Is environmental uncertainty an antecedent or moderating variable in the design of budgeting systems? An exploratory study

Environmental Uncertainty (EU) has been engaged in budgeting studies both as an antecedent and a moderating variable. Since these treatments have very different implications for theory development and understanding of phenomena, this study empirically explores their relative validity. Using data collected from managers of 440 publicly held Taiwanese companies, the results of path analysis and moderated regression support the view that EU is an antecedent to features of budgeting systems which in turn significantly affect firm performance. The results also reveal a (spurious) significant moderating effect of EU on the relationship between features of the budgeting system and firm performance.