Budget goal clarity as a mediator in the relationship between budgeting practices and budgetary performance in healthcare.

Purpose - This paper draws on the Behavioral Management Accounting (BMA) literature and propose a research model that examines how the cognitive effects of a specific budgeting practice - budgetary participation - influence budget goal clarity, which in turn affects budgetary performance. Furthermore, the model explores how the relationship between budgetary participation and performance is mediated by an underexplored individual-level variable: budget goal clarity. Budget goal clarity is recognized as particularly important in contexts where budget holders are not traditional managers but hybrid professionals - responsible for both clinical and financial outcomes - who often have limited familiarity with financial target, a circumstance that could influence their attitudes, behaviors and in turn their performance.

Design/approach - The study administered a cross-sectional survey to a sample of medical doctors working in a public hospital who were identified as budget holders.

Findings - The findings reveal that: (i) budgetary participation has a direct effect on budget goal clarity; (ii) budget goal clarity subsequently impacts budgetary performance; and (iii) budget goal clarity mediates the relationship between budgetary participation and budgetary performance

Originality/value - This paper contributes to the existing BMA literature by offering a novel perspective on how, in hybrid settings, the positive cognitive effects of budgetary participation are realized through the clarification of budget goals, thereby directly and indirectly influencing budgetary performance.