Impact of leadership style on the use of accounting information for decision making

Abstract

The article explores the effect of different leadership styles on behavioural outcomes and the use of accounting tools. Literature on clinicians' behaviours regarding the use of accounting tools is sparse, limited in scale, centred on nurses and lacking generalizability, especially in non-Anglo-Saxon countries. The article fills this gap. The analysis focuses on how middle doctors-manager (associates) respond to their senior doctors-manager (leader) leadership styles and the influence of these trade-offs on associates' use of accounting tools for decision-making and decision control. The study is conducted in two large public Portuguese hospitals. Data collection using questionnaires and partial least squares (PLS) was the statistical technique applied. The results show that the relationship between leadership styles and behavioural outcomes is not straightforward, and doctors' professionalism plays an important role that needs attention. As highly-educated professionals, doctors have their own criteria and do not always consider managerial ones.