The role of cyber security and digital transformation in gaining competitive advantage through Strategic Management Accounting

This work studies the relationship between Strategic Management Accounting and Competitive Advantage in Indian financial services through an analysis of Cyber Security and Digital Transformation as mediators. Researchers obtained responses from 270 financial sector employees throughout northern India through convenience sampling which spanned across three data collection waves. SmartPLS4 was performed for data analysis and to validate the proposed hypotheses. The analyzed data demonstrated a robust link between Strategic Management Accounting and Competitive Advantage as research showed Cyber Security and Digital Transformation function as intermediate variables in this connection. Research demonstrates the role of Cyber Security and Digital Transformation together to optimize Competitive Advantage through effective implementation of Strategic Management Accounting practices. This investigation provides meaningful contributions to academic literature by studying Cyber Security and Digital Transformation functions as missing mediators between Strategic Management Accounting and Competitive Advantage in the research landscape of India's financial service industry. This study brings together previously studied independent concepts into a unified framework while remaining unique compared to existing research. The research engages with the financial services sector in India to present fresh insights. The study implies that organizations need multileveled competitive plans that implement Strategic Management Accounting methods properly and adjust frameworks for digital transformations and competitive strategies. This will result in robust business continuity solutions and a sustained competitive market position as well as enhanced data integrity and reliability. • The research investigates the role of Cyber Security (CS) and Digital Transformation (DT) as a mediator in explaining the association between Strategic Management Accounting (SMA) and Competitive Advantage (CA). • The results underline the connections between SMA, CS, DT, and CA and the data corroborate the concept that there is a direct correlation between SMA and CA, which is mediated by factors such as CS and DT. • The findings indicate that businesses should consider the overall competitive advantage rather than solely focusing on financial metrics. • CA can be improved if well-formulated SMA practices are in place. • The study advocates for agile CS for data integrity and business continuity, focusing on DT to achieve sustainable business performance and a relative CA.