Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the level of adoption and benefit obtained from a range of management accounting practices (MAPs) in Thai organizations and analyze to these by reference to various strategic typologies. Design/methodology/approach – Contingency theory, proposing a fit between MAPs and a comprehensive set of strategic typologies is used. Factor analysis, cluster analysis, and Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA is applied to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. Findings – It was observed that firms pursuing differentiation/prospector/entrepreneurial/build strategies significantly report higher benefit from contemporary MAPs. Firms with a cost leadership strategy were, as expected, found to obtain higher benefit from traditional MAPs. Contrary to expectations, entrepreneurial firms reported higher benefit from traditional MAPs than conservative firms. Research limitations/implications – Like all survey work this relies on questionnaire responses of individual organization members. A selection approach was adopted so no direct relationship with organization performance was investigated. Practical implications – Although use of the full range of MAPs is reported there is still reliance on traditional MAPs. Hence further exposure of businesses and practitioners to contemporary techniques is recommended in training, professional development, and interactions with international partners. Originality/value – The paper provides insight into MAPs in Thailand, an emerging economy and one with limited published academic research in management accounting. It incorporates four strategic typologies which previously have been mainly used individually in MA research.

Purpose -Though intellectual capital (IC) has received much attention for more than a decade, there is a lack of consensus on its components and definition. IC is a multi-disciplinary concept and the understanding of it varies across different business-related disciplines. This paper seeks to propose a grouping of IC items based on empirical evidence in the form of managers' responses to questions about the availability of information about IC inside their companies. Design/methodology/approach -A postal questionnaire was implemented across 520 companies listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia. The empirical grouping of IC derived by factor analysis is compared with a priori groupings constructed from the IC literature. Findings -It is found that the conventional three a priori categories -namely human capital, customer capital and structural capital -expand into eight facets. Nevertheless, there is remarkable consistency between literature-based expectations and empirical groupings.Research limitations/implications -The paper takes a broad scope perspective and in this rapidly evolving field, is based on information in place in 2005. In addition, the usual limitations of postal questionnaire surveys apply. Extension of this research approach to other cultures may reveal a different set of groupings and such research is encouraged. Practical implications -Managers and designers of information systems may use the findings as a benchmark against which to evaluate their own systems or proposals. More significantly, the eight-factor model facilitates conceptualisation, measurement and management of IC and the preparation of IC reports. Originality/value -This evidence-based confirmation of the broad three-category model, together with the empirical identification of more detailed facets, makes a contribution to the as yet largely normative literature on the classification of the components of intellectual capital.

Structured Abstract:Purpose: Several well-known managerial accounting performance measurement models rely on causal assumptions. Whilst users of the models express satisfaction and link them with improved organizational performance, academic research, of the real-world applications, shows few reliable statistical associations. This paper provides a discussion on the 'problematic' of causality in a performance measurement setting.Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual study based on an analysis and synthesis of the literature from managerial accounting, organizational theory, strategic management and social scientific causal modelling. Findings:The analysis indicates that dynamic, complex and uncertain environments may challenge any reliance upon valid causal models. Due to cognitive limitations and judgmental biases, managers may fail to trace correct cause-and-effect understanding of the value creation in their organizations. However, even lacking this validity, causal models can support strategic learning and perform as organizational guides if they are able to mobilize managerial action. Research limitations/implications:Future research should highlight the characteristics necessary for elaboration of convincing and appealing causal models and the social process of their construction. Type footer information hereType header information here Practical implications: Managers of organizations using causal models should be clear on the purposes of their particular models and their limitations. In particular, difficulties are observed in specifying detailed cause and effect relations and their potential for communicating and directing attention. They should therefore construct their models to suit the particular purpose envisaged.Originality/value: This paper provides an interdisciplinary and holistic view on the issue of causality in managerial accounting models. Keywords * Corresponding authorThe authors thank the constructive comments provided by two anonymous reviewers and the financial support for presenting this paper at conferences provided by Spanish research grants ECO2010-22105-C-03 and SEJ2006-13537/ECON MAJ 689_Final, proofread 2 Abstract Purpose: Several well-known managerial accounting performance measurement models rely on causal assumptions. Whilst users of the models express satisfaction and link them with improved organizational performance, academic research, of the realworld applications, shows few reliable statistical associations. This paper provides a discussion on the 'problematic' of causality in a performance measurement setting.Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual study based on an analysis and synthesis of the literature from managerial accounting, organizational theory, strategic management and social scientific causal modelling. Findings:The analysis indicates that dynamic, complex and uncertain environments may challenge any reliance upon valid causal models. Due to cognitive limitations and judgmental biases, managers may fail to trace correct cause-and-effe...

This paper aims to investigate the certain types of management accounting practices (MAPs) that are appropriate to the specific characteristics of Thai companies. The study uses survey method to obtain 135 responses from accounting managers of both manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries listed on Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). Perceived environmental uncertainty (PEU), competitive strategy, and size were found to have impact on MAPs. Firms operating in higher PEU obtain higher benefit from both contemporary and traditional MAPs. In line with expectations, firms pursuing prospector strategies perceive higher benefit from contemporary MAPs than those pursuing defender strategies. No relationship has been found between competitive strategy and traditional MAPs. Larger firms also obtain higher benefit from both contemporary and traditional MAPs than smaller firms. The findings confirm the premise that firms' characteristics reflected in exogenous, strategy, and endogenous variables have influence on the design of management accounting systems in organizations. In particular, prospector firms and those facing high levels of environmental uncertainty should consider increased use of contemporary MAPs. Academics and practitioners should note the continuing benefit perceived from traditional MAPs, a feature confirmed in many pieces of international research.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore several contingency variables, namely environmental uncertainty, business strategy, technological advancement, market to book ratio, size, profitability and industry type in the context of management accounting and the availability of internal intellectual capital (IC) information.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was developed and posted to the managers of Malaysian companies. A multiple regression statistical technique was employed to analyse the data.FindingsIt is found that business strategy and technological advancement of customer service relate positively to the availability of internal IC information in Malaysian companies.Research limitations/implicationsThe relatively small response of usable replies to the questionnaire survey is a limitation of this paper. The finding implies that companies with more internal IC information are more likely to be those of product differentiators and those who have undergone technological advancement of customer service. Malaysian companies tend to have a strong customer orientation and place great emphasis on managing customer capital (CC). Future research can investigate the types of IC information used by Malaysian managers to manage their CC.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature as it examines the relationship between context and IC within a contingency theory framework. Unlike other research which relates to external IC disclosures with firm‐specific variables, this research links contingency factors to internal IC information from related fields (management accounting and external IC reporting).