A Relational View of Accounting Information Sharing

Today’s organizations are characterized by a network of relationships with various customers and suppliers. As such, the critical resources leading to competitive advantage may no longer reside within a firm’s own boundaries and instead be a part of the network of relationships. This perspective, known as the relational view of the firm, suggests that a firm’s critical resources may be embedded in the routines and processes associated with inter-firm relationships. One such inter-firm process is the sharing of accounting information. Using the relational view of the firm, this study develops a research model with three antecedent factors of accounting information-sharing (electronic integration systems, trust, and knowledge-sharing routines) which can lead to benefits associated with inter-organizational competitive advantage. We find that the factors of trust and knowledge-sharing have direct effects on accounting information-sharing, while the factor of electronic integration has an indirect effect through the enabling of knowledge-sharing routines.