Strategic decision-making as a behavioral bridge: Mediating the impact of contingency factors on management accounting practices in digital startups

Abstract

This study investigates how strategic decision-making mediates the influence of operational technology, environmental uncertainty, organizational culture, and managerial knowledge on the adoption of Management Accounting Practices (MAPs) among digital start-ups in Palu, Indonesia. Drawing on contingency theory, this study emphasizes how behavioral mechanisms within managerial cognition translate contextual contingencies into accounting actions. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire distributed to seventy-two founders and financial managers of digital start-ups operating within the Palu metropolitan area. The analytical framework employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), using a bootstrapping technique with 5,000 resamples to assess reliability, convergent, and discriminant validity (CR, AVE, HTMT). The results indicate that organizational culture (β = 0.31, p < 0.01) and managerial knowledge (β = 0.37, p < 0.001) are the strongest predictors of strategic decision-making, which subsequently exerts a significant influence on the adoption of MAPs (β = 0.42, p < 0.001). Mediation analysis confirmed that strategic decision-making partially mediates the effects of culture and managerial knowledge on MAP adoption, while the impact of operational technology and environmental uncertainty remained indirect and limited. The model explains 46% of the variance in SDM and 52% in MAP adoption, reflecting robust predictive relevance (Q^2 > 0). These findings extend contingency theory by incorporating behavioral mediation, highlighting that effective strategic decision-making enables digital start-ups to adapt accounting practices in uncertain technological and environmental contexts. Practical implications include the need for incubator programs and policymakers to strengthen decision-making competencies and managerial cognition as integral parts of digital entrepreneurship training.