Papers by Bernhard Wieder
International Journal of Information Systems and Project Management, Jan 31, 2022
This study investigates how managerial decision-making is influenced by Big Data analytics, analy... more This study investigates how managerial decision-making is influenced by Big Data analytics, analysts' interaction skills and quantitative skills of senior and middle managers. The results of a cross-sectional survey of senior IT managers reveal that Big Data analytics (BDA) creates an incentive for managers to base more of their decisions on analytic insights. However, we also find that interaction skills of analysts andeven more so-managers' quantitative skills are stronger drivers of analytics-based decision-making. Finally, our analysis reveals that, contrary to mainstream perceptions, managers in smaller organizations are more capable in terms of quantitative skills, and they are significantly more likely to base their decisions on analytics than managers in large organizations. Considering the important role of managers' quantitative skills in leveraging analytic decision support, our findings suggest that smaller firms may owe some of their analytic advantages to the fact that they have managers who are closer to their analystsand analytics more generally.
Australian Accounting Review, Nov 1, 2000
Over the past two decades, the digital revolution has brought along (a) ‘Big Data’, i.e. data whi... more Over the past two decades, the digital revolution has brought along (a) ‘Big Data’, i.e. data which have rapidly become too big in volume, too diverse in nature and too rapidly changing to be handled in conventional databases and analysed using conventional tools, and (b) ‘data science’, “the study of the generalizable extraction of knowledge from data” (Dhar 2013), which develops and applies tools to manage and analyse (Big) Data. Data scientists are seen as new breed of managerial decision supporters, and insofar cross traditional management accounting territory. The aim of this study is to investigate the current and predict the future relationships between management accounting and the emerging data science discipline, based on a systematic analysis of the academic and practitioner literatures. While there is very little empirical evidence of an actual impact of data science on the management accounting profession, such impacts are predicted for the near future. Management accountants are expected to break with their traditions and collaborate with data scientists for mutual benefits. On the one hand, management accountants can be ‘data businesspeople’ or ‘horizontal data scientists’, who contribute essential business knowledge and data understanding to data science/Big Data projects. To succeed in such efforts, established and graduating management accountants face a need for up-skilling in technology, statistics, data mining, etc. and move into deeper analysis. Data scientists, on the other hand, can use their technical expertise to enrich established management accounting techniques and practices (e.g. the Balanced Scorecard, forecasting, etc.) with more advanced statistical or machine learning techniques
This study investigates how organizations can achieve competitive advantage with data analytics. ... more This study investigates how organizations can achieve competitive advantage with data analytics. Two dimensions of the value creation process are investigated: (1) the input or antecedents of Big Data analytics (BDA) and (2) the mechanisms required to translate BDA investments into increased organizational performance. The results of survey responses from senior finance managers across a broad range of industries in Australia reveal that analytics-based decision-making (ABDM) is the main mechanism for converting analytic capabilities into competitive advantage. The technical, interaction and business skills of analysts are important antecedents of both BDA sophistication and ABDM, but the strongest driver of the latter business managers’ quantitative skills. We conclude that competing with analytics does not just require investments into analysts’ skills and related tools and IT architectures, but also into quantitative skills of business managers. Finally, our analysis reveals that managers of smaller organizations are more likely to base their decisions on analytics than those in large organizations
Our research investigates the impact of management accounting (MA) information quality on organis... more Our research investigates the impact of management accounting (MA) information quality on organisational performance by considering the role of business intelligence and analytics (BI/A) systems and environmental uncertainty. By drawing on the resource-based view, dynamic capabilities theory and information and systems quality frameworks, we develop a model which establishes the scope and frequency of MA decision support methods used in an organisation and MA information service levels as performance enhancing aspects of MA information quality. Using survey data collected from accounting and finance executives, the results of our PLS-SEM path model confirm that both of these aspects of MA information quality are positively associated with organisational performance and that such effects are – at least partly – moderated by environmental uncertainty. We also find strong support for the predicted impact of BI/A systems quality on both MA information quality constructs. Finally, the results for our path model analysis also reveal that the effects between BI/A systems quality and MA information quality characteristics also ‘translate’ into a significant indirect effect of BI/A systems quality on performance
Over the past two decades, the digital revolution has brought along (a) ‘Big Data’, i.e. data whi... more Over the past two decades, the digital revolution has brought along (a) ‘Big Data’, i.e. data which have rapidly become too big in volume, too diverse in nature and too rapidly changing to be handled in conventional databases and analysed using conventional tools, and (b) ‘data science’, “the study of the generalizable extraction of knowledge from data” (Dhar 2013), which develops and applies tools to manage and analyse (Big) Data. Data scientists are seen as new breed of managerial decision supporters, and insofar cross traditional management accounting territory. The aim of this study is to investigate the current and predict the future relationships between management accounting and the emerging data science discipline, based on a systematic analysis of the academic and practitioner literatures. While there is very little empirical evidence of an actual impact of data science on the management accounting profession, such impacts are predicted for the near future. Management accountants are expected to break with their traditions and collaborate with data scientists for mutual benefits. On the one hand, management accountants can be ‘data businesspeople’ or ‘horizontal data scientists’, who contribute essential business knowledge and data understanding to data science/Big Data projects. To succeed in such efforts, established and graduating management accountants face a need for up-skilling in technology, statistics, data mining, etc. and move into deeper analysis. Data scientists, on the other hand, can use their technical expertise to enrich established management accounting techniques and practices (e.g. the Balanced Scorecard, forecasting, etc.) with more advanced statistical or machine learning techniques
Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 2006
PurposeThe purpose of this article is to provide further insights into the adoption of enterprise... more PurposeThe purpose of this article is to provide further insights into the adoption of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and the impacts on organisational performance. It aims at challenging existing claims of ERP vendors with regard to the benefits of their products and at providing evidence of the benefits of bundling ERPS with supply chain management systems.Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted to collect data on several aspects of organisational performance in companies that adopted ERPS and/or SCMS and the respective control groups. Financial key performance indicators were used to measure overall firm performance and the supply‐chain operations reference model to operationalise performance at the business process (supply chain) level.FindingsThe key results contradict the claims of ERPS vendors insofar as no significant performance differences were found between ERPS adopters and non‐adopters, either at the business process level, or at the overall firm l...
Performance management information systems (PMIS) have been a 'hot topic' for Chief Information O... more Performance management information systems (PMIS) have been a 'hot topic' for Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) for close to a decade. PMIS range from low-functionality spreadsheet-based solutions through to high-functionality business intelligence solutions. As yet, this area has not yet received sufficient academic enquiry. Our research questions concern: what are PMIS functionalities, and whether and how do they contribute to competitive advantage? We conceptualize functionality as reflected by system usability and data multi-dimensionality. We examine functionalities of the two types of PMIS: performance planning systems (for budgeting and forecasting) and performance reporting systems (for reporting results information to management). We apply resource-based theory. We hypothesize mediation chains, in which the two PMIS functionality constructs link to competitive advantage, mediated by performance management capabilities and mediated by a resource-base of organizational culture. We use partial least squares path modelling using survey data collected from senior managers of 264 Australian firms. We find support for the hypotheses. We also unexpectedly find that the two types of PMIS functionality operate in sequential, rather than parallel, mediation. The findings have implications for CIOs, CFOs and other managers responsible for development of PMIS.
Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine how accountability is constructed for blockchain s... more PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine how accountability is constructed for blockchain systems. With the aim of increasing knowledge on accountability across three different types of blockchains (public, private and consortium), the researchers ask: how do blockchain systems construct accountability?Design/methodology/approachThis study draws on theorising in the accountability literature to study how blockchains relate to our construction and understanding of accountability. A qualitative field study of the Australian blockchain technology landscape is conducted, with insights garnered from 18 blockchain experts.FindingsFindings reveal that different types of blockchains employ different forms and mechanisms of accountability and in novel ways previously less acknowledged in the literature. Importantly, this study finds that accountability does not require a principal–agent relation and can still manifest in less pure applications of blockchain technology across a wide ran...
Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch ge... more Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence.
Performance management information systems (PMIS) have been a ‘hot topic’ for Chief Information O... more Performance management information systems (PMIS) have been a ‘hot topic’ for Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) for close to a decade. PMIS range from low-functionality spreadsheet-based solutions through to high-functionality business intelligence solutions. As yet, this area has not yet received sufficient academic enquiry. Our research questions concern: what are PMIS functionalities, and whether and how do they contribute to competitive advantage? We conceptualize functionality as reflected by system usability and data multi-dimensionality. We examine functionalities of the two types of PMIS: performance planning systems (for budgeting and forecasting) and performance reporting systems (for reporting results information to management). We apply resource-based theory. We hypothesize mediation chains, in which the two PMIS functionality constructs link to competitive advantage, mediated by performance management capabilities and mediated by a re...
Our research investigates the trending topic ‘finance transformation’ (FT), how FT projects impac... more Our research investigates the trending topic ‘finance transformation’ (FT), how FT projects impact on the quality of business intelligence and analytics (BI/A) systems and to what extent such impacts result in higher internal accounting information service levels. Using survey data collected from accounting and finance executives, the results of our SEM-PLS path model indicate that IT and efficiency centric FT projects lead to higher BI/A systems quality via two mediators: system/data integration and adoption of BA tools in management accounting. We also find that the use of ERP systems in management accounting has a complimentary effect in some of those relationships. Finally, we find that FTP projects actually lead to higher internal accounting information service levels via the above-mentioned indirect relationships, thereby providing first systematic evidence of managerial benefits associated with FT projects.
Performance management information systems (PMIS) have been a ‘hot topic’ for Chief Information O... more Performance management information systems (PMIS) have been a ‘hot topic’ for Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) for close to a decade. PMIS range from low-functionality spreadsheet-based solutions through to high-functionality business intelligence solutions. As yet, this area has not yet received sufficient academic enquiry. Our research questions concern: what are PMIS functionalities, and whether and how do they contribute to competitive advantage? We conceptualize functionality as reflected by system usability and data multi-dimensionality. We examine functionalities of the two types of PMIS: performance planning systems (for budgeting and forecasting) and performance reporting systems (for reporting results information to management). We apply resource-based theory. We hypothesize mediation chains, in which the two PMIS functionality constructs link to competitive advantage, mediated by performance management capabilities and mediated by a re...
This study investigates how managerial decision-making is influenced by Big Data analytics, analy... more This study investigates how managerial decision-making is influenced by Big Data analytics, analysts’ interaction skills and quantitative skills of senior and middle managers. The results of a cross-sectional survey of senior IT managers reveal that Big Data analytics (BDA) creates an incentive for managers to base more of their decisions on analytic insights. However, we also find that interaction skills of analysts and – even more so – managers’ quantitative skills are stronger drivers of analytics-based decision-making. Finally, our analysis reveals that, contrary to mainstream perceptions, managers in smaller organizations are more capable in terms of quantitative skills, and they are significantly more likely to base their decisions on analytics than managers in large organizations. Considering the important role of managers’ quantitative skills in leveraging analytic decision support, our findings suggest that smaller firms may owe some of their analytic advantages to the fact...
This paper utilises the resource-based view as a framework to examine the interactions between in... more This paper utilises the resource-based view as a framework to examine the interactions between information technology (IT) governance, IT management and organisational information systems. Analysis of data collected from medium and large Australian organisations indicates that IT governance capabilities act to improve IT management capabilities which in turn improve the performance of organisational information systems, specifically future-oriented accounting information systems. We propose that these interactions represent the operation of an overarching organisational IT capability. Further analysis finds significant differences in the most effective combinations of IT governance and IT management mechanisms for organisations facing differing levels of environmental turbulence. This finding highlights the importance of utilising IT governance as a higher order organisational capability to reconfigure and align capabilities and resources in response to changing strategic requiremen...
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Papers by Bernhard Wieder