The impact of market orientation on small businesses' performance in Vietnam: The mediating effects of the management accounting system

Objective: The objective of the article is to draw upon the contingency theory to assess the mediating effects of broad-scope management accounting systems (MAS) on the relationship between market orientation and performance in the context of small businesses. Research Design & Methods: Data was collected from 159 small businesses located in Cantho city in Vietnam. The partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to assess the research model. Findings: The results reveal that broad-scope MAS fully mediates the link between market orientation and performance. Implications & Recommendations: The owners of small businesses located in Cantho city should have a sophisticated MAS design like broad-scope MAS to find performance implication when these businesses follow the market-oriented approach. Contribution & Value Added: This study contributes to the research interface between marketing and accounting by advancing our knowledge of the impact of the MAS design on the relationship between market orientation and performance. It provides exploratory evidence of the crucial role of the sophisticated the MAS design in the performance of small businesses. It sheds light on the influencing role of organisational culture on the MAS design by assessing the Cartesian contingency fit between culture and the MAS design on performance.