دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی تأکید بر بودجه در شرکت های کوچک و متوسط: شواهدی از دانمارک - امرالد 2018

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of budget targets for performance evaluation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from a contingency perspective. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a survey conducted among small and medium-sized Danish production companies. It takes a contingency approach and applies structural equation modelling to analyse the data. Findings – We find that budget emphasis is related to size, decentralization and interdependence. Furthermore, we hypothesize and find that the degree of budget emphasis is positively related to performance. Research limitations/implications – The usual limitations associated with survey-based research should be considered before drawing conclusions from our findings. In that regard, replications of our study could be useful. Practical implications – The practical implication of this paper is that emphasis on the budget target in performance evaluation is of relevance for small and medium-sized production companies. Originality/value – This paper contributes by providing insights into management accounting in small and medium-sized enterprises. More specifically, this paper contributes to the debate in the SME literature regarding the value of planning and budgeting in SMEs as the paper focuses on the use of budgets for performance evaluation.

5. Discussion and conclusion

This study contributes to the budgeting literature in several ways. First, it responds to Chenhall’s (2007) call for more contingency-based research in smaller organizations (the left side of the structural model in Figure 1). Our results suggest that existing findings regarding budget emphasis found in larger enterprises are applicable to SMEs, at least to some extent. As SMEs rely on informal mechanisms for coordination to a larger extent (King et al., 2010), our results contribute by showing that budget emphasis also has a role to play in SMEs, thereby supporting Giovannoni et al. (2011, p. 142) in finding that “formal management accounting practices are also relevant in small businesses…”.

Our study also contributes by focusing on management’s use of budgetary targets in relation to performance. We found that budget emphasis was positively and significantly related to the overall performance of the company. A possible explanation for this is the motivational effects of budget-target emphasis. The practical implication of this finding is that small and medium-sized production companies should consider emphasizing the budget in performance evaluations instead of just using the budget for planning purposes.