MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING RESEARCH 301
Among the earliest managerial accounting research which adopted a contin-
gency perspective was Hofstede’s (1967) classic field work which found that
economic, technological and sociological considerations have a significant impact
on the way budgeting systems function, concluding that managers used budgetary
information in difficult economic environments to pressure workers; but in more
lucrative environments, the budget was used more in a problem solving mode.
Golembiewski (1964) was also among the earliest to explicitly examine various
aspects of organizational structure in relationship to the use of budgets. In this tra-
dition, Hayes (1977) investigated the appropriateness of management accounting
systems for measuring the effectiveness of different departments in large industrial
organizations, finding that contingency factors proved to be the major predictors
of effectiveness for production departments. Extending this theme, Hirst (1981,
1983) examined external control factors such as environmental uncertainty and
their impact on the reliance on accounting measures of performance.
In applying contingency theories to control systems design, some researchers
have sought to uncover direct relationships between these contextual factors
and organizations’ accounting and information systems (Khandwalla 1972). Tech-
nology also was specifically introduced as a major explanatory variable of an
effective accounting information system by Daft and MacIntosh (1981). Others
have articulated more subtle relationships between contextual factors, structural
characteristics, and control system design (Gordon and Miller 1976; Waterhouse
and Tiessen 1978). For example, Gordon and Miller (1976) hypothesized that
accounting information systems could be designed to cope with environmental
uncertainty by incorporating more nonfinancial data, increasing reporting fre-
quency, and tailoring systems to local needs (see also MacIntosh 1981; Ansari
1977). Dent’s (1987) focus was on the design of formal control systems in com-
plex organizations, being concerned with the question of appropriate contingency
principles underlying the design of such systems.
accounting researchers have adapted this human relations approach and have been concerned
with modifying and assessing the effects of budgetary participation. This research tradition
advocated bringing managers into the budgetary process with the objective of exercising fuller
and more robust control over them (Stedry 1960; Becker and Green 1962). Further extensions of
this human relations research tradition which eventually led into contingency theory included
Schiff and Lewin’s (1970) analysis of the budget process, which identified the dysfunctional
aspects of participative budgeting in terms of using it to create organizational slack. Swieringa
and Moncur’s (1975) study found self-assurance and assertiveness to be the most important
predictors of how managers achieve their budget and how influential they are in the budgeting
process. Otley (1978) studied the use of financial control systems in a coal mining firm and
observed that consideration on the part of the immediate superior may be a moderating factor.
Otley’s (1978, 143) findings suggested that a non-considerate, non-supportive leadership style
combined with high emphasis on budget performance, was primarily ‘‘punitive in its ethos and
may have a net result that is counterproductive.’’ Finally, Brownell (1981, 1982) also examined
the influence of personality as a moderating factor in the budgetary participation process. In
summary of the human relations tradition, research pertaining to managerial accounting suggests
that personality traits, participative budgeting patterns, and other psychological and sociological
factors are important issues to consider in the design of information systems (Milani 1975; Collins
1978). This managerial accounting research tradition eventually included consideration of the
structural factors espoused in contingency theory.