Handbook of Management Accounting Research (eBook)

Cover 1
Handbook of Management Accounting Research Volume 1 4
Copyright page 5
Contents 6
Contributors to Volume 1 8
Preface 10
Part I: The Scope of the Management Accounting Research Literature 14
Chapter 1. Management Accounting: A Bibliographic Study 16
1. Introduction and Overview 16
2. Charting the Field 18
3. Analyzing the Community 25
4. Summary and Commentary 33
Acknowledgements 38
References 38
Chapter 2. Mapping Management Accounting: Graphics and Guidelines for Theory-Consistent Empirical Research 40
1. Introduction 40
2. Selection of Studies and Construction of Maps 41
3. Overview of Maps 46
4. What Variables are Researched: Guidelines 1–4 54
5. Causal-Model Forms: Guidelines 5–12 57
6. Levels of Analysis: Guidelines 13–17 62
7. Management Accounting as Independent and Dependent Variable 66
8. Conclusion 72
Appendix A. Causes and effects of budgeting at the individual level 74
Appendix B. Causes and effects of budgeting at the organization and subunit levels 76
Appendix C. Information for planning and control 78
Appendix D. Implementing management accounting change 81
Appendix E. Performance measures and incentives 83
Appendix F. Contracting and control: microprocesses 86
Appendix G. Individual judgments and decisions 89
Appendix H. Management accounting in its historical and social context 92
Appendix I. Organizational change processes and the relation of financial and operational realities 94
Appendix J. Map notation 96
Appendix K. Variables that appear on more than one map 97
Appendix L. Variables with partially shared meanings: examples 97
References 98
Part II: Theoretical Perspectives 110
Chapter 3. Theorizing Practice in Management Accounting Research 112
1. Introduction 112
2. Contextualising the Local in Management Accounting Research 113
3. Conclusions 121
References 122
Chapter 4. Psychology Theory in Management Accounting Research 126
1. Introduction 126
2. Overview 128
3. Motivation Theories 129
4. Social Psychology Theories 134
5. Cognitive Psychology Theories 136
6. Conclusion 143
References 145
Chapter 5. Economics in Management Accounting 150
1. Introduction 150
2. The Economic Approach 151
3. The Historical Development of Economics-Based Management (Cost) Accounting 157
4. Growth of Economic Management Accounting Research in Universities 158
5. Major Research Thrusts 163
6. Conclusions 170
References 171
Chapter 6. Theorizing Contingencies in Management Control Systems Research 176
1. Introduction 176
2. An Organizational Framework for Contingency-Based MCS Research 177
3. The Meaning of MCS 177
4. Outcomes of MCS 181
5. Contextual Variables and MCS 185
6. Issues Related to Theory Development 201
7. Alternate Theories and Contingency-Based Research 204
8. Conclusion 207
Acknowledgments 208
References 208
Chapter 7. Critical Theorising in Management Accounting Research 220
1. Introduction 220
2. What is Critical Theorising in Management Accounting? 222
3. Critical Theorising on Strategic Management Accounting 226
4. Critical Theorising on New Public Management 236
5. Conclusions 242
Acknowledgements 249
References 249
Chapter 8. Agency Theory and Management Accounting 260
1. Introduction 260
2. Setup of the Basic Agency Model 261
3. What Makes an Agency Problem Hard to Solve? 263
4. Characterizing the Optimal Contract 265
5. Important Qualities of Performance Measures 266
6. Contract Shape 267
7. Communication, Earnings Management, and the Revelation Principle 273
8. Multiperiod Models and Investment Problems 274
9. Common Misconceptions about Agency Theory 277
10. Conclusion 278
References 279
Chapter 9. Historical Theorizing in Management Accounting Research 282
1. Introduction 282
2. A Brief History of History 282
3. Main Themes in Management Accounting History 285
4. Historiographical Critique of Management Accounting History Research 287
5. Conclusion 293
Acknowledgement 294
References 294
Chapter 10. Management Accounting and Sociology 298
1. Introduction 298
2. Accounting and Rationalisation 299
3. Management Accounting, Sociology and the Analysis of Groups 300
4. Accounting as an Organisational and Social Practice 302
5. Agents, Networks and Assemblages of Calculative Practices 305
6. Conclusions 306
References 307
Part III: Research Methods 310
Chapter 11. Doing Qualitative Field Research in Management Accounting: Positioning Data to Contribute to Theory 312
1. Introduction 312
2. What is a Qualitative Field Study? 314
3. The Field as ’Contact Zone’ 319
4. The Field as a Window on Accounting: How Images Infuse Action 320
5. Events as Process 322
6. Process, Interpretation, and Meaning 323
7. Re-assessing Validity and Reliability in Qualitative Field Studies 324
8. Conclusions 327
Acknowledgements 328
References 328
Chapter 12. Doing Quantitative Field Research in Management Accounting 332
1. Introduction 332
2. Quantitative Field Research: Meaning and Purpose 333
3. Twenty Years of Management Accounting Field Research: Accomplishments and Shortcomings 336
4. Key Decisions, Choices, and Contributions of Quantitative Field Research 338
5. Conclusion and Personal Observations 351
Acknowledgements 352
References 352
Chapter 13. Comparative Management Accounting Research: Past Forays and Emerging Frontiers 356
1. Introduction 356
2. The Wealth of Notions 357
3. Convergence and Determinism 358
4. Contingencies Unbound 358
5. Positively Cultural Analyses 359
6. Institutional Effects and Societal Differences 362
7. Interactionism and Neo-Institutionalism 365
8. Unraveling the Origins of Specificity 367
9. Shifting Domains of Comparison 369
10. Discussion 369
Acknowledgements 370
References 370
Chapter 14. Analytic Modeling in Management Accounting Research 378
1. Background Remarks 378
2. Keys to Good Modeling 380
3. Dominant Themes in the Literature 382
4. Concluding Remarks 383
References 383
Chapter 15. There and Back Again: Doing Interventionist Research in Management Accounting 386
1. Introduction: What is Interventionist Research? 386
2. Demarcation Lines and Variations of Interventionist Research 387
3. The Philosophy of Doing Interventionist Research 391
4. Conducting Interventionist Research 394
5. Examples of Interventionist Research in Management Accounting 398
6. Outputs of Interventionist Research 401
7. Other Key Issues of Interventionist Research 404
8. Concluding Comments 406
Acknowledgements 407
References 407
Chapter 16. Doing Archival Research in Management Accounting 412
1. Introduction 412
2. Archival Research and Archival Data 412
3. What is the Dominant Research Question? 415
4. How is the Research Question Typically Addressed? 416
5. What have We Learned? 420
6. What Other Research Questions can be Addressed? 420
7. Summary 424
Acknowledgments 424
Appendix 424
References 425
Chapter 17. Experimental Research in Managerial Accounting 428
1. Managerial Accounting and the Role of Experiments 428
2. Decision-Influencing Role of Managerial Accounting Information 430
3. Decision-Facilitating Role of Managerial Accounting Information 440
4. Interdependence of Decision-Influencing and Decision-Facilitating Roles of Managerial Accounting Information 446
5. Conclusions 448
Acknowledgments 449
References 449
Chapter 18. Doing Management Accounting Survey Research 458
1. Introduction 458
2. The Framework 459
3. The Dataset 460
4. Applying the Framework to the Data 460
5. Change Over Time 483
6. Conclusion 483
Acknowledgements 485
References 485
Author Index for Volumes 1 and 2 492
Subject Index for Volumes 1 and 2 538
Overview of Volumes 1 and 2 558