Determinant of the Management Accounting Effectiveness in Tourism Firms

Artificial intelligence (AI), rising customer demand for individualized services, and growing need to strike a balance between rising operating costs and service quality are all driving the tourism industry's rapid digital transformation. Effective management accounting systems are now more crucial than ever for facilitating managerial decision-making, boosting organizational competitiveness, and increasing operational efficiency. There is no empirical data on how organizational skills and AI-related investment considerations together affect management accounting effectiveness in tourism businesses, especially in emerging nations, despite the increased focus on digital transformation. This study looks into how management accounting effectiveness in Vietnamese tourism businesses is affected by top management support, accounting staff competency, and AI adoption costs. The study used a sequential research approach that included expert interviews, a pilot survey, and a large-scale quantitative survey. It was based on the Resource-Based View and Contingency Theory. Reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, multiple regression analysis, and Pearson correlation analysis were used to examine the gathered data. The empirical results show that while top management support does not show a statistically significant direct effect, accounting staff competency and AI implementation cost positively and considerably influence management accounting effectiveness. These results imply that, rather than relying solely on managerial dedication, successful management accounting in tourism-related businesses increasingly requires organizational capacities able to combine professional accounting knowledge with commercially viable AI investments. By applying the Resource-Based View and Contingency Theory to the setting of digitally evolving tourism businesses in an emerging economy, the study adds to the body of knowledge in management accounting. In an increasingly competitive and technologically advanced business environment, the findings also have practical implications for tourism managers looking to improve managerial decision-making through accounting human capital development, strategically managed AI implementation, and long-term organizational capability building.