Management accounting information systems sophistication, family control, and controller involvement in strategy development

Existing research on controllers’ involvement in strategy development has identified several antecedents but has not explored the role of sophisticated management accounting information systems (MAIS). While qualitative studies debate whether sophisticated MAIS enable greater controller involvement in strategy development, findings remain inconclusive. Using a survey of 136 German Mittelstand firms, we examine this relationship quantitatively and theorise that it is less pronounced in family-controlled firms, where formal management accounting is often underutilised and strategy development is typically confined to family members. Our results confirm a positive relationship between MAIS sophistication and controller involvement in strategy development but show that this association is weaker in family firms. Additional analyses suggest that high-quality data and insights, rather than time freed up by MAIS, primarily enable such controller involvement. Furthermore, the moderating effect of family control seems to be mainly due to a weaker relationship between MAIS sophistication and the support role of controllers in strategy development, rather than their advisory role. In summary, our findings are consistent with the notion that greater MAIS sophistication pays off for controllers by increasing their involvement in strategy development. In addition, our findings shed light on why this may be less the case in family firms.