Accounting information systems adoption

: a case study of Syria

Abstract

This thesis examines the relationship between accounting technology adoption and the organisational contextual variables in Syria. It suggests that the key factor affecting this relationship is whether the organisation operates in the public or private sector because different environments and various strategies accompany each type of organisations.
The transfer and the adoption of information technology have previously been studied almost exclusively in the developed world where culture has been seen a critical factor affecting the transfer and the adoption of information technology. Little research has been done and issues raised in the developing world specifically. Virtually no research has been conducted in accounting technology adoption and its relationship to the organisational contextual variables in the developing world. Thus, this research focuses on the organisational environment and the major contextual variables and their impact on the adoption of accounting technology in a developing country, namely Syria.
The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part reviews the literature about accounting information systems, the influence of contingency theory on management accounting systems and the level of information technology adoption in Arab countries. The second part introduces Syria and investigates the current situation of accounting technology adoption within a sample of Syrian organisations. The third part examines the relationship between the adoption of sophisticated management accounting systems and organisational contextual variables within a sample of public and private organisations.
The study suggests that public sector organisations have failed to adopt sophisticated management accounting systems because of the stable environments surrounding them and the mechanistic strategies they tended to employ. On the contrary, private organisations were more capable of absorbing accounting technology, which is due to the dynamic environment they tend to operate in and the organic strategies they tended to apply.
The study also suggests that a market-based orientation could enhance the absorption of information technology and the adoption of sophisticated management accounting systems in developing countries, including Arab countries at this exceptional time of international competition and the increasing of globalisation.

Date of Award	2001
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Portsmouth
Supervisor	Steven Hand (Supervisor)