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An empirical study of theinfluence of intensity of

competition on the deploymentof contemporary management

accounting practicesand managerial techniques

in Egyptian firmsAhmed Abdel-Maksoud

Accounting Department, United Arab Emirates University, Abu Dhabi,United Arab EmiratesWagdy Abdallah

Department of Accounting and Taxation, Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey, USA, and

Mayada Youssef Accounting Department,

United Arab Emirates University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

AbstractPurpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of managers perception of theimportance of aspects of competition on levels of deployment of contemporary management accountingpractices (CMAPs) and analyzing that impact on levels of implementation of innovative managerialpractices (IMP) and advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs) in use in Egyptian manufacturingfirms.Design/methodology/approach A survey of manufacturing firms operating in the threebiggest industrial areas in Egypt was carried out in 2005. Data were collected through interviews,using structured questionnaire forms, which were carried out with managers of the surveyedfirms.Findings The research findings indicate that within the six aspects, quality came first in ranking,followed by customer service and delivery, second and third, then innovation, price and flexibilityrespectively. Interestingly, respondents rank highly the importance of all aspects of competitionincluded. Findings also show high levels of implementation of CMAPs and IMPs in the surveyed firms,while levels of implementation of CMTs are found to be below average.

Originality/value The paper adds to the knowledge of contemporary management accountingpractices and managerial techniques in Egyptian firms.Keywords Egypt, Manufacturing industries, Advanced manufacturing technologies,Management accounting, Contemporary management accounting practices,Egyptian manufacturing firms, Innovative managerial practices,Managers perceptions of competitionPaper type Research paper

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available atwww.emeraldinsight.com/1026-4116.htm

Journal of Economic andAdministrative SciencesVol. 28 No. 2, 2012pp. 84-97r Emerald Group Publishing Limited1026-4116DOI 10.1108/10264111211247043

The authors are grateful for the valuable comments received from participants of the AAAMid-AtlanticRegional Meeting (2011, Baltimore InnerHarbour, USA) on an earlier draft of this paper.

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1. Introduction and study objectivesIn the global market, the intensity of competition has obligated many organizations touse innovative managerial practices (IMPs), such as just in time ( JIT) and total qualitymanagement, advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs), such as CAD and CAM

in managing their business. Moreover, the intensity of competitive environment havecreated several challenges for management in adapting contemporary managementaccounting practices (CMAPs), e.g. activity-bcosting, balanced scorecard, andeconomic value added, in order to meet changing needs (Nanni et al., 1992;Bromwich and Bhimani, 1994; Ittner et al., 2003; Abdel-Maksoud, 2007) of both localand global markets. In response, many of the CMAPs have become strategicallyfocussed and integrated into the financial and non-financial performance indicators(Kaplan and Norton, 1992; Bromwich and Bhimani, 1994; Chenhall, 1997; Ittner et al.,2003).

This study has three objectives, these are to explore: first, the impact of managersperception of the importance of aspects of competition on the levels of deployment of CMAPs; second, that impact on the levels of implementation of the IMPs; and third,that impact on the AMTs which have been used in the Egyptian manufacturing firms.

Figure 1 presents the framework of the proposed relationships between thevariables incorporated in this study. As indicated in Figure 1, there are three controlvariables included in the framework; they are firm size, industry type, and geographicallocation.

For several years, Egyptian manufacturing firms have been facing challenges fromboth regional and international competitors (Salaheldin and Francis, 1998; Salaheldin,2002). Several changes have been identified as having great impact on the forces of competition in Egypt, they include privatization[1], globalization[2], and industry

X1: Managersperception of thelevel of importanceof aspects ofcompetition

Y1: Levels ofdeployment ofCMAPs

+

+ Y2: Levels ofdeployment ofIMPs

Y3: Levels ofdeployment ofAMTs

+

Control for

C1: Firm size

C2: Industry type

C3: Industrygeographical location

Figure Framework of t

proposed relationshibetween variabl

incorporated in this stud

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modernization programs. On the other hand, several international agencies, such as theWorld Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and USAID have provided Egypt withthe necessary intellectual and monetary support to help them to reform and upgradethe Egyptian industrial projects (Hassan, 2005). Abdel-Maksoud (2011) surveyed more

than 200 Egyptian manufacturing companies in three of the biggest industrial zonesin Egypt and has reported the existence of high rates of implementation of both IMPsand AMAPs. He reasoned these high levels to two main interrelated factors, theyare: first, the support of the Egyptian government to manufacturing firms to helpthem in improving the countrys trading global competitiveness; increasing thecountrys exports; and competing in attracting more foreign investments, and second,the support of the European Union to enhance the application of CMAPsin Egyptian manufacturing firms through the Industrial Modernisation Office (IMO)in Egypt. The IMO supports many of the Egyptian manufacturing firms withconsultation and training on the use of new managerial practices (Abdel-Maksoud,2011, p. 244).

Although there are some recent studies which had discussed several aspectsof management accounting in Egyptian firms, no previous studies have been knownto the best of the authors knowledge, to investigate the associations proposed inthis study. Therefore, it is expected that the finding of this research will contributesignificantly to the management accounting literature in the Middle East, and especiallyin Egypt.

In the following sections, we will be discussing the literature review in more detailsand the development of the research hypotheses, data collection, research methodology,and the research findings including the results.

2. Literature review and development of hypotheses 2.1 Competition and deployment of CMAPsHistorically, traditional management accounting practices were oriented towardmeasuring earnings. However, these practices have been criticized as being narrow infocus and unable to reflect realties of the global markets. Recently, the scope of CMAPshas moved toward effectiveness, control, market analysis, quality assessment,customer satisfaction, and competitive status management ( Joshi et al., 2011).

Literature on CMAPs has extensively relied on contingency theory (Hartmann,2000; Abdel-Maksoud et al., 2005; Al-Omiri and Drury, 2007). Contingency theorypostulates that no single best or universal control system exists, but that effectivesystems must be designed to fit the organizational and environmental circumstancesfaced by the business entities. Several studies tried to explain the factors affectingCMAPs adoption worldwide. In Norway, for instance, Bjornenak (1997) found that coststructure, use of consultants, sources of information (e.g. magazine, courses, andinternet) were associated with the ABC adoption. In Canada, Brown et al. (2004)findings reveal that ABC adoption is influenced by higher levels of top managementsupport, internal champion support, and organizational size. Also, Gosselin (1997)found that business strategy and organizational structure play an important role in theadoption of ABC in Canadian manufacturing firms. In the sub-continent of Indian, Joshi (2001) highlights conservative and risk avoidance attitude of Indian managementas the main factors behind the low rate and slow adoption of CMAPs in Indian firms.

On the other hand, previous studies highlight competition as one of the factorsaffecting CMAPs adoption. For example, Firth (1996) identified a number of factorswhich influence the adoption of CMAPs by Chinese joint venture enterprises which

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include the degree of competitive pressure facing the state-owned enterprises, thedomicile of the foreign partner, and the size of the joint venture. Shields (1995) foundthat the variables associated with ABC success included linkage to competitivestrategies, particularly quality, JIT/speed, and top management support.

Waweru et al. (2004) indicated that global competition largely facilitated the increaseof using CMAPs in four retail companies in South Africa. In addition, Sulaiman et al.(2008) results in Malaysia show that change in management accounting practices arepositively and significantly associated with the organizations core competency aims andquality initiatives. They explained that organisations that focus on becoming competentin their cost levels, output quality, after sales service, variety of products and price willneed to change their management accounting practices more often. Similarly, moreMAPs need to be adopted by the organisation that aims in providing quality productsor services (Sulaiman et al., 2008, p. 70). Therefore, we may elaborate the followinghypothesis:

H1. There is a significant positive association between managers perception of the level of importance aspects of competition and the levels of deployment of CMAPs in the surveyed Egyptian firms.

2.2 Competition and implementation of IMPs/AMTS The increasing widespread implementation of IMPs and AMTs alongside the increasinglevel of global competition are said to intensify the challenges for management inadapting management accounting practices to meet changing needs (Abdel-Maksoud,2007, 2011). Some studies have emphasized the potential strategic benefits of flexibility,responsiveness, improved quality, and improved productivity through investment inAMTs (De Meyer et al., 1989; Gerwin, 1993; Tombak, 1990). In their study of AMTadoption in South African manufacturing firms Sohal et al. (2001) find that obtainingcompetitive advantage and obtaining financial benefit are ranked one and two,respectively, as proactive reasons for undertaking AMT investments. The results of Salaheldins (2007) research also indicated that strategically, the main forces driving theadoption of AMTs in Egyptian manufacturing companies were obtaining competitiveadvantage, together with countering competitive threats. The respondents of theprevious study ranked obtaining competitive advantage first, improved qualitysecond, and increased flexibility third as the most important expected benefits fromAMT adoption.

In practice, CMAPs have been designed to support AMTs/IMPs and search for acompetitive advantage to meet the challenge of global competition and as firms adapt tothese technological and management developments, they must design a managementaccounting system congruent with the new requirements (Abdel-Kader and Luther, 2008,p. 3). Other researchers have investigated the correlation between IMPs/AMTs and levelsof deployment of AMAPs. For example, Abdel-Maksoud (2011) research results indicatedthat there is a significant positive correlation between levels of implementation of IMPs/AMTs and levels of deployment of AMAPs in the surveyed Egyptian firms. There are alsosome calls to investigate possible influence of competitive environment on the deploymentof AMAPs and AMTs (Abdel-Maksoud, 2011). In this study, it is hypothesized:

H2. There is a significant positive association between managers perception of the level of importance aspect of competition and the levels of implementationof IMPs in the surveyed Egyptian firms.

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H3. There is a significant positive association between managers perception of the level of importance aspect of competition and the levels of implementationof AMTs in the surveyed Egyptian firms.

2.3 Firm size, industry type, and geographical locationMore recently, firm size, industry type firms belong to, and the geographical location afirm operates in have consistently been identified as control variables in investigatinglevels of implementation/deployment of the organizational variables incorporated inthis study (e.g. Bruns and Waterhouse, 1975; Merchant, 1981; Baldwin, 1997; Haldmaand Laats, 2002; Al-Omiri and Drury, 2007; Abdel-Kader and Luther, 2008; Pollanenand Abdel-Maksoud, 2010; Abdel-Maksoud, 2011).

Firm size has been shown to be positively related to adoption of AMT innumerous studies (Salaheldin, 2007; Schroder and Sohal, 1999; Sohal et al., 2001).For instance, Baldwin (1997) found that small Canadian companies were less likelyto introduce advanced technologies than large ones. Meredith (1987) has also reportedthat AMT adoption thrives in large firms as they are able to afford their expense andare likely to have the skills it takes to understand, implement, and manage thesetechnologies.

It is, though, argued that CMAPs are also more widely used in larger organizationsthan in smaller ones due to the availability of greater resources and expertise. Otley(1995), also, reported evidence of the impact of size on control techniques in studies of the role of management accounting systems following merger or takeover. Moreover,Haldma and Laats (2002) argue that the sophistication level of cost accounting andbudgeting systems tends to increase in the line with a firms size.

Industry type and geographical region were, also, found to have significantimpacts on the deployment of CMAPs in use in Canadian manufacturing companies(Pollanen and Abdel-Maksoud, 2010) as well as in Egyptian manufacturing firms(Abdel-Maksoud, 2011). Some studies (e.g. Abdel-Kader and Luther, 2008; Shields,1997), argue that the design and effectiveness of cost accounting systems areconditional on characteristics of industries. Moreover, the diffusion of innovationliterature (e.g. Abrahamson, 1991) implies that organizations within an industrysector may imitate other organizations in adopting specific innovations. Salaheldin(2007), though, found that some industries were more involved in adopting AMTsthan the others. He found that Egyptian manufacturing firms which belong tochemicals, mining and petroleum, and engineering and electronics industries weremore involved in adopting AMTs. However, firms which belong to garments, printing,paper, and leather industries have not adopted AMTs. Hence, the above variables areincorporated as control variables in testing for the three hypotheses proposed ( H1- H3 )in this study.

3. Data collection and research methodologyThis study is confined to manufacturing firms operating in the three biggest industrialareas in Egypt in 2005, these were: Tenth of Ramadan, Burj El Arab, and Sixth of October industrial areas. In each industry area, an Investors Society Office publishesa bulletin including data on firms operating in the area. A total of 3,600[3] firmsbelonging to various industry types were listed in the three areas (as per 2005bulletins). Sampling was based on the selection of participating firms then managerswithin those firms[4]. A total of 80 firms belonging to various types of industries wererandomly selected in each area composing a total sample of 239 firms[5]. All efforts

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were made to ensure that the sample chosen from each area was representative. Thesurveyed firms belong to five different industrial sectors, these are: manufacturingof food, manufacturing of chemicals, manufacturing of basic metal, manufacturingof metal and engineering products, and manufacturing of mineral and non-metallic

products.In 2005, mangers of the surveyed Egyptian manufactured firms were interviewed

and requested to fill out the questionnaire forms. The structured questionnaireforms were used in data collection. The questionnaire forms included questions onthe levels of deployment/implementation of the incorporated variables. In most cases,the questionnaire forms were completed comprehensively, however, on individualquestions where one or more respondents failed to indicate an answer the analysis wasbased on those who had responded. The study contains a total of 29 literature-basedsub-variables belonging to the four main variables incorporated, i.e., managersperceptions of aspects of competition; IMPs; AMTs and CMAPs. All the details of themeasurement of variables are included in Table I.

The reliability of the measurement of the questions related to the variables of thisresearch was incorporated and assessed using the Cronbachs a test. Cronbachsa values were calculated (using SPSS 18) for respondents answers. The results of thistest are presented in Table II. Results in Table II show that variables included arereliable. Moreover, the validity of the variables incorporated in the research wasreviewed in the piloting stage. Details of the research findings are presented next.

4. Findings and discussions4.1 Descriptive statisticsThe dependent variables were literature based. Prior to any further analysis, factoranalysis was carried out to identify the empirical groupings of these variables. Resultsshow same groupings for CMAPs and IMPs, but not for AMTs. The literature-basedeight AMTs are now grouped in two factors: the first includes FMS, CAD, CAM, CIM,CNC, and CAE and the second includes AS/RS and AGVS.

From this point throughout, the first factor is called computerized manufacturingtechniques (CMTs) and the second is called automated stock-handling systems(ASHSs).

Table III represents the distribution of respondents according to their workforcesize, industry area they operate in, and industry sector they belong to.

Table III shows that the vast majority of the surveyed firms (92 percent) are small-medium-sized firms (i.e. employing up to 500 employees). Respondents are almostdistributed equally among the three industry areas involved.

Table IV indicates high levels of managers perceptions of importance of/deploymentof the all aspects of competition, CMAPs and IMPs (i.e. average means 4 6, 2 and 5,respectively) but not of CMTs and ASHSs (average means o 4).

4.2 Testing for study hypothesesRecalling from Section 1, this study has three main objectives: first, to explorethe impact of managers perception of the importance of aspects of competition(i.e. independent variable) on levels of deployment of CMAPs; and second and third are toexplore that impact on levels of implementation of IMPs and AMTs in use in Egyptianmanufacturing firms.

Bilateral associations between the six aspects of completion (i.e. independentvariables) and the dependent variables (i.e. CMAPs, IMPs, CMTs, and ASHSs) are

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Variables References Construct

Independent variablesManagersperception of importance of aspects of competition

Gordon and Narayanan(1984); Abdel-Maksoudet al. (2005)

Respondents were asked to indicate the importance of six aspects of competition measured using seven-pointsLikert scale for each. 1 no importance; 4 moderateimportance, 7 critical importance. These aspects arecustomer service, quality, price, delivery, flexibility, andinnovation Dependent variables

CMAPs Chenhall andLangfield-Smith (1998);Otley (1999);Abdel-Maksoud et al.(2005); Abdel-Maksoud(2007)

Consists of questions to indicate whether nine advancedmanagement accounting techniques were not applied,partially applied, or systematically applied. These werebenchmarking of performance (BP); strategicmanagement accounting (SMA); customer profitabilityanalysis (CPA); activity-based costing (ABC), budgeting(ABB) and management (ABM); balanced scorecard(BSC); economic value added (EVA); and throughputaccounting (TA). An aggregate measure of these ninepractices is used in this study. The aggregate measure isa mathematical summation of all ranks respondentsgave to the nine measures

IMPs Drury et al. (1993);Dean and Snell (1996);Abdel-Maksoud et al.(2005); Abdel-Maksoud(2007)

Level of implementation of six practices usingseven-points Likert scale for each. 1 not applied,4 moderately, 7 extensively. Practices included were: just in time ( JIT), total quality management (TQM), totalpreventive maintenance (TPM) materials requirements/resource planning (MRPI/II), enterprise requirementplanning (ERP), and optimized production technology(OPT). An aggregate measure of these six practices isused in this study

AMTs Murphy and Braund(1990); Drury et al.(1993); Dean and Snell(1996); Abdel-Maksoudet al. (2005);Abdel-Maksoud (2007)

Level of implementation of eight technologies wasmeasured using seven-points Likert scale for each.1 not applied, 4 moderately, 7 extensively.Technologies included were flexible manufacturingsystems (FMS), computer aided design (CAD), computeraided manufacturing (CAM), computer integratedmanufacturing (CIM), computer numerical control(CNC), computer aided engineering (CAE), automatedstorage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), and automatedguided vehicles systems (AGVS)

Table I.Variables measurements

Variables No. of items N Cronbachs a

CMAPs 9 162 0.886IMPs 6 229 0.823AMTs 8 182 0.843Aspects of competition 6 239 0.584

Table II.Results of reliability test

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tested and given the influence the three control variables involved could have over suchrelations, partial correlations test was applied. SPSS was used in carrying out theabove statistical test (Cramer and Bryman, 2001) (Table V).

4.2.1 Perception of competition and deployment of CMAPs (objective 1) . The researchfindings indicate that only three aspects of competition, out of the six, are found to havesignificant positive correlations with levels of deployment of CMAPs in the surveyedEgyptian firms. These are customer service, delivery, and flexibility. Interestingly, thesecorrelations exist even when the three control variables are controlled for, meaning thatthey are genuine regardless firm size, industry type a firm belongs to, and itsgeographical location. The results do not comply with the work of Sulaiman et al.(2008), in Malaysian organizations, which found management accounting techniquesare positively and significantly associated with the organizations quality initiatives.

4.2.2 Perception of competition and implementation of IMPs (objective 2) . UnlikeCMAPs, only delivery and flexibility are found to have significant positive correlations

Variables Frequency (%)

Size of workforceSmall ( o 200) 161 67.9Medium (201-500) 56 23.6Large (over 500) 20 8.4Total 237 100.0 Industry areaTenth of Ramadan 79 33.1Borg Alarab 76 31.8Sixth of October 84 35.1Total 239 100.0 Industry typeFood 50 20.9Chemical 54 22.6Basic metals 38 15.9

Metal and engineering products 52 21.8Mineral non-metal products 45 18.8Total 239 100.0

Table IIDistribut

of respondents accordinto size, indusarea, and ty

Factor N Mean Median SD Minimum Maximum

CMAPs 162 2.505 2.67 0.503 1.00 3.00IMPs 229 5.86 6.17 1.147 1.00 7.00CMTs 199 3.81 3.67 1.811 1.00 7.00ASHSs 189 1.31 1.00 1.030 1.00 7.00Quality in competition 239 6.65 7.00 0.7890 2.00 7.00Customer service in competition 239 6.46 7.00 1.1765 1.00 7.00Delivery in competition 239 6.45 7.00 1.1117 1.00 7.00Innovation in competition 239 6.26 7.00 1.3588 1.00 7.00Price in competition 239 6.17 7.00 1.1881 1.00 7.00Flexibility in competition 239 5.89 7.00 1.7718 1.00 7.00

Table IVSummary of descriptistatistics of independeand dependent variabl

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with levels of implementation of IMPs. Again, findings indicate that these correlationsare genuine when control variables are controlled. These findings are logical sincethe application of IMPs provides a competitive edge to firms in respect to delivery andflexibility.

4.2.3 Perception of competition and implementation of CMTs and ASHSs (objective 3) .Findings indicate that all aspects of competition (excluding quality) are found to havestrong significant positive correlations with levels of implementation of CMTs. Moreinterestingly, on the other hand, quality is found to have significant negative correlationwith levels of implementation of ASHSs in the surveyed firms.

Our results on quality do not comply with Salaheldin (2007) findings indicatingimproved quality as the second most important expected benefits from AMTadoption in Egyptian firms. One possible interpretation is that AS/RS and AGVSwhich constitute ASHSs in this study are not included in the AMTs studied bySalaheldin (2007).

5. Summary, conclusions, and study limitationsThe intensity of competition has an influence on the levels of implementation/deploymentof IMPs, AMTs, and CMAPs. This study explores the impact of managers perception of the importance of competitive aspects on the levels of the deployment/implementationof these practices/techniques. We hypothesized that managers of manufacturing firms inEgypt tend to focus on implementing more of CMAPs and IMPs/AMTs in response tothe keen competition in their market segment. Several changes have been identified ashaving great impact on the forces of competition in Egypt, they include: privatization,globalization, and industry modernization programs. Some previous studies were carriedout in Egypt on similar organizational variables. However, our study distinguishes itself by incorporating a large survey (over 200 firms), incorporating different variablesconstruct, and adopting a more comprehensive research method.

In 2005, 239 managers of the surveyed Egyptian manufacturing firms wereinterviewed. The surveyed firms operate in the biggest three industrial zones inEgypt (Tenth of Ramadan, Burj El Arab, and Sixth of October). The surveyed firms areof different sizes and they represent five different industrial sectors. Hence, threevariables were controlled for testing the research hypotheses: size, industry type, andgeographical location. The influence of these three control variables is evident inliterature.

Independent variables Dependent variablesManagers perception of level of importance of the followingaspects in competition ranked by order (i.e. means) CMAPs IMPs CMTs ASHSs

Quality 0.055 0.019 0.107 0.294**Customer service 0.316** 0.137 0.246** 0.040Delivery 0.314** 0.249** 0.189* 0.007Innovation 0.048 0.147 0.228** 0.050Price 0.007 0.046 0.195* 0.023Flexibility 0.380** 0.423** 0.372** 0.105

Notes: a Partial correlations controlling for size, industry type, and geographical location. **Significantat 99 percent level of significance ( a 0.01, one-tailed); *significant at 95 percent level of significance( a 0.05, one-tailed)

Table V.Partial correlations a

among managersperception of competitionaspects and the levels of deployment of CMAPs,IMPs, CMTs, and ASHSsin the surveyed firms

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The competitive aspects were measured by ranking the importance of six aspects of the competition such as quality, price, customer service, innovation, delivery, andflexibility. The construct of the dependent variables, i.e. CMAPs, IMPs, and AMTs,was based on the literature review. Interestingly, the empirical grouping of sub-

variables of AMTs in Egyptian firms showed inconsistency with the literature-basedgrouping. Two variables are revealed; the first one is the CMTs including FMS,CAD, CAM, CIM, CNC, and CAE. The second one is the ASHSs including the AS/RSand AGVS.

The research findings indicate that within the six aspects, quality came first inranking followed by customer service and delivery, second and third, then innovation,price, and flexibility, respectively. Interestingly, respondents rank highly theimportance of all aspects of competition included (means 4 6). Findings also showhigh levels of deployment/implementation of CMAPs and IMPs in the surveyed firms,while levels of implementation of CMTs are found to be below average (mean o 4).

Interestingly, levels of implementation of ASHSs are found to be very low (mean o 2)indicating low implementation of such capital intensive techniques in Egyptian firms.This seems justified in a country like Egypt known to be a labor intensive market.

In line with the prior assumptions, our results find consistent significant positiveassociations between managers perception of two out of six aspects of competitionand levels of deployment/implementation of CMAPs, IMPs, and CMTs. Thesecompetitive aspects are delivery and flexibility. It thus can be concluded that these twoaspects have a positive influence on the vast majority of the dependent variablestested. One can conclude that, delivery and flexibility are more important than theother aspects of competition in influencing levels of deployment/implementation of managerial practices/techniques in Egyptian firms.

On the other hand, customer service is found to positively influence two of the variables CMAPs and CMTs, respectively. It, hence, can be concluded thatmanagers in developing countries, such as Egypt, are more influenced by delivery,flexibility, and customer service over other aspects of competition in relation to thedeployment/implementation of CMAPs, IMPs, and CMTs, but not ASHSs, in theirmarket segment.

It is interesting to see the levels of implementation of CMTs to have significantpositive associations with all aspects of competition excluding quality. These findingsmerit some elaboration. One interpretation is that Egyptian managers seek to apply thenewest CMT driven by forces of competition in these aspects but not of quality. Thiscomplies with another finding indicating a sole significant negative associationbetween quality and levels of implementation of ASHSs in the surveyed Egyptianfirms. This could indicate managers preference to use manual removal techniques overautomated ones bearing in mind the low level of implementation of ASHSs reportedearlier.

The results of the study are limited by typical constraints associated with thesurvey method. Nonetheless, this research, to the best of our knowledge, representssignificant new evidence into the influence of managers perception of the importanceof competitive aspects on the levels of deployment/implementation of CMAPs, IMPs,and AMTs in Egyptian companies. Consequently, our findings could be seen ascontributing to the management accounting and operations management literaturesin the Middle East in particular and new emerging markets in general. Our findings canserve as a base for further research in Egyptian companies, as well as for comparativeresearch in other countries.

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Schroder, R. and Sohal, A. (1999), Organizational characteristics associated with AMT adoption, International Journal of Operations & Production Management , Vol. 19 No. 12, pp. 1270-91.

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Sohal, S., Schroder, R., Uliana, E. and Maguire, W. (2001), Adoption of AMT by South Africanmanufacturers, Integrated Manufacturing Systems , Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 15-34.

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Waweru, N., Hoque, Z. and Uliana, E. (2004), Management accounting change in South Africa:case studies from retail services, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal , Vol. 17No. 5, pp. 675-704.

Further readingRezaee, Z. and Szendi, J.S. (1995), Trends in management accounting in the Asian pacific

region, International Advances in Economic Research , Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 149-55.

About the authorsAhmed Abdel-Maksoud, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Accounting at the Faculty of Businessand Economics, United Arab Emirates University, UAE. He has worked for several international

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universities in the UK, Middle East and Japan. His research interests are in the fields of performance measurement/management systems, contemporary management accountingpractices, management control systems and environmental management accounting. He hasreceived funding from several worldwide research centers ( Japan, Italy, Canada, UAE and KSA) for

his research studies in the field of performance measurement and management accountingpractices. He is the author and co-editor of a book entitled: Non-financial Performance Measurement and Management Practices in Manufacturing Firms: An International ComparativeStudy (Elsevier, 2007) and has published in several reputable international journals such as the British Accounting Review Journal (BAR). His BAR 2005 paper is ranked amongst the top 10 citedpapers, as per Scopus, in the history of BAR and two of his papers, published in BAR in 2005 and2010, are ranked amongst the top hottest 25 articles in the history of BAR to present. He is also onthe editorial board and an ad hoc reviewer for many international journals and conferences in theaccounting field. Ahmed Abdel-Maksoud is the corresponding author and can be contacted at:aabdelmaksoud@uaeu.ac.ae

Wagdy Abdallah, PhD, CMA has been a Professor of Accounting at Seton Hall University,New Jersey, since 1984, where his teaching expertise spans several areas including managerial

accounting, cost accounting, international accounting, doing business in the Middle East and doingbusiness in Egypt, for both graduate and undergraduate levels. His research activities have beencharacterized by the Institute of Management Accountants as significant contributions to thedevelopment and advancement of management accounting in the international area. In addition tohis publishing record in peer-refereed academic and professional journals he has authored severalbooks including: Accounting, Finance and Taxation in the Gulf Countries (2008); Critical Concernsin Transfer Pricing and Practice (2004); Managing Multinationals in the Middle East: Accounting and Tax issues (2001); and International Transfer Pricing Policies (1989). He was selected by the USFulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for a Fulbright award in 2005.

Mayada Youssef, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at Faculty of Business and Economics, UnitedArab Emirates University, UAE. She is also a Lecturer (on leave) at the Accounting Department,Faculty of Commerce & Business Administration, Helwan University, Egypt. She obtained herPhD in Accounting and Finance from Manchester Business School, Manchester University,Manchester, UK in 2005. Her research interests include management accounting change andelectronic commerce and she has published a number of research papers in this interdisciplinaryfield of study. Her teaching interests include Management Accounting, Cost Accounting,Accounting Information Systems, Principles of Financial Accounting, and IntermediateAccounting. She has taught some parts of CIA & CMA programs at UAE University and was aconsultant for Egypt Education Reform Project, Ministry of Education, Egypt in 2007-2008.

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