Comparative management accounting in developing countries – State-of-the-art and future perspectives

Motivated by the increasing relevance of developing countries (especially China) due to ongoing internationalization, this systematic review analyzes current literature on Management Accounting (MA) in developing countries in order to define what is currently known about and relevant to Comparative Management Accounting (CMA) in developing countries. Our findings show that there is still little current literature on CMA in developing countries. Culture is the most predominant influence within the research field in this context, the current literature lacks theoretical paradigms, existing research focuses on developing Asian countries, and current findings are not generalizable because national cultures are different. Furthermore, we confirm that intercultural MA research in developing countries is important for both academic research and corporate practice by examining the included sample based on three main clusters: MA behavior, MA instruments, and MA change. We conclude with implications for future research, including a general call for further research on CMA in developing countries.