literature review of management accounting

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Strategic management accounting and performance implications: a literature review and research agenda

1 School of Management, Swansea University, Swansea, UK

Abdullah Promise Opute

2 GPROM Academic and Management Solutions, Paderborn, Germany

3 University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Lampeter, UK

Mohammad Mobarak Alsolmi

4 Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia

Associated Data

This study is based on the review of literature.

The important role that management accounting plays in driving organisational performance has been reiterated in the literature. In line with that importance, the call for more effort to enhance knowledge on strategic management accounting has increased over the years. Responding to that call, this study utilised a qualitative approach that involved a systematic review to synthesise existing literature towards understanding the strategic management accounting foundation, contingency factors, and organisational performance impact. Based on the evidence in reviewed literature, we flag key directions for advancing this theoretical premise towards providing further insights that would enable practitioners strategically align their strategic management accounting practices for optimal organisational performance. The limitations of this study have been acknowledged.

Introduction

Successful managerial decisions enable organisational profitability and accounting aids effective managerial decisions [ 75 ]. Aimed at optimising the decision-enabling substance of accounting, management was criticised in 1980s as being too focused on internal operational issues that offer little to management from the point of strategy formulation and sustaining competitive advantage (CIMA Report 1 ). Recognising the importance for a broader impact of accounting on managerial decision-making, Simmonds [ 82 , p. 26] introduced and defined strategic management accounting (SMA) as “the provision and analysis of management accounting data about a business and its competitors, for use in developing and monitoring business strategy” .

Subsequently there has been increasing efforts that stress the importance for organisations to embrace strategic management accounting theory towards boosting strategic decision-making and organisational performance (e.g. [ 4 , 8 , 9 , 17 , 23 , 53 , 58 , 86 , 90 , 48 ], amongst others). As rightly noted by Turner et al. [ 86 ], organisations that aim to enhance their competitiveness and performance, must not only develop but also “implement internal policies and procedures such as strategic management accounting that are consistent with their business strategies and account for changing competitive demands” (p. 33). Doing that will enable the strategic management accounting tool to be effectively used to drive corporate success. This is the underlying argument in this study.

The task of profitably satisfying customers is becoming more challenging [ 61 , 65 , 67 ]. Meeting that challenge requires that organisations recognise the importance for effective decision-making. Accountants play a significant role in enabling effective decision-making in organisations (e.g. [ 21 , 23 , 27 ]). Accounting information enables the organisation determine the going concern [ 6 , 36 ]. Accounting provides the management with relevant information for ensuring and sustaining growth and profitability. The strategic management accounting foundation emphasises that in order to fully fulfil its management decision-making enabling function, accounting practices must not only focus on the internal but also on the external components relating to the organisation's operations. In other words, accounting should embrace a much broader and market-oriented approach and focus on costing (e.g. [ 8 , 17 , 58 , 78 ]); planning, control and performance measurement (e.g. [ 17 , 58 ]), strategic decision-making (e.g. [ 8 , 58 ]), customer accounting (e.g. [ 58 , 86 ]) and competitor accounting (e.g. [ 17 , 58 , 86 ]).

Given the importance of strategic management accounting to effective management decision-making and corporate success, there remains a growing interest in understanding the topic. Little wonder therefore that the advocacy for more research towards a better understanding of what strategic management accounting practices organisations adopt and what motivates their preference for one technique over the other (e.g. [ 4 , 53 , 58 , 86 , 90 ]) remains current. While embracing strategic management accounting is a critical path for enabling effective managerial decision-making and boosting organisational performance (e.g. [ 3 , 9 , 58 ]), the enablement outcome of strategic management accounting practice would hinge on the effectiveness of the organisation in tailoring its strategic management accounting practices to its strategy and environment [ 9 , 11 , 58 ].

Following that contingency logic, this research is a response to the aforementioned call and the aim in this study is to contribute to strategic management accounting discourse by critically analysing the body of knowledge towards enhancing the understanding of how knowledge has evolved in this theoretical domain and also to contribute to knowledge by flagging directions for further knowledge development. To achieve the aim of this study, the theoretical focus in this study is premised along three questions:

• What strategic management accounting techniques can organisations use towards driving organisational performance?
• What factors would influence strategic management accounting techniques usage and performance association? and
• What future research gaps exist based on the explored literature?

Literature review

This study follows the theoretical foundation that strategic management accounting would aid effective management decision-making, and ultimately boost organisational performance. In line with the aim of this study, relevant literature is reviewed to explain the theoretical premise of this study. The literature review is organised along three core themes in strategic management accounting discourse, namely, strategic management accounting techniques, contingency factors of strategic management accounting usage, and the impact of strategic management accounting on organisational performance.

Strategic management accounting: definition and techniques

Management accounting is noted to involve the “generation, communication, and use of financial and non-financial information for managerial decision-making and control activities” ([ 28 ] p. 3). One major criticism of accounting in the 1980s relates to the fact that accountants have hardly taken a proactive role in the strategic management process [ 7 , 8 ]. According to Nixon and Burns [ 55 , p. 229], although strategic management has been variously defined, there is “broad consensus that the key activities are (1) development of a grand strategy, purpose or sense of direction, (2) formulation of strategic goals and plans to achieve them, (3) implementation of plans, and (4) monitoring, evaluation and corrective action”. The role of management accounting is to enable effective decision-making, and it involves typically information gathering and analysis, identifying options, implementation, monitoring and evaluation [ 16 ]. Thus, the focus in strategic management accounting, rephrased also as accounting for strategic positioning [ 73 , 74 ], is to embrace a broader approach that incorporates a strategic management focus into its dynamics towards effectively enabling management decision-making and organisational performance [ 8 , 80 ]).

Since the first attempt by Simmonds [ 82 , p. 26] who defined strategic management accounting as “the provision and analysis of management accounting data about a business and its competitors, for use in developing and monitoring business strategy” , there have been numerous attempts to enhance that definition and identify core techniques of strategic management accounting. For example, CIMA [ 16 ] describes strategic management accounting as a management accounting form that emphasises focusing on information relating to external factor of the entity and also on non-financial information as well as information that is generated internally. In a much earlier contribution, Bromwich [ 7 , p. 28] offers a description of strategic management accounting as involving “the provision and analysis of financial information on the organisation’s product markets and competitors’ costs and cost structures and the monitoring of the organisation’s strategies and those of its competitors in the market over a number of periods” (Cited in [ 56 , p. 14]).

In their 2008 study, Cadez and Guilding asked the question “what is strategic management accounting?” (p. 838). In that same study, they conclude, based on evidence from reviewed literature, that there are two perspectives of strategic management accounting. While one perspective focuses on strategically oriented accounting techniques, the other focuses on the actual involvement of accountants in the strategic decision-making process. Following the former perspective (e.g. [ 8 , 9 , 17 , 58 ]), existing literature distils sixteen (16) strategic management accounting techniques that are categorised under five SMA themes (e.g. [ 9 , 11 , 58 ]):

• Strategic costing;
• Strategic planning, control and performance measurement;
• Strategic decision-making;
• Competitor accounting; and
• Customer accounting.

Strategic costing

According to literature (e.g. [ 8 , 11 , 23 ]), strategic and marketing information-based cost data can be leveraged by organisations to ensure effective strategies for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Thus, organisations must recognise the importance of integrating cost strategies and undertake multiple strategic cost analyses. Literature distils five key costing techniques: attribute costing (e.g. Roslender and Hart 2003), life-cycle costing (e.g. [ 8 , 17 ]), quality costing (e.g. [ 17 ]), target costing (e.g. [ 8 , 17 ]) and value chain costing (e.g. [ 8 ]).

Strategic planning, control and performance measurement

Literature has also underlined the need for organisations to give due attention to planning, control and performance measurement features of the strategic management accounting, as doing that is important in the pro-active market orientation approach for competing effectively in the marketplace (e.g. [ 8 , 58 ], Chenhall 2005). Core components under the strategic planning, control and performance measurement tool includes benchmarking (e.g. [ 8 , 17 ]) and integrated performance management (Balanced Scorecard) (e.g. [ 8 , 17 ]).

Strategic decision-making

As a strategic management accounting tool, strategic decision-making is a critical tool for supporting strategic choice [ 11 ]. Core strategic decision-making options include strategic costing (e.g. [ 58 ]), strategic pricing (e.g. [ 11 , 58 ]) and brand valuation (e.g. [ 11 , 58 ]).

The importance of addressing strategic costing as a key strategic decision-making element has been emphasised in the literature (e.g. [ 58 , 78 , 79 ]). In this discourse, it is underlined that effectively driving competitive advantage requires cost analysis that explicitly considers strategic issues. In line with that viewpoint, Cadez and Guilding [ 8 ] note that strategic costing involves “the use of cost data based on strategic and marketing information to develop and identify superior strategies that will produce a sustainable competitive advantage” (p. 27).

In the literature too, strategic pricing is underlined as another core element the strategic decision-making typology of strategic management accounting (e.g. [ 8 , 58 ], Simmonds 1982). According to scholars, understanding market competition level, which as noted by Guilding et al. [ 29 , p. 120] entails the appraisal of the following factors: “competitor price reaction, price elasticity; projected market growth; and economies of scale and experience”, is important (e.g. [ 8 , 11 , 58 ]).

Within the strategic management accounting literature, brand valuation is the third element of the strategic decision-making technique. The brand valuation component “involves combining projected brand earnings (an accounting-orientated measure) with a multiple derived from the brand’s strength on strategic factors such as the nature of the brand’s market, its position in that market and its level of marketing support” [ 29 , p. 118]. In the view of Cescon et al. [ 11 ], brand valuation enables organisations to understand market reputation trends over time and potential implications for marketing executives and strategic accounting. Cescon et al. [ 11 ] contend that organisations would achieve a variable brand valuation that would provide a potential measure of marketing achievement when perceived quality and branded products are considered, while Guilding et al. [ 29 ] remind that achievable impact of brand valuation would hinge, amongst others, on the valuation method used.

Competitor accounting

According to Porter [ 72 ], strategy involves developing appropriate tools that enable a firm to analyse and determine its position in a competitive market. Thus, a firm selects suitable strategies that enables it compete more effectively over its rivals. To effectively do that, a firm needs to collect competitor accounting information. The importance of giving due attention to competitor accounting has been underlined in the literature (e.g. [ 11 , 17 , 58 ]). Three forms of competitor accounting tools are described in the literature, namely, competitor cost assessment (e.g. [ 11 , 17 , 58 ]), competitor position monitoring (e.g. [ 11 , 58 ]) and competitor performance appraisal (e.g. [ 11 , 17 , 58 ]).

Customer accounting

The fifth cluster of strategic management accounting techniques described in the literature relates to customer accounting (e.g. [ 49 , 58 ]). Customer accounting concerns practices aimed at appraising profit, sales or costs related to customers or customer segments [ 58 ]. Core customer accounting techniques include customer profitability analysis (e.g. [ 30 , 58 ]), lifetime customer profitability analysis (e.g. [ 58 ]) and valuation of customers as assets (e.g. [ 30 , 58 ]).

The contingency factors of strategic management accounting

According to management accounting discourse, when organisations carefully embrace appropriate strategic management accounting practices, they would ensure successful managerial decisions that would ultimately lead to optimising organisational performance (e.g. [ 48 , 53 , 56 , 58 ]). Thus, the extent of improved performance that an organisation would achieve would depend on its careful utilisation of appropriate strategic management techniques. As noted by Roslender and Hart (2003), p. 4 and further supported by subsequent literature (e.g. [ 34 , 58 ]), “the adoption of strategically oriented management accounting techniques and accountants’ participation in strategic management processes”, is a core research premise. In line with the carefulness notion mentioned above, the contingency perspective has been widely utilised in the effort to understand strategic management accounting practices and performance impact (e.g. [ 8 , 12 , 30 , 34 , 58 ]). The underlying foundation in the contingency perspective is based on the notion “that an organisation maximises its efficiency by matching between structure and environment” [ 22 , p. 49]. According to Otley [ 68 ]:

The contingency approach to management is based on the premise that there is no universally appropriate accounting system that applies equally to all organisations in all circumstances. Rather, it is suggested that particular features of an appropriate accounting system will depend on the specific circumstances in which an organisation finds itself. Thus, a contingency theory must identify specific aspects of an accounting system which are associated with certain defined circumstances and demonstrate an appropriate matching (p. 413).

Thus, the central foundation in the contingency perspective is that no one single accounting system is universally fit for all organisation in all circumstances (e.g. [ 41 ]). No one accounting control system can be seen as “best” for all situations; rather, the appropriateness of any control system would depend on the organisation's ability to adapt effectively to the environment surrounding its operations [ 41 , 58 , 86 ].

From reviewed literature, numerous researchers have flagged key contingency factors that should be considered in relation to strategic management accounting practice. Four factors were identified as critical contingency factors in the strategic management accounting systems design in Cadez and Guilding's [ 8 ] study, namely: business strategy, strategy formulation pattern, market orientation and firm size. On their part, Islam and Hu [ 41 ] identify core organisational effectiveness factors to include technology, environmental volatility, organisational structure, information system and size of the organisation.

Analysed together, the conceptualisation in the aforementioned studies [ 8 , 41 ] reflect perspectives that have been recognised in the 1980s. For example, Merchant [ 50 ] describe contingency factors to include firm size, product diversity, extent of decentralisation and budgetary information use. In their study of accounting information systems, Gordon and Narayanan [ 26 ] classify three core contingency factors to include perceived environmental uncertainty, information characteristics and organisational structure. Based on a study that examined the extent to which accountants were involved in the strategic management process, CIMA 2 reports three key contingency factors: “organisational influences, accountant led influences and practicalities” (p. 12). Exploring strategic management accounting practices in the Palestinian context, Ojra [ 58 ] conceptualised a comprehensive contingency perspective that considered (1) organisational structure (involving formalisation and decentralisation), (2) organisational size, (3) technology and (4) organisational strategy. In more recent literature, Pavlatos [ 70 ] suggests seven factors that affect strategic management accounting usage in the hospitality industry (hotels) in Greece, namely, “perceived environmental uncertainty, structure, quality of information systems, organisational life cycle stage, historical performance, strategy and size” (p. 756).

The contingency framing in this study draws from the theoretical guideline which suggests that both the internal and external environments of organisations should be considered in the effort to advance strategic management accounting literature (e.g. [ 58 , 70 ]). The conceptual framing in this study includes two external (perceived environmental uncertainty—competitive intensity, and market turbulence) and three internal (organisational structure—formalisation, and decentralisation, and organisational strategy) factors.

Perceived environmental uncertainty and strategic management accounting usage

From the perceptual lens, the environment could be viewed as certain or uncertain only to the extent that decision makers perceive it to be (e.g. [ 1 , 11 ]). Perceived environmental uncertainty is described as the absence of information relating to organisations, activities and happenings in the environment [ 20 ]. According to Cescon et al. [ 11 ], organisations must give due attention to their operational environment because engaging with environmental uncertainty factors would enable them identify key change drivers.

Prior literature has documented that perceived uncertainty significantly influences the extent to which firms would embrace strategic management accounting practices (e.g. [ 49 , 58 , 70 ]). According to that foundation, how firms respond from the point of strategic management accounting practices that they would endorse would depend on the nature of environmental uncertainties that surround their operational activities.

Studying the hotel property setting, Pavlatos [ 70 ] documents a positive correlation between the degree of environmental uncertainty and the use of strategic management accounting tools. In other words, the higher the perceived environmental uncertainty, the higher the need for use of strategic management accounting tools. Intensified use of strategic management accounting tools is essential because that will enable the hotels to manage the uncertainties, and be more effective in managerial decision-making, and ultimately improves organisational performance [ 70 ]. The notion of a significant influence of environmental uncertainty on strategic management accounting practices is supported by prior literature (e.g. [ 15 ]). According to them, managers who operate in highly uncertain environments would require information that is timely, current and frequent. Other scholars have also argued that environmental uncertainty would be associated with more pro-active and externally focused accounting systems (e.g. [ 32 , 38 ]).

In their study of Italian manufacturing companies, Cescon et al. [ 11 ] found a positive association of perceived environmental uncertainty and strategic pricing usage as a feature of the strategic decision-making SMA technique. In other words, the more the perceived environmental uncertainty, the higher the usage of the strategic pricing feature of the strategic decision-making SMA component.

In the perceived environmental uncertainty literature, two core dimensions have been distilled, namely competitive intensity and market turbulence (e.g. [ 30 , 58 ]). Market turbulence—a subset of environmental turbulence [ 47 ], is defined by Calantone et al. [ 10 ] as characterised by continuous changes in customers’ preference/demands, in price/cost structures and in the composition of competitors. In settings where there is high market turbulence, organizations would need to modify their products and approaches to the market more frequently [ 44 ]. On the other hand, the notion of competitive intensity relates to the logic that organisations compete for numerous resources, such as raw materials, selling and distribution channels, as well as quality, variety and price of products [ 26 , 46 ]. Achieving organisation-environment alignment in highly competitive environments requires that organisations have the capacity to effectively detect environmental signals and timely communicate environmental information (e.g. [ 88 ]).

Exploring Australian hospitality industry, McManus [ 49 ] examined the association of competition intensity and perceived environmental uncertainty on customer accounting techniques usage. The study suggests that competition intensity positively associates with customer accounting practices but also found that higher perceived environmental uncertainty would not lead to greater usage of customer accounting techniques in the explored hotels. In a much similar conceptualisation, Cescon et al. [ 11 ] examined the association of environmental uncertainty and competitive forces on strategic management accounting techniques usage in large Italian manufacturing firms. Empirically, that study found that external factors (environmental uncertainty and competitive forces) positively associate with SMA usage (strategic pricing, balanced scorecard, risk analysis, target costing, life-cycle costing). Based on the two-dimensional conceptualisation, Ojra [ 58 ] examined the relationship between perceived environmental uncertainty and SMA usage in Palestinian firms. Ojra [ 58 ] hypothesised a positive correlation of perceived environmental uncertainty (conceptualised to include competition intensity and market turbulence) but found no support. To the contrary, Ojra [ 58 ] documents a potential for negative influence of perceived environmental uncertainty on strategic management accounting techniques usage, however only significant for the market turbulence dimension. In other words, Ojra [ 58 ] suggests that market turbulence associates negatively with strategic management accounting techniques usage in medium Palestine firms.

Organisational structure (formalisation) and strategic management accounting usage

Across the various streams of management, formalisation has been mentioned as a key contingency factor in understanding the operational dynamics of organisations (e.g. [ 58 , 63 , 64 ]). With regard to strategic management accounting discourse, this notion has been numerously supported (e.g. [ 26 , 58 , 85 ]).

Studying the influence of formalisation in the functional relationship between the accounting and marketing departments, Opute et al. [ 64 ] suggest a positive association. In other words, they argue that the more formalised the processes in the firm, the higher the achieved integration between both functional areas. However, Opute et al. [ 64 ] note that whether this positive association is achieved would depend on the integration component (information sharing, unified effort and involvement) considered.

In the strategic management accounting domain, there is mixed evidence of the association of organisational structure on strategic management accounting usage. For example, Ojra [ 58 ] hypothesised that less formalised organisational structure would lead to higher use of strategic management accounting techniques in Palestinian firms but found no support for that hypothesis. In that study, no support was found for the notion that less formalised structures would lead to higher use of strategic management accounting techniques, both for total SMA as well as for all the dimensions of SMA. Thus, that study concludes that formalisation has no significant influence on strategic management accounting techniques usage in Palestinian firms. That conclusion supports the findings in Gordon and Narayanan [ 26 ], but contrast the view in Tuan Mat’s [ 85 ] exploration of management accounting practices.

Organisational structure (decentralisation) and strategic management accounting usage

Similar to formalisation, management scholars have noted decentralisation as a core organisational structure factor that should be given due attention in the drive to enhance the understanding of contingency theory (e.g. [ 58 , 62 , 63 ]). Organisational structure has been noted to influence the strategic management accounting practices of a firm (e.g. [ 58 , 70 ]). Within that foundation, decentralisation (or its opposite) has been flagged as a major factor. A contention that has been underlined numerously in the discourse is that strategic management accounting usage would be higher in organisations that embrace decentralised structure. Following that foundation, Pavlatos [ 70 ] hypothesised that SMA usage is higher in decentralised hotels than in centralised hotels in Greece. The results support the hypothesis: there is higher need for strategic management accounting practices in decentralised firms, as lower-level managers require more information to aid decision-making.

The above conclusion supports as well as contrasts prior literature, namely Chenhall [ 14 ] and Verbeeten [ 87 ], respectively. According to Chenhall [ 14 , p. 525], “strategic management accounting has characteristics related to aspects of horizontal organisation as they aim to connect strategy to the value chain and link activities across the organisation…”. Chenhall [ 14 ] adds that a typical approach in horizontal organisation is identifying customer-oriented strategic priorities and then exploiting process efficiency, continuous improvements, flattened structures and team empowerment, to initiate change, a conclusion that suggests that higher use of strategic management accounting practices would seem ideal in such decentralised organisational structure. The reason for that outcome is that in decentralised structure, lower-level managers can adapt their MACS as necessary to meet requirements [ 52 ], a logic that finds support in McManus [ 49 ] who found that customer accounting usage is higher in Australian hotels that are decentralised than those that are centralised. In contrast to that logic, Verbeeten [ 87 ] found decentralisation to associate negatively with major changes in the decision-influencing components of MACS.

Insight about the less developed context, namely about Palestinian firms lend support to, as well as contrast past literature. According to Ojra [ 58 ], decentralisation has a tendency to associate negatively with strategic management accounting usage. Therefore, although statistically insignificant, the results indicate that explored Palestinian firms that endorse decentralised decision-making process would seemingly have lesser need for strategic management accounting practices. On the evidence that decentralisation may have a negative influence on strategic management accounting usage, Ojra [ 58 ] supports Verbeeten [ 87 ] but contrasts Pavlatos [ 70 ].

Organisational strategy and strategic management accounting usage

An internal organisational factor that has been considered important in the understanding of contingency perspective of management accounting relates to organisational strategy (e.g. [ 8 , 17 , 58 ]). Hambrick [ 33 ] defined strategy as:

A pattern of important decisions that guides the organisation in its relationship with its environment; affects the internal structure and processes of the organisation; and centrally affects the organisation’s performance (p.567).

In the strategic management accounting discourse, organisational strategy has been mentioned as one of the key factors that would condition strategic management accounting practices of a firm (e.g. [ 9 , 58 , 70 , 86 ]). For example, Turner et al. [ 86 ] note that in hotel property setting, strategic management accounting use would hinge on the market orientation business strategy of the firm. Given the notion that strategic management accounting would aid management decision-making and lead ultimately to improved organisational performance, there is some legitimacy in expecting that organisations that align their strategic management accounting practices to the strategic orientation of the firm would achieve a higher organisational performance.

Following Miles and Snow’s [ 51 ] strategy typology (prospector, defender, analyser, and reactor), efforts to understand the association of strategy to strategic management accounting tools usage have also tried to understand how the various strategy typologies play out in this association. For example, Cadez and Guilding [ 9 ] considered the prospector, defender and analyser typologies in the Slovenian context, while Ojra [ 58 ] considered the prospector and defender typologies in the Palestinian contexts.

Cadez and Guilding [ 9 ] report that companies that endorse the analyser strategy, which is a deliberate strategy formulation approach, are not highly market oriented, but tend to show high usage of SMA techniques, except for competitor accounting technique. Further, they report that prospector strategy-oriented companies also pursue a deliberate strategy formulation approach, but are highly market oriented, and SMA techniques usage is fairly high (for competitor accounting) and averagely high (for strategic costing). For very high prospector-oriented companies, they are highly market oriented, have a strong strategy drive and a very high SMA techniques usage. For the defender strategy-type companies, they suggest that such companies are not only average in their market orientation, but also in their usage of SMA techniques.

In the study of Palestinian companies, Ojra [ 58 ] offers insights that resonate relatively with the findings in Cadez and Guilding [ 9 ]. Ojra [ 58 ] suggests that prospector companies have a higher usage of SMA techniques than defender-type companies. So, SMA technique usage is positively associated to prospector strategy (see also [ 8 ]. Elaborating the findings, Ojra [ 58 ] reports that prospector-type companies focused more on four SMA techniques (mean values reported), namely SMAU-Planning, Control and Performance Measurement (4.601), SMAU-Strategic Decision Making (4.712), SMAU-Competitor Accounting (4.689) and SMAU-Customer Accounting (4.734), statistical results that are significantly higher than the results for 'defender'-type companies. Cinquini and Tenucci [ 17 ] lend support to Ojra [ 58 ]: 'defender'-type companies give more attention to the Costing dimension of SMA.

Without emphasising the strategy typologies, Pavlakos (2015) comments that organisational strategy affects SMA usage in the Greek hotel industry.

Strategic management accounting and organisational performance

A central tenet in the strategic management accounting foundation is that management accounting would significantly aid organisations to achieve sustained competitiveness [ 7 , 82 ]. Implicitly, these scholars argue that in order to stay competitive in the marketplace, organisations should not only focus on cost-volume-profit issues, but rather embrace a broad externally focused management accounting approach that is strategically driven and provides financial information that enables management to effectively formulate and monitor the organisation's strategy. Thus, management accounting should also focus on competitor information as that will enable management effectively organise the firm's strategic structure.

Over the years, there is growing recognition of the importance of strategic management accounting to organisations, leading therefore to increasing research attention. One area that has received attention in the strategic management accounting discourse relates to the organisational performance enhancement notion (e.g. [ 23 , 56 , 58 , 77 , 86 ]).

Insights from Malaysia also add to the discourse on the impact of strategic management accounting usage on organisational performance. In their study of Malaysian electrical and electronic firms, Noordin et al. [ 56 ] examined the extent of usage of strategic management accounting and influence on the performance of the participating firms. The study found that in explored Malaysian companies, the extent of strategic management accounting usage was significantly related to organisation’s performance. That conclusion supports Cadez and Guilding [ 8 ] who contend that there is a positive association between strategic management accounting usage and organisational performance.

In a performance perspective that considers the ISO 9000 Quality Management System (QMS) aspect, Sedevich-Fons [ 77 ] examined the connection between strategic management accounting and quality management systems performance. The findings show that strategic management accounting and quality management are complementary and their effective implementation would enhance overall performance. Sedevich-Fons [ 77 ] notes further that when both are used in conjunction that would spread SMA techniques and enable full exploitation of Quality Management Systems.

Insights from the less developed economy context also associate organisational performance to the implementation of strategic management accounting practices (e.g. [ 3 , 57 , 58 ]). In a conceptual approach that aimed to address one major gap in previous literature, Ojra [ 58 ] examined both the financial and non-financial dimensions of organisational performance. According to Ojra [ 58 ], strategic management accounting usage does not impact the financial dimension of organisational performance but exerts significant positive impact on non-financial performance. That finding resonates with Perera et al. [ 71 ] conclusion that various forms of management accounting associate positively with the use of non-financial measures.

On their part, Oboh and Ajibolade [ 57 ], in their investigation of the association between strategic management accounting practices and strategic decision-making in Nigerian banks, found that explored Nigerian banks “practice SMA not as a concept, but as a principle of operation, and that SMA contributes significantly to strategic decision-making in the area of competitive advantage and increased market share” (p.119).

Alabdullah [ 3 ] offers evidence that adds support to the insights in the aforementioned studies [ 57 , 58 ]. In a study that explored the Jordanian service sector, Alabdullah [ 3 ] found that strategic management accounting enables performance in the service sector in Jordan. If strategic management accounting is effectively implemented, that will enable optimal strategic decision-making and ultimately improve organisational performance.

Research methodology

Research design.

Qualitative research method [ 18 , 76 ] is used in this study to achieve the objectives of this research. Following the methodological approach, as well as responding to the research call, in a past study on the contingency perspective of strategic management accounting [ 41 ], a study which was literature review-based, literature review-based qualitative research approach was deemed fit in this study.

A systematic review approach (e.g. [ 5 , 39 , 81 ]) is used in this research on the topic of strategic management accounting. Using the systematic review approach in this study is appropriate because it enables a systematic and transparent approach in identifying, selecting, and evaluating relevant published literature on a specific topic or question [ 42 , 83 ]. Furthermore, systematic review approach was deemed appropriate for this study as it has been documented to aid core research gaps identification and steering future research (e.g. [ 40 , 59 , 66 ]).

Alves et al. [ 5 ] forward a two-stage guideline for systematic review of literature: planning the review and conducting the review and analysis. As they noted, researchers should describe how the systematic approach was planned (in the former) and also describe the phases of the review and selection of literature (in the latter). In this research, effort was made to combine the best evidence: careful planning was used to determine literatures for inclusion or exclusion (e.g. [ 5 , 65 , 67 ]). The planning was focused at identifying relevant publications in various academic journals on the topic of strategic management accounting. First, the theoretical themes to be considered in the conceptual premise of this study were confirmed and academic resource for tracking relevant publications determined [ 5 , 66 , 83 ].

In the preliminary stage of the literature review, electronic search was carried out to identify relevant literature relating to strategic management accounting. Three steps were taken in the systematic review: we searched the literature, analysed and synthesised the literature, and wrote the review. Several databases were scanned using key search terms to capture relevant literature [ 81 ]. Core search terms were used, such as strategic management accounting, historical aspects of strategic management accounting, contingencies of strategic management accounting practices, strategic management accounting and organisational strategy, strategic management accounting and organisational performance, amongst others. Relevant publications were also found using data extraction tools such as Google Scholar, Emerald Insight and Research Gate.

Using the aforementioned methodological approach, a collection of relevant articles published in academic journals was identified. Identifying the relevant literature in this study followed methodological guideline [ 69 ]: criteria of language, relevance and type of research to identify relevant studies were embraced, and articles that contained non-English contents and also articles that did not fit closely to the thematic premise of this study were excluded. It is important to emphasise here that this study recognises that not all publications relating to the topic of strategic management accounting may have been considered in this research. However, for the scope of this piece of research, the body of literature covered in this study was deemed adequate for the conceptual framing.

Table ​ Table1 1 shows a sample of selected literature covered in this piece of research, pinpointing clearly the focus, context of the studies and findings from the studies.

A sample of selected studies reviewed in this research

Content analysis in this study followed the inductive lens [ 84 ]. This involved thorough reading of the selected studies to capture the state of knowledge in the domain of this study (e.g. [ 65 ]). To ensure that knowledge is captured accurately, an iterative approach that involved reading the text back and forth was used (e.g. [ 65 ]). Analysing the relevant literature, we focused on identifying the core thematic threads in the discourse (see Table ​ Table1) 1 ) in each selected paper. In concordance with the central aim of this review, data abstracted were in the form, effect and findings, and conceptualisation of ideas or theoretical perspectives [ 83 ]

The analysis

The interpretive approach of analysis was followed in processing the qualitative data to achieve reliable meaning in this study (e.g. [ 59 , 65 , 67 , 84 ]). Following that precedence, an iterative approach that involved reading reviewed literature back and forth, was used in this study. Using that approach, a synthesis of literature was undertaken to capture the core threads, debates and themes in the literature (e.g. [ 65 , 67 ]). Guided also by that methodological approach, relevant directions for future research have been flagged towards enhancing the knowledge about strategic management accounting and performance association.

Subjectivity is a major concern in qualitative researches (e.g. [ 18 , 76 ]). To address that concern, steps taken in this research to validate the articles incorporated into this research include rigor of conduct and strength of evidence by cross-referencing, as well as undertaking a duplicate check (e.g. [ 76 , 81 ]).

The findings

Prompted by the central threads that emerged from the analysis of the selected literature, the findings from this study are organised along three core themes: strategic management accounting techniques, contingencies of strategic management accounting techniques usage and the organisational performance implications of strategic management accounting usage.

The importance of management accounting, and in particular the strategic management accounting element as a tool for enabling top management to make effective decisions that enable organisation compete effectively in the marketplace, is gaining increasing mention in management discourse. In that discourse, five core categorisations of SMA techniques: strategic costing; strategic planning, control and performance measurement; strategic decision-making; competitor accounting; and customer accounting. While literature distils numerous forms of strategic management accounting techniques that organisations may embrace towards enabling effective management decision-making and organisational performance, evidence was found in reviewed literature that in some organisations, practitioners do not believe that strategic management accounting as a separate concept is a notion they subscribe to (e.g. CIMA 3 ; [ 48 , 55 ]). For example, CIMA 4 documents that participants unanimously do not subscribe to the notion, a conclusion which lends support to prior literature [ 48 , 55 ] that notes that strategic management accounting as a term, did not exist in the lexicon of accounting practitioners.

Grounded on the substance that effective use of the SMA techniques would improve organisational performance, immense research effort has focused on how organisations can effectively align the SMA usage towards achieving desired performance improvement. Premised in that theoretical domain, this study examined existing literature on the contingency factors of competitive intensity, market turbulence, formalisation, decentralisation and organisational strategy and SMA usage. Cumulative evidence obtained from the review of literature reinforces the need for organisations to pay particular attention to their operational environment in their use of SMA techniques. Reinforcing the fit principle, the cummulative evidence underlines that optimising the benefits of the strategic management accounting techniques in enabling effective customer orientation and boosting organisational performance is dependent on the organisation's ability to effectively align strategic management accounting practices to its operational environment. In other words, what works for an organisation would depend on the organisational dynamics, internal, as well as external. For example, formalisation may work for some but not for some, as decentralisation could work for some but not for some. Similarly, the utility of SMA techniques would hinge on the competitive intensity and market turbulence features of an organisation. Thus, aligning SMA practices to the internal and external features of an organisation is essential to enable them adapt effectively to their circumstances, make rational decisions and optimise their performance. So, alignment is critical because there is no one-size fits all approach for achieving customer orientation and organisational performance goals.

The third focal point of this study relates to the association of SMA techniques usage to organisational performance. Reviewed literature shows that organisations are achieving higher performance through the use of SMA techniques. In other words, effective use of SMA techniques would improve organisational performance. The plausibility in that performance outcome lies in the fact that organisations are able to utilise appropriate SMA measures to ensure effective, customer, competitor, strategic decision-making, costing, and planning and control orientation in their operational activities. Further on the performance point, literature also suggests that management control systems (MCS)–performance relationship is mediated by business strategy (e.g. [ 2 ]). Also, that study documents that the impacts (both indirect and total) of MCS on performance are stronger for family businesses than non-family businesses.

Conclusions

Conclusions and implications.

One of the major challenges that organisations are facing in today's dynamic marketplace is to steer their organisations in a way that they can stay competitive. In the contemporary world, where globalisation and technological evolution have expanded the options that customers have (e.g. [ 31 , 61 , 65 , 67 ]), organisations must strive hard to win the loyalty of customers. For organisations wishing to achieve that, strategic management accounting practices offer a strategic pathway. Organisations must embrace strategic management accounting practices that would enable them understand the market, their competitors, and the customers and leverage the intelligence from that knowledge to organise their operations towards profitably satisfying the customer. To effectively do that, organisations must avoid the mistake of focusing only on the internal issues; rather, their effort must be tailored towards embracing strategic management accounting practices that would enable them to be fully informed of the market trends, customer dynamics and competitor trends. Thus, organisations must ensure that good costing, planning, control and performance measurement; strategic decision-making, customer accounting and competitor accounting measures are embraced to enable them compete effectively.

Furthermore, in that drive to compete effectively in the market and profitably satisfy customers, organisations would not only need to embrace appropriate strategic management accounting techniques but also do that bearing in mind the environments that surround the operational activities. In other words, organisations must give due attention to the contingencies of their operational setting. Organisations must ensure a good blend of critical factors that would enable their optimal operation. Due attention must be given to organisational structure (centralisation or decentralisation of decision-making process), external environment (dynamism and turbulence), technological development, strategic approach, size of the organisation, amongst others. Doing that is critical for corporate success because there is no one size fits all approach—the outcome achieved would depend significantly on the dynamics surrounding the operational activities of the firm.

Thirty-three months on after Covid 19 was documented, 5 the pandemic is still ever present and has remained a daunting global challenge. Competing effectively in the dynamic marketplace is a major challenge for organisations, and with the Corona pandemic exerting unprecedent effects on organisations globally, most organisations are facing a more daunting challenge to survive (e.g. [ 65 , 67 ]). Organisations must strive to strategically orientate their management accounting practices to enable them find ways to effectively navigate the daunting challenges they face in this Corona era.

Implications of this study

The implications of this study are organised along managerial and theoretical implications.

Managerial Implications —Managers are reminded that optimal use of strategic management accounting techniques would boost organisational performance. Achieving high levels of organisational performance would however hinge on an organisation's ability to effectively align its SMA techniques usage to its internal and external dynamics. In other words, managers must bear in mind that there is no one-size fits all approach; therefore, they should endorse SMA techniques usage that fits their operational dynamics.

Theoretical Implications —In line with the central objective of this paper to sensitise the need for enhancing the understanding of the contingency perspective of strategic management accounting, the theoretical implications of this study are tailored towards specifying core gaps in the reviewed literature.

Overall, evidence from reviewed literature underlines the criticality of SMA techniques usage to organisational performance. Thus, if organisations strategically align SMA techniques usage to their operational setting, this would positively impact organisational performance. Within the goal of enhancing the literature on how to optimise the performance impact, much gaps still exist from the point off illuminating how differences in marketing and national culture differentiate SMA acceptance, usage, contingencies and performance impact.

Finally, on the point of performance, reviewed literature documents an obvious gap in the literature from the point of illuminating SMA techniques usage impact along the performance dimensions. As noted by Ojra [ 58 ], for some societies (especially ones that are Islamic cultured), non-financial performance is of central importance. Theoretical development from the point of SMA techniques usage, contingencies and non-financial performance impact is scanty.

Limitations of the study

Based on systematic review approach, this study aimed to drive further knowledge development on the contingency perspective of strategic management accounting, drawing on the evidence from reviewed literature to understand the core debates in the literature and pinpoint directions for future research. Two core limitations of this research relate to the conceptual framework and volume of literature reviewed.

The conceptual framing of this study embraced only three themes in the SMA discourse, namely perceived environmental uncertainty, organisational structure and organisational strategy. Elaborated, the contingency premise considered in this study relates to perceived environmental uncertainty (competitive intensity, and market turbulence), organisational structure (formalisation and decentralisation), and organisational strategy. This study recognises that there are other contingencies of strategic management accounting practices that have not been included in the conceptual framing of this study.

To capture the central debates in the SMA discourse, extant literature was reviewed. It is however important to acknowledge that this study may have ignored some literature relevant to the conceptual premise of this study. Finally, although efforts were made by the researchers to ensure validity in this research by adopting an analytical approach that involved thorough reading of literature to ensure valid meaning in the interpretation, it must be reminded that subjectivity is a concern in every qualitative research.

Future research directions

In explaining the theoretical implications of this study, core gaps in the literature were underlined (Section “ Implications of this study ”), while the limitations of this study were acknowledged in Section “ Limitations of the study ”. Building on these, this Section “ Future research directions ” extends the contribution of this study by specifying core directions for further knowledge development on the contingency perspective of strategic management accounting.

No doubt, this study has limitations, amongst which are the conceptual framework and the literature review scope. In their study, Naranjo-Gil et al. [ 54 , p. 688] note that “future research is needed to examine other factors to add a more comprehensive view of management accounting”. Given the conceptual limitation of this study, this study reinforces the research call by Naranjo-Gil et al. [ 54 ]. Future research could expand the work done in this research and knowledge development by incorporating contingency factors that have not been considered in the conceptual framing of this study. More research is required in that regard, both from the point of a systematic literature review approach, as well as from the point of empirical investigations that seek to illuminate the contextual (industrial sectors and geographical settings) differentiators to the contingency impacts on the use of strategic management accounting techniques.

Furthermore, more research effort is required from the point of gaining deeper understanding of the various strategic management accounting techniques. Marketing dynamics (e.g. [ 62 ]) and national culture [ 35 , 60 ] differ from one setting to another, therefore exploring the nature of strategic management accounting techniques that organisations endorse and why are core premises for research.

As flagged in the findings, there is a growing support of the notion that accounting practitioners do not subscribe to the use of the term strategic management accounting (e.g. CIMA 6 ; [ 48 , 55 ]). Further research could help to shed more light not only on why practitioners may not subscribe to the use of the term strategic management accounting, but also on the understanding of how practitioners would prefer to describe the management accounting practices that they embrace, and also why the specific practices are prioritised.

Furthermore, on the point of the content of strategic management accounting, researchers have also noted that not much effort is given to highlighting clearly the accounting information that organisations should give much attention to towards boosting organisational performance (e.g. [ 53 , 89 ]). Future research should aim to fill this gap. Doing that is critical to fully optimising the performance benefits of strategic management accounting [ 56 ].

Reviewed literature has documented that the extent to which strategic management accounting practices would aid management decision-making and organisational performance would depend on the contingency dynamics of the organisation (e.g. [ 11 , 58 ]). Understanding the contingency premise of strategic management accounting utility in driving effective management decision-making and organisational performance is a critical research premise, and future research should aim to shed more light on that. No one size fits all approach that works for all organisations in all contexts. Therefore, future research should seek to enhance the 'fit' foundation of strategic management accounting relevance and performance outcome. In that regard, future research should seek to illuminate further how perceived environmental uncertainty, decentralisation, formalisation, strategy and other contingency factors not considered in this study, would influence strategic management accounting techniques usage and organisational performance impact. In the particular case of perceived environmental uncertainty, more research is not only required from the point of understanding the influence of the construct, but also clarifying the competitive intensity and market turbulence associations.

An insight that emerged from the reviewed literature relates to the fact that majority of efforts to improve strategic management accounting discourse have considered mainly financial aspects of organisational performance (e.g. [ 58 , 86 ]). Focusing only on financial performance is inadequate as the customer perspective of performance is neglected [ 45 , 58 ]. The importance of focusing on customer performance has been re-echoed in further literature: organisational-level customer satisfaction associates positively to financial performance (e.g. [ 24 , 86 ]), and customer performance enables business strategy and an organisation's ability to deliver value to its shareholders as well as customers [ 25 ]. Supporting prior research (e.g. [ 49 , 58 , 86 ]), this study underlines the need for more studies that illuminate non-financial performance aspects and strategic management accounting association.

Finally, the Corona pandemic, which remains a global crisis, has exerted unprecedent global economic damage. Organisations are facing daunting challenges as a result of the Corona pandemic and are still seeking ways to successfully navigate these challenges. Future research should illuminate what strategic management accounting practices organisations are endorsing in the effort to effectively navigate the Corona-crisis-induced challenges.

Acknowledgements

Not applicable.

Abbreviations

Authors’ contributions.

OJ—the lead author—has made substantial contributions in the design of this study, in the design of the methodological approach and analysis of data, as well as in writing up the conclusions for this study. OA—the corresponding author—has made substantial contributions in the design of this study, the review of literature, the methodological approach and analysis of data, as well as in writing up the conclusions for this study. AM has contributed substantially to the design of this study, review of literature, methodological approach, as well as in writing up the conclusions for this study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

No external funding was obtained.

Availability of data and materials

Declarations.

There are no competing interests.

1 Management Accounting in support of the strategic management process. https://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/Thought_leadership_docs/Management%20and%20financial%20accounting/Academic-Research-Report-Strategic-Management-Process.pdf .

2 Management Accounting in support of the strategic management process. https://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/Thought_leadership_docs/Management%20and%20financial%20accounting/Academic-Research-Report-Strategic-Management-Process.pdf .

3 Management Accounting in support of the strategic management process. https://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/Thought_leadership_docs/Management%20and%20financial%20accounting/Academic-Research-Report-Strategic-Management-Process.pdf .

4 Management Accounting in support of the strategic management process. https://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/Thought_leadership_docs/Management%20and%20financial%20accounting/Academic-Research-Report-Strategic-Management-Process.pdf .

5 January 9—WHO Announces Mysterious Coronavirus-Related Pneumonia in Wuhan, China.

6 Management Accounting in support of the strategic management process. https://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/Thought_leadership_docs/Management%20and%20financial%20accounting/Academic-Research-Report-Strategic-Management-Process.pdf .

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Contributor Information

Jafar Ojra, Email: [email protected] .

Abdullah Promise Opute, Email: [email protected] .

Accounting services quality: a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis

Asian Journal of Accounting Research

ISSN : 2459-9700

Article publication date: 7 December 2020

Issue publication date: 18 February 2021

The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze the literature related to accounting and auditing services quality.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors performed a systematic literature review that considered 22 papers on the topic. The authors also applied a bibliometric analysis in order to identify the main characteristics of these studies to discuss and provide research opportunities in this field.

The bibliometric results indicate that most papers were published in services and marketing journals. The accounting service quality theme has been rarely researched in accounting field. In addition, based on our review, it was possible to identify that most papers use quantitative methods, such as surveys. The papers' conclusions diverge from each other, demonstrating a still fragmented literature.

Research limitations/implications

Taken together, the paper shows how accounting services quality is relevant and emerging topic that demands future research about accounting professionals' skills, their activities and how their customers perceive quality in an environment of constant change.

Originality/value

The analyses indicate that there are six broad areas for future research on this topic: successes and failures of accounting services providers; the role of “client centricity”; digital accounting services; services quality and accounting education; services quality when considering different types of accounting and auditing services and development of a measurement scale and a theoretical model for accounting services quality. This paper contributes for the ongoing debate about how competition, technology and innovation are changing the landscape for accounting and auditing services providers.

• Service quality
• Systematic review
• Bibliometric
• Accounting services

Azzari, V. , Mainardes, E.W. and Costa, F.M.d. (2021), "Accounting services quality: a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis", Asian Journal of Accounting Research , Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 80-94. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJAR-07-2020-0056

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Vitor Azzari, Emerson Wagner Mainardes and Fábio Moraes da Costa

Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

1. Introduction

Competition, innovation and technology are changing the prospects for accounting and auditing services providers ( Arnaboldi et al. , 2017 ; Botha and Wilkinson, 2019 ). The migration toward international sets of accounting standards and the provision of automated routines pose a challenge on how firms can pursue new, credible and more efficient ways to produce information for their clients ( Santos-Vijande et al. , 2013 ).

Recent studies (e.g. Groff et al. , 2015 ) argue that the services quality and professional qualification are key aspects for client retention. Service quality is defined as customer's overall assessment of the service delivered ( Zeithaml, 1988 ). Also, it can be defined as the difference between customers' expectations and the actual service's performance ( Parasuraman et al. , 1985 ). Consequently, accounting services providers are investing to be perceived as more empathic, reliable and responsive to individual clients demands ( Aga and Safakli, 2007 ; Groff et al. , 2015 ). In an environment with adverse conditions and high competitiveness, it seems increasingly the focus on services quality in order to meet customer expectations ( Lee et al. , 2016 ).

On the other hand, few studies have focused on assessing empirically the accounting services quality (examples of papers about this topic are: Aga and Safakli, 2007 ; Freeman and Dart, 1993 ; Keng and Liu, 1998 ; Lee et al. , 2016 ; Phiri, 2017 ). As an emergent field, the knowledge about accounting service quality is fragmented and dispersed. The prior literature reaches different conclusions in order to validate (or not) certain dimensions of quality perception, such as tangibility, reliability and responsiveness. These variety of views generates disperse results and conclusions, leaving a gap in the development of a consolidated theory of accounting service quality. In addition, to the best of our knowledge, there is no systematic literature review on this topic aiming to identify and discuss the theoretical and methodological bases applied in the literature so far. Given that, an effort must be made to converge the accounting service quality knowledge, integrating future researches opportunities and providing more relevant impact about this theme on society.

Therefore, our research questions are: What is the current state of accounting services quality literature? What are the advances possibilities in this field? To answer our research questions, we aimed to review the existing research on accounting service quality and to point out where additional studies are called for. We used Boolean operators and several keywords related to the theme. Given that, we have identified 635 papers published in journals indexed by SCOPUS and Web of Science databases from 1989 to 2018. It is important to note that the “service quality” addressed in this study does not cover earnings management, reporting quality and other subjects related to quality of accounting information. We considered the context of a service delivered and the customers' expectations and perceptions, following Parasuraman et al. (1985) definition. Thus, after analyzing and classifying each of these articles, we were able to select 22 papers related to the accounting (or auditing) services quality concept which we are using in this study.

We examined these 22 papers in detail using bibliometric methods and performing a systematic literature review. The use of bibliometric methods and a systematic literature review could allow a broader view of this specific field and may contribute to the identification of causes of phenomena related to the most significant works and the main themes in the field. As results of our bibliometric analysis, we were able to identify that although most of the papers were published in non-accounting journals (nineteen papers). However, more than half of the citations on this topic come from two papers published in accounting journals (Accounting Horizons and Accounting, Organizations and Society). Most of the papers rely on services quality and clients' perception literature and usually apply a quantitative approach.

Our detailed analyses provide three main contributions. First, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first literature review that focuses on accounting services quality, providing a framework for understanding the knowledge produced up to this date on this topic. Second, we created a cluster framework and we identified the following three streams of research: firms and competitive advantage, client perception and accounting as a Knowledge Intensive Business Service (KIBS). Third, each stream of research allowed us to suggest a research agenda that covers six main areas: (1) the success and failures of accounting services providers; (2) the customer centricity in accounting and audit services; (3) the digitalization of accounting and auditing services; (4) how services quality is related to new skills and accounting education; (5) the comparison between different types of accounting services and (6) the development of a theory and measurement model for the accounting service quality. We hope that our findings may provide a starting point for future research on this topic.

2. Theoretical framework

2.1 service quality.

Service quality is the general judgment of the customer regarding the service provided ( Hussain et al. , 2015 ). Parasuraman et al. (1985) argue that service quality could be explained as the gap between perceived and expected quality of services by customers. Quality can be interpreted in different ways, and it depends on which stakeholders and which industry and/or service are being analyzed ( Garvin, 1984 ).

For the perception of the quality of services provided, one of the main aspects considered by consumers refers to the failures and successes made by an organization ( Sivakumar et al. , 2014 ). In an era of constant pressure for companies to cut costs and to shrink the workforce, the pursuit of error-free service becomes an arduous task ( Hussain et al. , 2015 ; Sivakumar et al. , 2014 ). Thus, efficiency and quality are points that must be constantly analyzed by managers. Moreover, provide services with high quality can be important for companies in different ways. Previous studies argued that service quality is related to customer satisfaction ( Nagel and Santos, 2017 ; Narteh, 2018 ), loyalty ( Hapsari et al. , 2017 ), willingness to pay a premium price ( Bünnings, Schmitz, Tauchmann and Ziebarth, 2019 ) and firm reputation ( Wang et al. , 2003 ).

During the 1980s and 1990s, the academic community paid close attention to service quality theory. At that time, different models and theories emerged that sought to conceptualize and measure quality (e.g. Cronin and Taylor, 1992 ; Gronroos, 1984 ; Parasuraman et al. , 1988 ). One of the most famous models used until today is “SERVQUAL”, developed by Parasuraman et al. (1988) . The scale considers five dimensions of service quality: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. This measurement model was created to capture service quality in different industries, and it is used in several different contexts until today.

2.2 Accounting services management

The current business environment has been changing the characteristics of management accounting practices ( Albu and Albu, 2012 ). The development of management accountants is also determined by the need to meet stakeholder expectations for credibility, transparency in corporate reporting and their involvement with social responsibility ( Zyznarska-Dworczak, 2018 ).

Lukka and Vinnari (2014) and Zyznarska-Dworczak (2018) address the changes in management accounting over the years. Customer orientation has become the current focus of managers. Although accountants deal with a specific type of service that is generally provided to other organizations, the management of accounting firms (or offices) needs to be performed similarly to other sectors that are also valued for information and knowledge of the service provided ( Borodako et al. , 2014 ).

This means that accounting services need to focus on customer needs and their perceptions of accounting service quality, as well as constantly investing in the good skills of the business team ( Jia et al. , 2016 ; Lee et al. , 2016 ; Zyznarska-Dworczak, 2018 ). As the traditional services provided by accountants for decades are likely to be replaced by technological development, accounting firms which want to compete in this new context will potentially need to deliver high-quality services to their customers. Otherwise, they are likely to disappear.

The first step in our study is to identify the relevant papers that relate services quality with accounting services. To do this, it took different stages as: definitions of databases, definition of keywords, elimination of repeated articles and alignment by reading the title, abstract and main findings. As discussed by Carvalho et al. (2020) , these stages are present in different frameworks used as guidelines for systematic literature review.

We start by using two major Journal Databases: SCOPUS and Web of Science. Taken together, the databases cover the most relevant scientific journals. Therefore, we do not filter our search by journals, but by databases, as done by previous studies (e.g. Castilla-Polo and Gallardo-Vázquez, 2016 ; Nouri and Parker, 2020 ). For the keywords, we used the term “service quality” with the Boolean operator “AND” providing combinations with the following terms: “account*”, “audit*”, “tax account”, tax service, “CPA”, and “Certified Public Accountant”. We considered title, abstract and keywords as the search fields and filter the results only for scientific journals.

Without restricting our sample period, we were able to identify 635 papers (this search was conducted in June 2018). We then used the software EndNote X7 in order to organize and standardize all the references and to eliminate potential duplicates since we considered two different databases. Following the approach presented and used before by other studies ( Carvalho et al. , 2020 ; Valmorbida and Ensslin, 2017 ), we exclude papers that are outside the scope of our research by analyzing their titles, abstracts, keywords and main findings. In order to mitigate bias, all papers were analyzed by three experienced judges.

From our initial search, 524 papers were identified as being related to service quality in other sectors, such as health, banks, transport, IT services, hospitality, etc. This could be explained because the keyword “account*” can have different meanings that are not related only to the accounting services itself. In addition, 25 papers were related to accounting information quality, but not to accounting service quality. Finally, 55 papers were neither related to service quality or accounting services. These 55 papers approached diverse themes related to marketing, such as brand equity, decision-making, post-choice experience, optimal service price and consumer satisfaction and did not specifically focused on the quality of services of accounting service providers. After the analysis, our final sample comprises 22 papers that focus on services quality and accounting or auditing services.

The next step was to apply a systematic literature review on the 22 papers. We extracted and analyzed the following information: year of publication, journal, methodological approach (e.g. conceptual; survey), number of citations for the paper, theories used to support their hypotheses and conclusions. We used the software VOSviewer 1.6.5 in order to identify clusters. We identify each cluster based on keywords co-occurrence, as proposed by van Eck and Waltman (2010) . This technique considers the relation between different keywords. For example, if the same paper has the keywords A and B, and the same keywords were also present in another paper, the connection between keywords A and B will be greater. Thus, VOSviewer analyze two different weighting attributes. The first one is the number of links (co-occurrences) among keywords. The distance between the clusters' circles indicates the attribute of relation's strength. The closer two keywords are on the network, the higher is the number of articles in which these keywords appear associated. And the second one is the size of each circle representing the proportion of occurrence for each keyword in relation to all keywords of the sample. Figure 1 presents the methodological procedures in order to achieve our research goal.

It is noteworthy that the groupings elaborated through VOSviewer 1.6.5 are relevant to uncover links between themes, allowing to trace the development of a particular field of research. In addition, this method can help identifying specific topics of interest to the scientific community by suggesting topics with a potential association that can be explored in future research ( van Eck and Waltman, 2010 ).

4.1 Most relevant journals and how the discussion evolved in the literature

According to our results, the earliest identified paper that relates services quality and accounting services was the study developed by Ferguson and Higgins (1989) . The paper analyses if the “Certified Public Accountant” certification and the amount of fees charged by an accounting firm may impact the expected quality and the quality perceived by the customer. The paper is aligned with other studies in the services quality literature in the 80s: to develop exploratory research to better understand what may be relevant for quality perception and how to formulate strategies in order to achieve a desired quality perception by the customers ( Zeithaml et al. , 1996 ).

Since Ferguson and Higgins (1989) , other 21 papers were published relating services quality and accounting services. There is an increase in this research topic in the mid-90s (up to six per year). However, we do not identify papers between 2001 and 2005. Recently, the number of publications per year averages three. Three journals concentrate more half of the papers: Journal of Relationship Marketing (05 papers), Service Marketing Quarterly (04 papers) and Actual Problems of Economics (02 papers). Journal of Relationship Marketing and Service Marketing Quarterly are US-based journals that are focused on marketing-related topics. Actual Problems of Economics is a Ukrainian journal that focuses on Economics. Most of the journals are focused on services management and marketing. Only three papers were published in accounting journals.

4.2 Citation analysis, methodologies and theories

In order to evaluate the impact of each paper, we considered the total number of citations, according to the Google Scholar platform. Most cited papers are presented in Table 1 .

Among the five papers with the highest number of citations, three of them focus on services quality for auditing services ( Behn et al. , 1997 ; Cameran et al. , 2010 ; De Ruyter and Wetzels, 1999 ). Our results indicate that there are a small number of papers covering the subject of accounting services quality which have a considerable number of citations.

We also considered the main theories and concepts applied in our sample. We observed an already expected use of service quality theory as the basis for 16 papers. We find five papers that are based on customer perception, such as their evaluation and satisfaction with the service delivered. These aspects are seen in previous studies as possible antecedents and consequences of the quality of services ( Cronin et al. , 2000 ; Kasiri et al. , 2017 ). In addition, articles were also based on KIBS-related definitions, demonstrating that previous literature discusses the development of the quality of accounting services relating them to the characteristics of high knowledge needs ( Santos and Spring, 2015 ).

We also analyzed the methodological approaches and research design from each paper. The classification was designed by analyzing the approaches and strategies used in the studies' data collection. The methodological analysis allows us to identify a predominance in empirical studies that apply the theoretical concepts in the practical context in order to understand the reality. This type of method has congruence with studies focused on the quality of services, considering that it is an area explored in marketing that often conducts empirical studies that seek to understand the reality of organizations and consumers. In addition, the approach in most of the research was quantitative by applying surveys with consumers of accounting services. This demonstrates the predominance of studies that investigate and test the relationship between variables through the perspective of customers. Regarding quantitative studies, only one ( Lee, 2013 ) used secondary data in their analysis.

About the papers that used questionnaires, our findings show that fifty-six percent applied the measurement scale “SERVQUAL”, developed by Parasuraman et al. (1988) . Other scales, like “SERVPREF” ( Cronin and Taylor, 1992 ) and the service quality model proposed by Gronroos (1984) are less frequent. A potential explanation for the use of “SERVQUAL” is its widespread use in the services quality arena, with more than 30 thousand references. The scale relies on more generalist dimensions that could be applied to different contexts ( Roy et al. , 2015 ). On the other hand, some authors had criticized the application of general scales such as “SERVQUAL”. They argue that these instruments do not capture the details of specific services as accounting ( Fleischman et al. , 2017 ; Ladhari, 2008 ).

Regarding our sample, we find different results for the papers that used the “SERVQUAL” as the measurement scale. For example, results from Freeman and Dart (1993) study validated only three factors of the scale: tangibility, assurance and empathy. In addition to these dimensions, the authors advocated for the inclusion of other variables. Results from Keng and Liu (1998) study, that also applied a modified version of the Parasuraman et al. (1988) scale, suggest that long-term relationship management and the availability to respond to any request quickly are important characteristics to maintaining a customer base. In addition, employees of accounting firms must be well-trained, and trust must be established between them and their clients.

Aga and Safakli (2007) and Lee et al. (2016) also measured the quality of accounting service using the SERVQUAL scale of Parasuraman et al. (1988) . Results indicate that five dimensions are significant for the context of accounting services and indicate a positive effect between the quality of services provided and customer satisfaction. Therefore, based on this, the quality of this type of service depends on how accountants are managing the service provided, seeking the satisfaction of their customers.

Although the majority of the studies use the “SERVQUAL” scale ( Parasuraman et al. , 1988 ), this measurement instrument considers only the functional dimensions of service quality. The scale does not consider specific contexts, and thus does not consider industry-specific characteristics ( Fleischman et al. , 2017 ). It is important to highlight that none of the papers focused on developing measurement scales designed specifically for accounting services. Since accounting services are within the KIBS classification ( Santos and Spring, 2015 ), many services are unique and there is an opportunity for future research to develop a more specific measurement scale, based on a more extensive and in-depth analysis of the factors that may contribute to the perception of quality of its unique features.

5. Cluster analysis

Our cluster analysis considered the occurrence of keywords and the ties between them using VOSviewer. We present our results in Figure 2 . The circles closest to each other demonstrate the groupings of themes in analyzed studies. Thus, this cluster analysis is important to identify themes and concepts that are more discussed in accounting service quality studies.

Results from the cluster analysis, presented by Figure 1 , indicate the existence of three clusters. The first one is more aligned with market competitiveness and how accounting firms can retain its customers and capture new ones. The second cluster is aligned with consumption behavior and perceptions about the company image. The third cluster is related with the professional features of accounting services and the required services providers' knowledge.

5.1 Competitiveness

The first cluster is related to how firms manage their competitive advantages. It is formed by the following keywords: competitiveness, accounting firms, SERVQUAL, quality of consumer services, customer satisfaction and behavior intentions. This cluster has a more focused discussion in understanding how customer satisfaction and perception of service quality may be managed as intangible assets in order to create competitive advantages ( Armstrong and Smith, 1996 ). Bean et al. (1996) , for example, found results indicating that one-to-one communication, pricing and customer satisfaction directly impact customers' choices, thus being a way to retain current customers and to attract new ones.

Given the great competition in accounting context, other variables were studied to understand how to reach competitive advantages in this sector. From customers' point of view, the accounting firms' market share can indicate the quality of service delivered. This statement can explain why the performance of international accounting firms is better than non-international ( Lee, 2013 ).

In order to identify factors that impacts customers' choices, studies measure quality perception based on SERVQUAL variables. For Armstrong and Smith (1996) , there are intangibles (e.g. reputation and professional quality) and external factors (e.g. word-of-mouth and employees' behaviors). For Keng and Liu (1998) , to choose an accounting audit firm, it is relevant the reputation, the audit fees charged and the other services provided. In line with this last one, Lee (2013) argue that given the last years changes in customers' demands, accounting firms needs to provide more analytical and consultant services. This can be a way to increase the competitive advantages.

5.2 Image and perceived value

The second cluster considers issues related to customers' perceptions and expectations about the firms. The main keywords are consumption behavior, perception, corporate strategy and corporate image. Papers in this cluster usually focus on understanding service quality via the analysis of customers' opinions (e.g. Aga and Safakli, 2007 ; Cameran et al. , 2010 ; Lee et al. , 2016 ). Overall, our review indicates that long-term relationships between accounting firms and its customers may be relevant for service quality, indicating a relation between satisfaction and customer loyalty. Moreover, the perceived quality affects corporate image of the accounting services provider, what could be relevant to explain the willingness of the customer to recommend the firm for other potential customers ( Cameran et al. , 2010 ; Fleischman et al. , 2017 ).

Since service quality literature was developed ( Gronroos, 1984 ; Parasuraman et al. , 1988 ), consumer expectations and perceptions are a key point to capture higher level of quality delivered. In accounting context, this is not different. For Bean et al. (1996) , accounting consumers' expectations are linked with satisfaction and quality of the last service provided. If those expectations are met, the image of the firm is positively impacted. According Keller (1993) , “image” refers to the perceptions of a company reflecting the associations presented in the consumer's memory. Corporate image may impact customer satisfaction about the service ( Aga and Safakli, 2007 ; Cameran et al. , 2010 ).

In literature, the relationship between service quality and firm's image can be seen as a cycle. The more quality the service has, the better the company's image will be perceived ( Bean et al. , 1996 ). On the other hand, the better image the company has, the perception of quality will be higher. To explain this second phenomenon, it is important to treat the service provider image as a mediator of the relationship between the perception of functional/technical quality and overall service quality ( Fleischman et al. , 2017 ).

5.3 Knowledge and professionalism

Finally, the third cluster considers accounting services characterized as KIBS. The relevant keywords are professional services, audit firms, small firms and interpersonal communications. Studies like Freeman and Dart (1993) and Olorunniwo and Hsu (2008) argue that the exchange of information and knowledge among the firms that provide accounting services indicate the need for better interpersonal communication between them and their customers. In addition, service coproduction and the constant need for innovation are features of the accounting services.

In professional services as accounting, the communication between services providers and customers might generate better technical and processual quality. Consumers highlight different points about communication that are linked to the accountant's knowledge and professionalism. For example, as the willingness in responding client's questions about the service, to inform about laws and regulations and the capacity to understand the customer's point of view ( Sarapaivanich and Patterson, 2015 ). Therefore, these aspects highlight the accountants' necessity to have a good technical knowledge aligned with communication ability.

Another point about professionalism and knowledge is the level of specialization of the service provider. Companies from different industries have different regulations and specificities. Thus, there is a demand for highly specific knowledge about the client's industry. Keng and Liu (1998) argue that one of the most important reasons for choosing an audit firm is its level of industry specialization.

6. Discussion

Taken together, our results indicate that there are several research opportunities for studies that are focused on accounting services quality. Most of the papers were published in areas like services management, and the literature still lacks theoretical development about the relation between specific factors that may be relevant for the perception of quality for accounting services providers.

Although many accounting services providers exist around the globe, only 22 papers attempt to consider this type of specialized service, despite its importance ( Aga and Safakli, 2007 ; Bean et al. , 1996 ; Lee et al. , 2016 ; Groff et al. , 2015 ). Papers are usually discussed more on the “services” field, and not in accounting Journals. It may be relevant for accounting researchers to develop studies in order to better understand how accounting services are perceived and how this perception is affected by multiple factors.

Our results also indicate the presence of three main streams in accounting service quality: (1) competitiveness, (2) image and perceived value and (3) knowledge and professionalism. These three themes highlight different lens and levels to understand the perception of quality in accounting services.

First, relationships and comparisons between accounting firms can improve quality perceptions of delivered services. Market share, services' price and communication one-to-one are important to choose the service provider ( Armstrong and Smith, 1996 ; Lee, 2013 ). Thus, delivering quality to market is not only important for retail sector, in accounting services this is also considered. The management of an accounting firm (or office) and competition can generate opportunities to improve our knowledge in this area. We noted that none of the 22 papers investigated considers a comparison between different accounting sub-areas. It is important to understand the different ways to manage quality in accounting, audit, non-audit or tax services. In addition, there is a lack of case studies about accounting firms' successes and failures and how digital tools implementation can impact the quality of the services. It would be useful the development of conceptual models for managers in accounting firms (or offices).

The second issue is related to the customers' perceptions and corporate image. There is a main discussion about the perception of quality and how it can improve customers' satisfaction and loyalty. Accounting firms' image is also important to generate a better perception about service quality ( Aga and Safakli, 2007 ; Cameran et al. , 2010 ). While client focus is widely explored in marketing- and services-related literature, there is a lack of discussion among the accounting scientific community. This can be demonstrated by the fact that accounting service quality papers are mostly published in non-accounting journals. There is an opportunity to generate a theory that explores services quality, from the initial contact with the client until after the provision of services. In addition, previous studies captured perceived service quality using general models as SERVQUAL ( Parasuraman et al. , 1988 ). With a better understanding about how clients behave, there is a possibility to create new service quality measurement models based specific accounting clients' perceptions.

Finally, the third issue is accounting firms as KIBS. We can investigate the quality of accounting services looking for professional features of these firms. There is a need for innovation and constant investments in training employees. Technical knowledge is an important characteristic of the accounting services industry ( Bakre, 2006 ). Thus, our findings indicate the need for a greater focus on accountants' education. For example, accounting and auditing Standards change constantly. Even though it is a relevant subject for accounting firms as KIBS, accountants' education was not the central point of any of the 22 articles investigated. A better understanding about accounting education providers and their organization might contribute to a better perception about the development of professional skills in order to achieve their learning outcomes.

In addition, there is an ongoing discussion about changes in services features and how a portion of accounting services may be digitalized and automated ( Lee et al. , 2016 ). If competition increases, it may be relevant to study how clients perceive quality ( Fleischman et al. , 2017 ). There is still a lack of a theoretical base developed specifically for accounting services. Most of the literature is based on broader theories related to services quality (e.g. Aga and Safakli, 2007 ; Lee et al. , 2016 ). It would be desirable that accounting services could be studied more specifically, benefiting from other areas that study KIBS.

The central issue to be explored is a better understanding about the role of the clients in relation to the provision of accounting services. According to our systematic literature review, clients have been treated secondarily, despite their relevance. It appears that there is still a myopic view of the literature about accounting services, considering only the service itself, disregarding certain external elements, like the client. Thus, the development of theories and methods for measuring accounting services quality, considering the client centricity in the process, is an important contribution to the accounting area. Accounting professionals can be best trained and prepared to delivery results expected by clients, benefiting everyone: accountants, clients, market and society. This has been the quality role of services in many areas, including accounting.

7. Conclusions

In view of a dispersed literature with different results, our study aimed to review and organize the accounting service quality theme, creating a path for the development of a main theory. We found 22 papers in scientific journals from Scopus and Web of Science databases. Our study leads to the conclusion that accounting service quality is more explored in other scientific areas such as service management and marketing. Even though there are three clear streams divided into competitiveness, image and perceived value and knowledge and professionalism, the accounting service quality theory needs to be further explored and well developed by accounting researchers.

7.1 Research agenda

Given this need for further exploration in the field, we identify several research opportunities in order to contribute with the area improvement:

Success and failures of accounting services providers: there is a need to develop more studies in order to understand the business phenomenon behind the provision of accounting services. Although some studies have focused on factors that impact client perception, we have not identified any work that explored management strategies. Research can be developed focusing on the determinants of successes and failures by accounting services providers, using primary or secondary data. For example, considering the ability for professional accountants to manage their own businesses. In this stream of research, entrepreneurship theories, such as innovation theory, may be applied.

Client centricity in accounting services: in services quality theory, clients' perceptions about the firms are important ( Cronin and Taylor, 1992 ). One of our clusters identify “corporate image and perceived value' as a key theme for accounting service quality. Studying the relationship between clients and providers might reveal new knowledge about accounting as a business and could contribute for more discussions about client-centricity in accounting services. Qualitative research, as case studies, can help to achieve new theories about the accounting services with this marketing approach. Further, quantitative studies with primary and secondary data can validate the proposed theories or hypotheses.

Digital accounting services: it is important to understand which type of service is being digitalized/automated and how digitalization will require new skills and bring an impact on the future of the profession. There is an open question if digital accounting services will increase competition and its effects on pricing. Understanding the client of digital services is a key to study factors that are relevant for quality perception. Qualitative research may contribute to identify potentially relevant factors for clients' perceptions, leading to quantitative designs in order to confirm the new proposed theoretical understanding about accounting digital services quality. Management theories may be relevant as a starting point for this research stream.

Services quality and accounting education: as discussed before, accounting services are characterized as KIBS. Thus, the service depends on employees' technical knowledge and training. As such, we could benefit about a better understanding on how accounting education considers (or not) services quality. The perceptions from professors and students may reveal how services quality is treated in accounting education programs in order to prepare current and future professionals. Future research may be focused on identifying challenges to be discussed in accounting as a discipline or within an educational framework.

Investigation of service quality in different types of accounting services: there are a range of sub-areas in accounting such as auditing, managerial and tax services. We have identified previous studies in some of these sub-areas, but none has compared the perception of quality considering their specificities. Thus, differences among sub-areas of accounting services could be explored in order to improve services quality theory that considers the range of accounting services.

Development of an accounting services quality theory with a measurement model: overall, there is a need for a theory designed for accounting services quality. The literature, so far, indicates an initial relevant path. However, prior papers are based on general theories and exploratory studies. The first step would be to identify quality attributes for accounting services. Qualitative research, based on interviews and focus groups, may be useful for identifying the attributes for subsequent empirical testing. The attributes may lead to the development of a specific measurement scale, resulting in an applied theory to accounting services quality.

Taken together, this research agenda shows how accounting services quality is relevant and is an emerging topic that demands future research about accounting professionals' skills, their activities and how their clients perceive quality in an environment of constant change.

7.2 Implications and limitations

Our research provides several contributions and implications. In theoretical terms, our results present an overview of a theme still little explored in accounting field. The cluster framework demonstrates current approaches in order to organize the accounting service quality streams. Further, the research agenda aims to contribute with the evolution of this research field, providing some gaps still not explored by accounting researchers. Given that, it is possible to stimulate new studies in order to create a more robust discussion about service quality in accounting literature.

In practical terms, we highlighted the importance in considering the service quality management in accounting firms. Given the current changes on services because of the digitalization and the increased market competition, it is important to generate strategies in order to meet customer expectations. In addition, by generating a more organized discussion and presenting the mean themes of the accounting service quality (knowledge, professionalism, competitiveness and image), it creates a perception of what need to be taken into account by audit and accounting firms to improve their quality management.

Although the results of our research may have several contributions, we also highlight some limitations. First, despite covering many scientific journals, our choice for using Scopus and Web of Science databases may provide some level of bias. New literature reviews could be preceded using different databases in order to find papers published in journals not covered in this current review. On the other hand, it is important to highlight that Scopus and Web of Science are the currently most important databases in the field. Second, given the objective of this study, we did not make a deep comparison of accounting service quality with other types of services. Further studies could make a literature review about service quality covering different types of KIBS to compare the results presented in literature about these services. This will be useful to provide discussions about the differences and similarities of these services in quality management perspective.

In sum, the path suggested by our study is the first step toward the construction of the accounting services quality theory. New gaps may arise with the topic increasement, as well as publications in accounting journals.

Methodological procedures

Cluster analysis

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Further reading

Doloreux , D. and Laperrière , A. ( 2014 ), “ Internationalisation and innovation in the knowledge-intensive business services ”, Service Business , Vol. 8 No. 4 , pp. 635 - 657 , doi: 10.1007/s11628-013-0211-0 .

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Pina , K. and Tether , B.S. ( 2016 ), “ Towards understanding variety in knowledge intensive business services by distinguishing their knowledge bases ”, Research Policy , Vol. 45 No. 2 , pp. 401 - 413 , doi: 10.1016/j.respol.2015.10.005 .

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq/Brazil), project 304209/2018-0, by Foundation for Research Support of Espírito Santo (FAPES/Brazil), projects 84513772 (599/2018) and 85395650 (228/2019), by Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT/Portugal) through NECE (Núcleo de Estudos em Ciências Empresariais), project UID/GES/04630/2020 and by IFTS (Instituto Fucape de Tecnologias Sociais), project 2018-2021.

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Main article content, management control systems and strategy: trends, gaps and opportunities for future research, asmamaw getie, padakanti laxmikantham, abebaw kassie.

The relationship between management control systems and strategy is widely researched with varied conceptualization of the relationship and diverse range of theories, methods, and contexts. This paper is an analytical review of literature aimed at documenting an understanding of the relationship between management control systems and strategies to comprehend existing knowledge, identify gaps, and sketch future research directions. Articles were located using keywords from the Scopus database and Google Scholar search engine for the period from 1997 to 2022. The review was conducted by classifying studies in the research context, theory, research approach with its paradigm, and understanding of the relationship between management control system and strategy. After classification, the contributions of research to the field and the lessons learned from these studies are discussed. The findings revealed that prior research mainly focused on the business sector of the developed market context, mainly illuminated by contingency and institutional theories, philosophical divides of realism and interpretive, and most of them assume a one-directional relationship between management control systems and strategy. The findings imply that further study can enhance understanding by researching in a different context, using robust alternative theories, a critical realist view of mixed methods research, and a bidirectional conceptualization of the relationship between Management control systems and Strategy.

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Toward a framework for selecting indicators of measuring sustainability and circular economy in the agri-food sector: a systematic literature review

• LIFE CYCLE SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT
• Published: 02 March 2022

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• Cecilia Silvestri   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2528-601X 1 ,
• Luca Silvestri   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6754-899X 2 ,
• Michela Piccarozzi   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9717-9462 1 &
• Alessandro Ruggieri 1  

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A Correction to this article was published on 24 March 2022

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The implementation of sustainability and circular economy (CE) models in agri-food production can promote resource efficiency, reduce environmental burdens, and ensure improved and socially responsible systems. In this context, indicators for the measurement of sustainability play a crucial role. Indicators can measure CE strategies aimed to preserve functions, products, components, materials, or embodied energy. Although there is broad literature describing sustainability and CE indicators, no study offers such a comprehensive framework of indicators for measuring sustainability and CE in the agri-food sector.

Starting from this central research gap, a systematic literature review has been developed to measure the sustainability in the agri-food sector and, based on these findings, to understand how indicators are used and for which specific purposes.

The analysis of the results allowed us to classify the sample of articles in three main clusters (“Assessment-LCA,” “Best practice,” and “Decision-making”) and has shown increasing attention to the three pillars of sustainability (triple bottom line). In this context, an integrated approach of indicators (environmental, social, and economic) offers the best solution to ensure an easier transition to sustainability.

Conclusions

The sample analysis facilitated the identification of new categories of impact that deserve attention, such as the cooperation among stakeholders in the supply chain and eco-innovation.

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Source: Authors’ elaboration. Notes: The graph shows the temporal distribution of the articles under analysis

Source: Authors’ elaborations. Notes: The graph shows the time distribution of articles from the three major journals

Source: Authors’ elaboration. Notes: The graph shows the composition of the sample according to the three clusters identified by the analysis

Source: Authors’ elaboration. Notes: The graph shows the distribution of articles over time by cluster

Source: Authors’ elaboration. Notes: The graph shows the network visualization

Source: Authors’ elaboration. Notes: The graph shows the overlay visualization

Source: Authors’ elaboration. Notes: The graph shows the classification of articles by scientific field

Source: Authors’ elaboration. Notes: Article classification based on their cluster to which they belong and scientific field

Source: Authors’ elaboration

Source: Authors’ elaboration. Notes: The graph shows the distribution of items over time based on TBL

Source: Authors’ elaboration. Notes: The graph shows the Pareto diagram highlighting the most used indicators in literature for measuring sustainability in the agri-food sector

Source: Authors’ elaboration. Notes: The graph shows the distribution over time of articles divided into conceptual and empirical

Source: Authors’ elaboration. Notes: The graph shows the classification of articles, divided into conceptual and empirical, in-depth analysis

Source: Authors’ elaboration. Notes: The graph shows the geographical distribution of the authors

Source: Authors’ elaboration. Notes: The graph shows the distribution of authors according to the continent from which they originate

Source: Authors’ elaboration. Notes: The graph shows the time distribution of publication of authors according to the continent from which they originate

Source: Authors’ elaboration. Notes: Sustainability measurement indicators and impact categories of LCA, S-LCA, and LCC tools should be integrated in order to provide stakeholders with best practices as guidelines and tools to support both decision-making and measurement, according to the circular economy approach

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A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-022-02038-9

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Department of Economy, Engineering, Society and Business Organization, University of “Tuscia, ” Via del Paradiso 47, 01100, Viterbo, VT, Italy

Cecilia Silvestri, Michela Piccarozzi & Alessandro Ruggieri

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The original online version of this article was revised: a number of ill-placed paragraph headings were removed and the source indication "Authors' elaborations" was added to Tables 1-3.

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Silvestri, C., Silvestri, L., Piccarozzi, M. et al. Toward a framework for selecting indicators of measuring sustainability and circular economy in the agri-food sector: a systematic literature review. Int J Life Cycle Assess (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-022-02032-1

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Received : 15 June 2021

Accepted : 16 February 2022

Published : 02 March 2022

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-022-02032-1

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