Developing relationships in strategic alliances: Commitment to quality and cooperative interdependence

Organizations are using strategic alliances to develop competitive advantages in quality, innovation, and cost. To capture the potential synergies of these alliances requires that the partners develop long-term relationships. This study develops a model of strategic alliance relationship development based on the theory of cooperative and competitive goal interdependence. Thirty pairs of supplier and customer organizations in Xian, China participated in a survey where the supplier indicated the commitment and goal interdependence and the customer rated the relationship's long-term orientation. Results suggest that the commitment by both supplier and customer organizations to quality develop cooperative interdependence, which leads to effective strategic partnerships.     

Internationalizing the accounting curriculum

The study of international investment and business activities is important, a fact recognized by the AACSB in requiring that all accredited schools incorporate a worldwide dimension into their curricula. The primary purpose of this article is to report how accounting departments are currently satisfying this worldwide dimension requirement. The information presented is based upon responses to a questionnaire sent to all AACSB-accredited accounting departments and programs.     

Management accounting systems change and departmental performance: the influence of managerial information and task uncertainty

Despite the proliferation of new management accounting techniques amidst pressures of organizational and global change, the issue of changes in firm-wide management accounting and control systems (MACSs) has largely been ignored in the research literature. This study explores the indirect effect of MACSs change on departmental performance for a cross-sectional sample of 232 medium-sized Singaporean firms. It is hypothesized that MACSs change affects performance but not directly. Instead, this relationship is mediated by managerial-relevant information (MRI) that is impacted by MACSs change, which, in turn, enhances performance. Task uncertainty is expected to moderate the intervening linkages; specifically, the latter are anticipated to strengthen under conditions of more task variability and task difficulty and, thus, augment the indirect effect of MACSs change on performance. The results offer support for the positive indirect effect of improving departmental performance from more MRI, triggered by MACSs change. Although not large, the indirect effect is strengthened when task variability and task difficulty are high. Overall, the findings are consistent with the stated purposes of management accounting that are embedded in normative definitions, and which are relied upon to motivate the framework for analysis.     

Performance Reporting – The IASB's Proposed Formats of Financial Statements in the Exposure Draft of IAS 1

This paper is a response to the exposure draft of proposed amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements published by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in March 2006. The objective is to bring to the standard setter's attention research that is relevant to the issues raised in the exposure draft. We review analytic, empirical and experimental research that addresses the presentation of income and the format of the income statement. Overall, there is some support for a single statement of (total) recognised income and expense. However, net income is on average more relevant than comprehensive income, which may favour a two-statement approach. While this result is in line with the IASB's option of the two formats, it does not support the IASB's preference for a single statement.     

Book reviews

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Die Verwirklichung des Wettbewerbs in der gewerblichen Wirtschaft

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

The impact of demographics on household personal computer purchasing decisions

The authors examine the relationship between role structure and influence in family decision-making with the changing status of spouses in regard to increased income, education and occupation. Based on a series of personal interviews, this study explores various components of decision-making for the purchase of a home computer. The findings suggest that, although males were overwhelmingly the dominant influence in various stages of decision-making, demographic variables were associated with varying patterns of influence among family members. Differences were also noted between demographic factors and sources of information used prior to purchase results, suggesting that retailers of personal computers would benefit by profiling potential submarkets of this product. Furthermore, children were shown to have input, particularly as initiators, of the decisions concerning home computers