Klaus Möller

Digitalization has the potential to disrupt the management accounting domain. It may not only affect the digital landscape of the organization and the associated business models, but also management accounting and control practices as well as the role of the controller. This editorial discusses these developments by introducing the concept of digitalization and describing its impact on the field of management accounting and control. Digitalization is the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities—the process of moving to a digital business (Gartner, 2020). As such, it has affected all kinds of business activities, including business models and supply chains, as well as support functions such as human resources and accounting. Digitalization enables various new forms of cooperation between companies, suppliers, customers, and employees, leading to new product and service offerings. At the same time, digitalization is a challenge for incumbent companies, as it requires them to reflect on their current strategy and to explore new business opportunities. In the finance function, digitalization has resulted in the automation and robotization of routine processes, the introduction of business intelligence, and the application of data analytics. Digitalization is affecting our daily lives as well as the role of controllers.

This study empirically investigates the relationships of control levers (belief and boundary systems, Simons 1995) and control context (social and performance management context, Gibson and Birkinshaw 2004) with contextual ambidexterity and firm performance. Based on cross-sectional survey data from 198 listed companies in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, a structural equation model is used to test the hypothesized relationships. We find that the emphasis on formal boundary systems and an informal social context are positively related to contextual ambidexterity, which positively affects firm performance. In contrast, belief systems and performance management context do not influence contextual ambidexterity. Further, we find no support for dynamic tensions, neither between the two control levers nor in the control context.