Leadership style, decentralisation and managerial performance: Does the management accounting system mediate the relationship?

Abstract

This study tested the effects of leadership style and decentralisation on managerial performance. Specifically, it focused on the management accounting system (MAS) in mediating those effects. By using a sample of 39 senior government officers in the Local Government Task Force Office of Jayapura Municipality and applying a path analysis, we found that leadership style and decentralisation significantly affected managerial performance. The study also revealed that the MAS mediated this relationship. The findings imply that a participative and consultative leadership style effectively influences managerial performance. The degree and characteristics of managerial style in the MAS mediate significantly the effect of leadership style and decentralisation on managerial performance. Those findings suggest that an effective MAS plays an important role in improving and elevating managerial performance in decentralised and autonomous-based regions. In other words, an appropriate MAS implementation is a precondition for higher managerial governance and performance.