[Authoritarianism has been the most widely studied personality variable in management accounting research. One important line of research has been the role of authoritarianism as a moderating variable in studies which examine the effectiveness of budgetary participation. Results from these studies have been equivocal. In this paper it is argued that the lack of consensus in this research may be a consequence of examining the personality of only one member of the group involved in the participative process, usually the subordinate. It is claimed that improved understanding of the influence of authoritarianism on subordinate attitudes to the job and budgets can be expected if both subordinate and superior authoritarianism are considered together. The results indicate that budgetary participation is important in its own right and the homogeneous authoritarian dyads are positively associated with subordinate outcomes. Moreover, participation is more strongly associated with subordinate job satisfaction and budgetary attitudes in the homogeneous than in the heterogeneous dyad.]

Abstract ABSTRACT: Authoritarianism has been the most widely studied personality variable in management accounting research. One important line of research has been the role of authoritarianism as a moderating variable in studies which examine the effectiveness of budgetary participation. Results from these studies have been equivocal. In this paper it is argued that the lack of consensus in this research may be a consequence of examining the personality of only one member of the group involved in the participative process, usually the subordinate. It is claimed that Improved understanding of the influence of authoritarianism on subordinate attitudes to the job and budgets can be expected if both subordinate and superior authoritarianism are considered together. The results indicate that budgetary participation is important in its own right and the homogeneous authoritarian dyads are positively associated with subordinate outcomes. Moreover, participation is more strongly associated with subordinate job satisfaction and budgetary .attitudes in the homogeneous than in the heterogeneous dyad.

[This paper examines the effect of structural decentralization, perceived environmental uncertainty, and organizational interdependence on Management Accounting Systems [MAS] design. MAS design was defined in terms of the perceived usefulness of several information characteristics which may be associated with an MAS. These characteristics were scope, timeliness, level of aggregation, and information which assists integration. In addition to examining the direct effects of contextual variables, the study sought to determine how the independent variables interacted. Hypotheses were generated for both direct and indirect effects of contextual variables and were tested using data collected from 68 managers. The findings indicated that: 1) Decentralization was associated with a preference for aggregated and integrated information; perceived environmental uncertainty with broad scope and timely information; organizational interdependence with broad scope, aggregated, and integrated information. 2) The effects of perceived environmental uncertainty and organizational interdependence were, in part, indirect through their association with decentralization.]