STRATEGY AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING: AN INVESTIGATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL CONFIGURATIONS Authors:

The study examines the alignment and effectiveness of strategic choice and strategic management accounting (SMA) system design configurations. Six configurations were derived empirically deploying a cluster analysis of data collected from a sample of 193 large Slovenian companies. The first four clusters appear to provide some support for the central configurational proposition that higher levels of vertical and horizontal configurational alignments are associated with higher levels of performance. Evidence that contradicts the theory is also apparent, however, as the remaining two clusters exhibit high degrees of SMA vertical and horizontal alignment, but low performance levels. A discussion is provided suggesting that this latter observation might result from the final two clusters failing to develop strategic postures that are compatible to the radically changed business context that has arisen since the replacement of the centrally controlled economy with a market economy in Slovenia. STRATEGY AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING: AN INVESTIGATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL CONFIGURATIONS