The indirect effect of strategic management accounting in the relationship between CEO characteristics and their networking activities, and company performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of chief executive officer (CEO) characteristics and involvement in networks on strategic management accounting (SMA) and, in turn, the indirect effect of SMA on company performance. Design/methodology/approach A model is advanced and tested using partial least-squares path modelling and data were collected from a sample of 121 service small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. Findings The results indicate significant and positive relationships between the CEO education and the application of SMA as well as between involvement in networks and SMA. Moreover, it is found that SMA has an indirect effect in relations of CEO education, involvement in networks and company performance. Practical implications SMEs’ leaders may realize their important role in affecting outcomes by their choices, which are in turn affected by their characteristics and activities. Originality/value This study provides an empirical evidence on the impact of two new factors on the SMA by considering contingency theory and upper echelons theory simultaneously for explaining relationships and developing a new model.