The Impact of departmental interdependencies and management accounting system use on subunit performance

This study examines the effect of departmental interdependencies and the use of management accounting information for decision-making on subunit performance. It is proposed that higher levels of departmental interdependence are associated with (i) the use of greater amounts of MAS information during task execution and (ii) a greater frequency of MAS information use, which, in turn, are associated with higher subunit performance. The empirical analysis based on data collected from 132 production managers through a survey provides some support for the proposition of an indirect effect of interdependence on subunit performance, acting through a use of greater amounts of MAS information for decision-making, but not for the proposition of an indirect effect acting through a more frequent use of MAS information. Furthermore, additional analyses indicate that the impact of the use of greater amounts of MAS information on subunit performance is substantially more positive for departments experiencing higher levels of interdependence compared with those experiencing lower levels.