Role of Emerging Technologies in Accounting Information Systems for Achieving Strategic Flexibility through Decision-Making Performance: An Exploratory Study Based on North American and South American Firms

Abstract

Nowadays, accounting departments highly rely on accounting information systems to make decisions based on current, updated, and contemporary data. And, most accounting practices can be enhanced by emerging technologies coupled with accounting information systems. Therefore, contemporary accounting information systems (AIS) coupled with emerging technologies is the highest priority in organizations to make decisions that can contribute to strategic flexibility and performance of the organizations. The objective of the study is to identify the role of information systems infrastructure integration (ISII) on strategic flexibility and innovation (SFI) through the mediated role of information systems (IS)-enabled strategic enterprise management (IS-SEM) practices and decision-making performance (DMP). The study is based on contemporary literature in the field of emerging technologies in accounting information systems particularly business intelligence and analytics (BI &A). Resource-based view had been applied to create novel constructs to test the research framework and hypothesis. The research framework and hypothesis are tested based on 388 organizations from Brazil and USA. The results reflect that information systems infrastructure integration impacts strategic flexibility and innovations in organizations. Further, there is no difference observed between North American and South American organizations. The results of the research suggest that accounting information systems (AIS) practitioners and researchers should look beyond emerging technologies investments and shift their attention to how information systems infrastructure integration (ISII) and information systems-enabled strategic enterprise management (IS-SEM) practices can leverage decision-making performance (DMP) and impact on strategic flexibility and innovation.