which were conducted with samples from a low power distance/high individualism nation were re-examined within the framework suggested by Harrison (1992) that research results related to budgetary participation can be generalized between high power distance/low individualism and low power distance/high individualism nations. Multiple linear regressions were used to test the three-way interaction between budget emphasis, budgetary participation and task characteristics (task uncertainty, task variability or task difficulty), affecting each of the two dependent variables of managerial performance and job related tension. A four-way interaction between budget emphasis, budgetary participation, task difficulty and culture was also tested. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 410 functional heads from 142 manufacturing companies located in Singapore and Western Australia. Singapore was selected as a surrogate for a high power distance/low individualism culture and Western Australia as a surrogate for a low power distance/high individualism culture. The results of the study lend support to the existence of a three-way interaction affecting managerial performance in the case of task difficulty (Van de Ven & Delbecq,1974) but not in the results of Brownell and Hirst (1986) and Brownell and Dunk (1991). No significant three-way interaction between the independent variables affecting job related tension was found. Furthermore, the absence of any four-way significant interaction between budget emphasis, budgetary participation, task difficulty and culture affecting managerial performance provide strong support for Harrison's (1992) hypotheses that research results on budgetary participation can be generalized between nations with high power distance/low individualism culture and nations with low power distance/high individualism culture.
Recommended Citation
Low, L. C. (1993). Interaction of budget emphasis, budgeting participation and task characteristics : a cross-cultural study. Edith Cowan University. Retrieved from https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1153