Purpose

The purpose of this research is to contribute to knowledge-building on microenterprises in emerging economies, by assessing the determinants that drive their use of accounting systems.

Design/methodology/approach

A probabilistic model was developed to determine the likelihood that a micro-firm would adopt an accounting registry system as a function of a series of contingencies and personal characteristics of their owners/managers. Data from the Microentrepreneurship Survey (EME), from the National Institute of Statistics of Chile for 2017 was used.

Findings

The findings suggest that access to external funds, the size and the use of technology strongly influence micro-firms' adoption of accounting systems.

Research limitations/implications

Despite the richness and scope of the data, direct measurements of entrepreneurial orientation and environmental uncertainty, both central variables of the contingency theory, were missing. Hence, duly justified proxies were applied. It is also likely that there would be other variables that also influence the probability of using accounting tools.

Practical implications

The study contributes to a better understanding of microenterprises, and the factors that determine the use of accounting systems. The results highlight that public policies aimed at fostering microenterprises should facilitate access to technology and external funds. Consistent with previous studies, the authors’ findings highlight the importance of training owner/managers on issues related to their business.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to theory by arguably being the first study to confirm that contingency theory does explain the adoption of accounting systems in microenterprises in emerging countries.

中文翻译：

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微型企业会计系统使用的决定因素：来自智利的证据

目的

本研究的目的是通过评估推动新兴经济体使用会计系统的决定因素，为新兴经济体微型企业的知识建设做出贡献。

设计/方法/方法

开发了一个概率模型来确定微型公司采用会计登记系统的可能性，作为其所有者/经理的一系列意外事件和个人特征的函数。使用了智利国家统计研究所 2017 年微型创业调查 (EME) 的数据。

发现

研究结果表明，获得外部资金、规模和技术使用对微型公司采用会计系统有很大影响。

研究限制/影响

尽管数据丰富且范围广泛，但缺少对企业家取向和环境不确定性这两个权变理论的核心变量的直接测量。因此，应用了正当合理的代理。也可能有其他变量也会影响使用会计工具的可能性。

实际影响

该研究有助于更好地了解微型企业以及决定会计系统使用的因素。结果强调，旨在培育微型企业的公共政策应促进获得技术和外部资金。与之前的研究一致，作者的研究结果强调了就与其业务相关的问题对所有者/经理进行培训的重要性。

原创性/价值

这篇论文可以说是第一个证实权变理论确实解释了新兴国家微型企业采用会计系统的研究，从而为理论做出了贡献。