Journal of Management Accounting Research 

About: Journal of Management Accounting Research is an academic journal published by American Accounting Association. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Management accounting & Incentive. It has an ISSN identifier of 1049-2127. Over the lifetime, 442 publications have been published receiving 20514 citations. The journal is also known as: JMAR.

Linking Balanced Scorecard Measures to Size and Market Factors: Impact on Organizational Performance

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between organization size, product life‐cycle stage, market position, balanced scorecard (BSC) usage and organizational performance. Using financial and nonfinancial measures, the BSC appraises four dimensions of performance: customers, financial (or shareholders), learning and growth, and internal aspects. Based on a survey of 66 Australian manufacturing companies, the paper suggests that larger firms make more use of a BSC. In addition, firms that have a higher proportion of new products have a greater tendency to make use of measures related to new products. A firm's market position has not been found to be associated significantly with greater BSC usage. The paper also suggests that greater BSC usage is associated with improved performance, but this relationship does not depend significantly on organization size, product life cycle, or market position.

Innovations in Performance Measurement: Trends and Research Implications

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to foster research on recent innovations in performance measurement by providing a rich description of emerging measurement practices and suggesting directions for future research. Using survey data collected by consulting firms and government organizations, we examine three measurement trends: (1) economic value measures, (2) non-financial performance measures and the balanced scorecard, and (3) performance measurement initiatives in government agencies. Existing research on these topics is reviewed and research opportunities are highlighted.

The constructive approach in management accounting research

Abstract: The constructive approach means problem solving through the construction of models, diagrams, plans, organizations, etc. This mode of research is widely used in technical sciences, mathematics, operations analysis, and clinical medicine. The doctrine of management accounting includes several important examples of managerial constructions, such as the ROI-measure in profitcenter accounting or the DCF-techniques in capital budgeting. However, almost all of such constructions have been developed in companies or consulting bureaus. We argue that the constructive approach is used too scarcely in management accounting research. Our review of the accounting literature shows that surprisingly few of the most significant managerial constructions originate in management accounting research. Typically the academic literature has merely analyzed and interpreted the innovations constructed elsewhere after the fact. A potential explanation for this scarcity is the adoption of the scientific ideals of accounting either from the natural or social sciences. Another may be that the design of useful managerial constructions tends to result in a consulting relation between the researcher and the firm, which inherently limits the possibility of publishing the results. Also we argue that the constructive approach, grounded in management accounting theory and leading to working managerial constructions, satisfies the requirements of valid applied research. Thus, we propose the constructive approach as a significant option for management accounting researchers to enter the field of relevant and useful problem solving. This direction for research would be one potentially fruitful answer to the recent claims that management accounting has lost its relevance.

Communicating and Controlling Strategy: An Empirical Study of the Effectiveness of the Balanced Scorecard

Abstract: This paper reports evidence on the effectiveness of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as a strategy communication and management‐control device. This study first reviews communication and management control literatures that identify attributes of effective communication and control of strategy. Second, the study offers a model of communication and control applicable to the BSC. The study then analyzes empirical interview and archival data to model the use and assess the communication and control effectiveness of the BSC. The study includes data from multiple divisions of a large, international manufacturing company. Data are from BSC designers, administrators, and North American managers whose divisions are objects of the BSC. The study accumulates evidence regarding the challenges of designing and implementing the BSC faced by even a large, well‐funded company. These findings may be general‐izable to other companies adopting or considering adopting the BSC as a strategic and management control device. Data in...