What can(not) a flat and local structuration ontology do for management accounting research?

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 252-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Englund ◽  
Jonas Gerdin
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Structuration Theory ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on “Structuration theory: reflections on its further potential for management accounting research”, a paper by Coad et al. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents, discusses and challenges the critique that Coad et al. direct towards the notion of a flat and local structuration ontology in management accounting research. Findings This paper offers a number of reflections upon Coad et al.’s key arguments against a flat and local structuration ontology in extant accounting research. Based on the authors’ understanding of such an ontology, they also elaborate on what they believe a flat and local structuration ontology “can do” and “cannot do” for accounting research. Overall, the authors agree with Coad et al. that there is indeed an ontological divide between their different views on a flat and local ontology; a divide largely related to whether researchers have an essentialist view on social phenomena. However, the authors believe that Coad et al. exaggerate how this ontological divide has affected, and may affect, future empirical management accounting research. Originality/value This paper expands the current understanding of a flat and local structuration ontology in management accounting research.

Accounting for the “uncounted” workers: a dialectical view of accounting through Rancière

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 1627-1655
Author(s):  
Da Yang ◽  
John Dumay ◽  
Dale Tweedie
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Research ◽  
Worker Resistance ◽  
Conceptual Work ◽  
Case Based ◽  
Established Order

PurposeThis paper examines how accounting either contributes to or undermines worker resistance to unfair pay, thereby enhancing our current understanding of the emancipatory potential of accounting.Design/methodology/approachWe apply Jacques Rancière's concept of politics and build on recent calls to introduce Rancière's work to accounting by analysing a case based on workers in an Australian supermarket chain who challenged their employer Coles over wage underpayments.FindingsWe find that in this case, accounting is, in part, a means to politics and a part of the police in Rancière's sense. More specifically, accounting operated within the established order to constrain the workers, but also provided workers with a resource for their political acts that enabled change.Originality/valueThis empirical research adds to Li and McKernan (2016) and Brown and Tregidga (2017) conceptual work on Rancière. It also contributes more broadly to emancipatory accounting research by identifying radical possibilities for workers' accounting to bring about change.

Research paradigms, theoretical pluralism and the practical relevance of management accounting knowledge

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeltje van der Meer‐Kooistra ◽  
Ed Vosselman
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Practical Relevance ◽  
Interpretive Research ◽  
Critical Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Research ◽  
Research Paradigms ◽  
Theoretical Pluralism ◽  
Number Of Authors

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss how practical relevance of management accounting knowledge relates to research paradigms and theoretical pluralism.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is conceptual in nature.FindingsAs the management accounting discipline is considered to be an applied discipline, a number of authors claim that management accounting research should develop relevant theory that can be used in practice. This call for increased practical relevance of management accounting knowledge interrelates with a debate on the desirability of theoretical pluralism and paradigm diversity in management accounting research. Drawing on the work of Nicolai and Seidl, the paper distinguishes different forms of practical relevance, and analyses the effects of theoretical pluralism on these different forms. The paper argues how theoretical pluralism particularly enhances relevance in a conceptual sense rather than an instrumental sense. The conceptual relevance of research may further be enhanced by interpretive research that acknowledges complexity and that has the potential to challenge the performativity of mainstream management accounting knowledge, without challenging the pursuit of efficiency as such. This is different from critical research. The instrumental relevance stemming from mainstream management accounting research entails de‐contextualization and simplification, and might create unintended self‐fulfilling prophecies.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper broadens the concept of relevance so that it includes conceptual relevance and legitimative relevance. It links these concepts of relevance to three research paradigms: a mainstream paradigm, an interpretive paradigm and a critical paradigm. For each paradigm, relevance is related to the use of theory.Originality/valueThe paper broadens the concept of relevance and advocates the pursuit of conceptual relevance, particularly through interpretive research.

Domain theory and method theory in management accounting research

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 1308-1338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kari Lukka ◽  
Eija Vinnari
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Domain Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Accounting Research ◽  
Conceptual Clarification

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to distinguish two roles of theories, domain theory and method theory, and examine their relationships in management accounting research. Are these two roles explicitly distinguished in management accounting studies? Can this be achieved in an unambiguous manner? Where do ambitions for theoretical contribution lie in management accounting studies that employ method theories? Design/methodology/approach – The authors develop a conceptual framework for analysing possible relationships between domain theories and method theories in studies and illustrate the theoretical arguments with examples from management accounting studies employing Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as their method theory. Findings – There can be various types of relationships between domain theories and method theories, and the theoretical ambition of the analysed studies typically focused on domain theories. However, ambiguity can exist with regard to the location of a study's theoretical ambition. Both domain theories and method theories tend to be moving fields, and their interaction can add to this feature. Research limitations/implications – The suggested conceptual clarification assists in the reconciliation of extreme perspectives that relate to management accounting and theory. It will also help researchers to systematically design their own work and evaluate that of others. An increased understanding of how a field develops as a result of interaction with method theories might perhaps alleviate concerns regarding the value of mobilizing the latter. Originality/value – The analysis contributes to the on-going debate on the value and effects of employing method theories, or theoretical lenses, in management accounting research.

scholarly journals Structuration theory: reflections on its further potential for management accounting research

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Coad ◽  
Lisa Jack ◽  
Ahmed Othman Rashwan Kholeif
Keyword(s):  
Research Design ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Structuration Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Research ◽  
Clear Explanation ◽  
Strong Structuration Theory ◽  
Strong Structuration

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the potential of strong structuration theory in management accounting research. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explains how the ontological perspective of strong structuration theory extends the work of Giddens and explores how the perspective overcomes a number of the limitations of existing management accounting research based on structuration theory. Findings – Strong structuration theory develops and extends the work of Giddens, providing greater insights into the role of agents, improves our understanding of the diffusion of accounting practices through organisational fields, adds to our knowledge of how artefacts are used in the production and reproduction of organisational life and improves research design. Research limitations/implications – Strong structuration theory provides clear guidance about management accounting case study research design, and suggests the potential for the accounting research community to engage more actively in debates about the development of structuration theory beyond the work of Giddens. Originality/value – This paper provides a clear explanation of the ontology of strong structuration theory, its implications for research design and how it holds the potential to overcome many of the limitations of earlier management accounting studies deploying structuration theory.

scholarly journals Management accounting practices and efficiency in a Colombian multi-utility conglomerate

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Barrios Álvarez ◽  
Pawan Adhikari ◽  
Alina Gómez Mejía
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Structuration Theory ◽  
Corporate Value ◽  
State Control ◽  
Multilateral Development Banks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Structure And Agency ◽  
Owned Company

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how a state-owned Colombian multi-utility conglomerate (CMC) has used management accounting practices (MAPs) to shape efficiency. The authors bring out the interplay between structures and agency in the process of shaping efficiency, which has enabled the company to operate as a private enterprise, taking advantage of NPM-led reforms and management accounting technologies.Design/methodology/approachThis is an interpretative case study of a CMC. Data for the study are derived from interviews, non-participative observations and document analysis. Giddens' structuration theory (ST) provides the theoretical approach for the study.FindingsResults show that MAPs have shaped efficiency in a CMC, promoting the profitability criteria prevailing in private enterprises. Theoretically, the paper shows how structure and agency are embedded in shaping efficiency in an emerging economy context through MAPs. It does this by analysing both the broader influence of the School of Mines and multilateral development banks and the micro-situated practices of employees at the CMC. The employees who have worked in the company for long periods of time have transformed the profitability criteria into a corporate value that influences their day-to-day practices.Originality/valueThe paper adds to the literature that draws on the ST by illustrating a paradigmatic case, in which agents have brought in knowledge and values to a state-owned company, and changed its ethos and practices whilst remaining under state control.

Cutting the Gordian knot [?]: a response to Lukka and Vinnari (2014)

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan D. Lowe ◽  
Ivo De Loo ◽  
Yesh Nama
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Extant Literature ◽  
Accounting Research ◽  
Realistic Approach ◽  
Made In

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to constructively discuss the meaning and nature of (theoretical) contribution in accounting research, as represented by Lukka and Vinnari (2014) (hereafter referred to as LV). The authors aim is to further encourage debate on what constitutes management accounting theory (or theories) and how to modestly clarify contributions to the extant literature. Design/methodology/approach – The approach the authors take can be seen as (a)n interdisciplinary literature sourced analysis and critique of the movement’s positioning and trajectory” (Parker and Guthrie, 2014, p. 1218). The paper also draws upon and synthesizes the present authors and other’s contributions to accounting research using actor network theory. Findings – While a distinction between domain and methods theories … may appear analytically viable, it may be virtually impossible to separate them in practice. In line with Armstrong (2008), the authors cast a measure of doubt on the quest to significantly extend theoretical contributions from accounting research. Research limitations/implications – Rather than making (apparently) grandiose claims about (theoretical) contributions from individual studies, the authors suggest making more modest claims from the research. The authors try to provide a more appropriate and realistic approach to the appreciation of research contributions. Originality/value – The authors contribute to the debate on how theoretical contributions can be made in the accounting literature by constructively debating some views that have recently been outlined by LV. The aim is to provide some perspective on the usefulness of the criteria suggested by these authors. The authors also suggest and highlight (alternative) ways in which contributions might be discerned and clarified.

Qualitative generalising in accounting research: concepts and strategies

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 1100-1131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee D. Parker ◽  
Deryl Northcott
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
General Applicability ◽  
Information Systems Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Research ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Quality Of Research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and articulate concepts and approaches to qualitative generalisation that will offer qualitative accounting researchers avenues for enhancing and justifying the general applicability of their research findings and conclusions. Design/methodology/approach – The study and arguments draw from multidisciplinary approaches to this issue. The analysis and theorising is based on published qualitative research literatures from the fields of education, health sciences, sociology, information systems, management and marketing, as well as accounting. Findings – The paper develops two overarching generalisation concepts for application by qualitative accounting researchers. These are built upon a number of qualitative generalisation concepts that have emerged in the multidisciplinary literatures. It also articulates strategies for enhancing the generalisability of qualitative accounting research findings. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides qualitative accounting researchers with understandings, arguments and justifications for the generalisability of their research and the related potential for wider accounting and societal contributions. It also articulates the key factors that impact on the quality of research generalisation that qualitative researchers can offer. Originality/value – This paper presents the most comprehensively sourced and developed approach to the concepts, strategies and unique deliverables of qualitative generalising hitherto available in the accounting research literature.

Accounting without accounting

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 426-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fábio Frezatti ◽  
David B. Carter ◽  
Marcelo F.G. Barroso
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Business Management ◽  
Accounting Information ◽  
Effective Management ◽  
Accounting Information System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Perspective

Purpose – An effective management accounting information system (MAIS), as well as the accounting discourse related to it, can support, facilitate, enable, and constrain diverse business discourses. This paper aims to examine the discursive and organisational effects of an organisation accounting upon absent accounting artefacts, i.e. accounting without accounting. Situated within the discursive literature, this paper examines the construction of competing articulations of the organisation by focusing on what accounting does or does not do within an organisation. In particular, the paper acknowledges the fundamental importance of the accounting discourse in supporting, facilitating, enabling, and constraining competing organisational discourses, as it illustrates how the absence of accounting centralises power within the organisation. Design/methodology/approach – From a rhetorical, discursive perspective, the authors develop an in-depth qualitative case study in a manufacturing organisation where MAIS has been abandoned for approximately two years. Interpretive research approaches, from a post-structural perspective, provided the base for the structure of the research. The authors studied how other organisational discourses (such as entrepreneurship and growth), which are traditionally constructed with reference to accounting and other artefacts, continued to be produced and sustained. The non-use and non-availability of management accounting information created a vacuum that needed to be filled. The lack of discursive counterpoints and counter-evidence provided by MAIS created a vacuum of information, allowing powerful, proxy discourses to prevail in the organisation, increasing risks to business management. Findings – The absence of MAIS to support an accounting discourse requires that contingent discourses “fill in the discursive gap”. Despite appearances, they are no substitute for the accounting discourse. Thus, over time, the entrepreneurial, growth and partners' discourses lose credibility, without the corresponding use of management accounting information and its associated discourse. Originality/value – There are at least two main contributions from the case study and the findings presented in this paper: first, they provide a new perspective for studying MAIS, as a specific organisational discourse among other discourses that shape people relationship within the organisation as an examination of accounting without accounting. Second, this discussion reinforces the relevance of accounting discourse for other organisational discourses, supporting, facilitating, enabling, and constraining them, by demonstrating the effects of its absence.

Ritual as assemblage: feast of sacrifice experiences of Turkish consumers

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 476-494
Author(s):  
Ömer Torlak ◽  
Müjdat Özmen ◽  
Muhammet Ali Tiltay ◽  
Mahmut Sami İşlek ◽  
Ufuk Ay
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Theoretical Development ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Assemblage Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Religious Rituals ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Actors ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to theorize and empirically investigate the formation of consumer’s consumption ritual experiences and discourses associated with Feast of Sacrifice. Design/methodology/approach The authors have approached the data from assemblage theory perspective. By use of ethnographic participant observation and in-depth interviews, seven themes are uncovered and discussed: meaning of Qurban, preparation of the ritual, Qurban choice, meat, Qurban ritual, marketplace and framing of discourses. Findings This study provides a theoretical development in which it depicts that assemblage theory can be used in the context of religious rituals such as the Feast of Sacrifice. This suggests that parts forming the social phenomena include different meanings and functions in different assemblages to the ritual, which has a structure with a particular process, roles and content scenario. This implies that even the most structured social phenomena as religious rituals can be accepted as social assemblage where every individual experiences his/her own ritual with the parts that have ever-changing material and expressive roles. Originality/value This study will contribute to the literature on religious rituals and practices through viewing ritual as an assemblage including material and expressive features as well as human and non-human actors. Besides, this study aims to find out whether there is a constant consumer and the concept of ritual by focusing on buying experiences of consumer in Feast of Sacrifice in Turkey.

Capturing toleration on social networks sites using internet-mediated research: June 30th Egyptian revolution case study

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noha A. Nagy ◽  
Amira S.N. Tawadros ◽  
Amal S. Soliman
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Web Content ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Egyptian Revolution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Analysis Process ◽  
Egyptian Culture

Purpose This paper aims at understanding the dynamics underlying toleration as a complex social phenomenon and its pattern on Facebook during the June 30th revolution in Egypt. Thanks to the huge advances in ICT, internet-mediated research (IMR) has become one of the most prominent research methodologies in social sciences. Discussions on social network sites cannot be neglected in studying the dynamics complex and emerging social phenomena such as changes in public opinion, culture, attitudes and virtues. Design/methodology/approach To fulfill this aim, the researchers used web content analysis as a method inside IMR paradigm to analyze the discussions on Tamarrod’s Facebook page in the period from June 30th to July 5th and to examine the emerging overall pattern of toleration. Findings The results show indications that toleration is inherent in the Egyptian culture, and that the Egyptian society still keeps its reputation as a highly tolerant society, even in crises periods where tensions are witnessed everywhere. Moreover, the results also show that the web content analysis process proposed in this study is highly reliable and valid. Originality/value The importance of the study lies in introducing a computational and empirical approach to analyze web content in a semi-automated way and proving its validity and reliability to study social phenomena such as toleration.

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