Volume 19, Number 1, June 2024
| Budget participation and SME performance in Cameroon: the moderating effect of firm size |
Abstract
This article analyzes the relationship between budgetary participation and SME performance and the moderating effect of firm size on this relationship. Through the prism of contingency and decision theories, two questions are put into perspective: 1) Does the degree of participation of employees and/or subordinates in the budget process have an impact on company performance? 2) Does the effect of budget participation on performance vary according to company size? Using regression tests, we analyzed data collected by questionnaire from 315 SME managers located in the far northern regions of Cameroon. Two main results emerged. Firstly, budget participation has a positive and significant influence on SME performance in Cameroon. Secondly, the effect of budgetary participation on performance varies significantly according to SME size. Overall, these results validate the theoretical framework of the decision to adopt a structural contingency to SME organizational dynamics.
Keywords: Budgetary Participation, Firm Performance, Management Control, Contingency Theory, SME.
JEL Classification: L25, M41, H32, H61